Coaching a friend or family member

Families or friends often play a large part in the development of an athlete. If you have a close relationship with a budding athlete, be it family or friend, you have the opportunity to influence his or her athletic career in a big way.

Parents may not be their son or daughters Head Coach providing all the technical elements they require, but they still probably spend hours on the side of a race course or the bottom of a halfpipe. An athlete’s close friend may not design their nutrition plan, but they may well drive them to competitions and ski/ride with them during unscheduled training time.

People that spend the most time with an athlete have real opportunities to influence them, and with that comes responsibility. The time spent building up to or tapering down from events are crucial periods. As a friend or family member, if you’re filling this time you become a pivotal person in the development of the athlete.

Whilst you may not have the technical on-snow knowledge that a team coach might have, this is only a fraction of what is involved in coaching an athlete to success. As that pivotal person it is important that you are able to understand the bigger picture of a coaching programme.

Using the Coaches Development Pathway (CDP)

This educational pathway has been designed with all potential coaches in mind. Not only is it here to assist professional coaches in furthering their career, but the programme is about developing the skills of all coaches at any level, from any background.

Using the CDP as a way to educate yourself will help you to understand the many different sides to coaching and will allow you greatly assist your son, daughter, brother or close friend achieve their sporting goals.

Start right now, with our sports-generic education modules. We have two Online Modules that take approximately 30 minutes each to complete. Once completed you should then attend our 1 day NZ Coach Approach and Leadership course. Additionally, all Entry-level coaches must have an up-to-date first aid course, which can done through any recognised provider.

Once these sports-generic modules are completed, you can sit the NZSIA/SBINZ Level One Instructor Certification (4 days) in either skiing or snowboarding. After which, you can attend the NZ Coach Level One, again for either ski or snowboard.

We understand that you have other commitments in your life. As a result, you can take as long as you need to complete the Entry-Level Coaches stage, spreading the courses out of a matter of years if necessary.

Good luck!