The mandate of Coaching PEI is to support the development, training and education of coaches on PEI. The vision of Coaching PEI is that all Island sport participants are guided by trained and certified coaches.
Why Coach?
There are many reasons why people get involved in coaching a community sport. Here are a few:
Where do I fit?
Wondering where YOU fit in the NCCP? Read the descriptions below and decide which one best describes you and your coaching needs!
Community Coaches
You may already coach at the community level or you’re thinking about coaching. Often, you’re a parent whose child is involved in sport, or a volunteer who works with participants of all ages that are new to a sport.
Competitive Coaches
You’re typically a coach who has previous coaching experience or you’re a former athlete. You may already coach a team at the regional or provincial level, and you tend to work with athletes over the long term to improve performance.
Instructors
Instructors in the Instruction stream must have sport-specific skills and training, whether at the beginner or advanced skill level. Many are former participants in the sport.
Every individual possesses the ability to be mentally strong and perform consistently, even under the most adverse conditions.
Mental health is just as important as physical health when training for a sport. Four factors contribute to this health: mental, emotional, social and meta-mental (reflection, discussion). Each factor works together with the rest to influence performance in sport, exercise, and physical activity. Before we talk further about mental skills training, ask yourself the following questions:
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then mental skills training may be something you should explore.
What is mental skills training?
Mental skills training addresses the four factors mentioned above that influence success in sport. There are numerous strategies that individuals can learn that can help them improve their performance and their personal development in sport, and overall, in life.
The goals of mental skills training are:
How do I train mentally?
Every individual possesses the ability to be mentally strong and perform consistently, even under the most adverse conditions. Surgeons, astronauts, and elite athletes are some examples of top level performers who maximize their ability through mental skills training and you can too!
STEP 1: The first step is to develop strategies to maximize your mental gifts to focus optimally.
STEP 2: The next step is to use your talents regularly. This consistency will help create an environment for you to perform at your best and to FOCUS optimally. Once you have learned the strategies, the goal is to become a more reflective and self-directed performer. You will need to begin to record and monitor your performances and to learn from your experiences. You will need to refine and adjust your skills as necessary to find the right recipe to obtain consistent performances.
STEP 3 The final step is learning to use your mental talents in all different circumstances (eg: training camps, international competitions, selections or trials, injuries and conflict situations). These talents apply to more than just sport performance. They are life skills. There is a lot more to being a top level performer than the time you spend in competition. The skills you learn in sports situations can always be applied to life situations.
Things do not always go exactly as planned. View failure as a speed bump towards success and not a pothole with no bottom.
Mental training skills prepare you to manage the four factors of mental health. Challenge yourself everyday to REFINE your GIFTS and stay FOCUSED on the mental, emotional, social, and meta-mental areas of health. Include mental practice in your training program to create a positive environment for positive performance. It can mean to difference between good and bad athletic success.
Resource Library
Sport PEI can provide the books below, they can be signed out for up to one month or the book can be purchased.