Coaching is the key to the success of any system. For some reason the value and importance of coaches has been down played. Frank Dick, Britain’s chief coach during the golden age of athletics expressed it quite well: “Somewhere in the last 10 years or so we have lost our place as coaches; somebody, somewhere has decided coaching cannot be respected in the way that it used to be,” he said. “If this is not addressed quickly then who is going to lead the athletes? Don’t tell me the scientist?s can. Science has never led sport. It is coaches that lead the process. As Winston Churchill said, scientists should be on tap but never on top.” We must train coaches so they have the knowledge in how to teach and communicate. Not everyone can be a coach. It is a demanding job regardless of the level of sport. We should encourage and reward good coaches to stay at the developmental levels where providing the young athletes a good foundation is so important.
