User:CCroft13/Coaching psychology

Coaching Philosophy
A coaching philosophy is a set of beliefs and principles that guide a coach's approach to coaching. It reflects the coach's values, goals, and priorities, and shapes their decisions and actions. A coaching philosophy includes the coach's view on various aspects of coaching, such as player development, team culture, coaching style, and communication. A coaching philosophy can be developed through a combination of personal experience, knowledge, and research. It can be influenced by the coach's own experiences as an athlete, their interactions with other coaches and athletes, and their study of coaching theories and practices. A coaching philosophy can be articulated in a written document, or it can be communicated through the coach's actions and interactions with athletes. Regardless of how it is communicated, a coaching philosophy should be clear, consistent, and reflective of the coach's values and priorities.

Coaching Styles
A coach's philosophy serves as the foundation for their coaching style, as it guides their approach to coaching and shapes their decisions and actions. While every coach is unique, most common coaching styles fall into one of four major categories: democratic, autocratic, laissez-faire, and holistic.

Democratic
The Democratic coach takes on the "self coaching" approach. This coach makes the final decisions but not without listening to and taking in the thoughts of the team. The democratic coach outlines the objectives but doesn't restrict the athlete to one way of doing things. This coach allows players to find their own ways of accomplishing goals while assisting their players along the way.

In a study done by Darrly P. Giancola, he divided the democratic coaching style of a coach into four categories: Communication Techniques, Decisions and Strategies, Organizational Structure, and a Conducive Environment. For communication techniques, Giancola stated that communication is a highly important component of democratic leadership. In order to be an effective communicator, the coach needs to be approachable, guide the players through their ideas, and allow for an open-minded, but opiniated space to operate.

In terms, of Organizational Structure, Giancola observed the creation of a leadership team to allow for player representation in decision-making matters, and also how to manage with delegation and implementing a categorization process which includes all members and helps individuals become better and more involved.

When making Decisions and Strategies, the study spoke on the importance of collaborative inclusion, but when there is time for a decision to be made, the coach is the final decision maker.

In a conducive environment, empowering players in their ability to mold the team's direction, creating positive relationships, having a trusting environment, and creating a culture of commitment by encouraging the attendance of athletes were all shown to have a positve effect.

Autocratic
Autocratic coaching can best be summed up by the phrase, “My way or the highway.” Autocratic coaches make decisions with little to no input from the player or players. The autocratic coach articulates a vision for what the players need to accomplish, and the players are expected to perform. Autocratic coaching is victory-focused and typically features inflexible training structures.

Laissez-faire
Laissez-faire coaches have an attitude of trust and reliance on their athletes. They don’t micromanage or get too involved, they don’t give too much instruction or guidance. Instead laissez-faire leaders let their athletes use their creativity, resources, and experience to help them meet their goals. This kind of leadership is very hands-off—coaches trust their athletes and are confident in their abilities. They give guidance and take responsibility where needed, but this leadership style means team members have the real lead.

Holistic
In a holistic coaching approach, the coach does not act as a central authority, and instead allows the team members to set their own agenda. The holistic coaching style is best suited to mature players who have already developed the creativity and self-awareness to be self-guided. Holistic coaching involves a lot of relationship-building and the coach’s commitment to each player as a whole athlete and person. While this requires some extra work, it can pay dividends for experienced teams with the maturity to handle this “hands-off” style of coaching.