Explore coach-centred and player-centred coaching approaches, and learn how to apply key skills to your own practice.

2,423 enrolled on this course

Female soccer player flying kick
  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

Develop your coaching skills with the player-centred approach

Coaching is a challenging practice which involves applying a range of techniques to get the best out a team.

On this course, you’ll get an introduction to coach-centred and player-centred coaching principles and evaluate the differences between them.

You’ll analyse the impact of using coach-centred and player-centred approaches on player development and performance.

You’ll learn to distinguish between the art and science of coaching, and apply this to your own context.

You’ll discover how to use player-centred coaching principles in your own practice, to enhance player and team performance.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 6 seconds PADDY UPTON: Sachin Tendulkar has more world records for runs scored than anyone in the history of the game. One of the reasons for this was his incredibly diligent and meticulous pre-game practise and preparation. On one occasion, I was surprised to watch him prepare for a one day international, but aimlessly hitting balls. Playing shots that he certainly wouldn’t be playing in the upcoming game. And to make matters worse, he did this for two solid hours. One question which puzzled me as coach was how could I help Sachin improve his performance. I decided to take a player centred approach to my work with him. What are the impacts on growing people and enhancing performance of player centred coaching?

Skip to 0 minutes and 53 seconds Hello, I’m paddy Upton from Deakin University. And in this free two week course, we’ll explore differences between coach centred and player centred coaching, investigate the differences between the art and the science of coaching, and discover player centred coaching principles to enhance player or team performance. Most importantly, you’ll produce your own plan to include players and their own development. A player centred approach sees the coach focus on the players needs and goals, and collaborating with players on how to create the best possible experience for them to achieve their goals.

Skip to 1 minute and 34 seconds Focusing on a player centred approach will explore how coaches can engage and collaborate with their players and teams on the thinking aspects of their game, specifically by helping them in reviewing past performances and planning for future performances. Join me on this course on player centred coaching.

What topics will you cover?

  • Use of Ken Wilber’s Integral Matrix to frame the differences between coach- and player-centred approaches
  • The importance of review and planning
  • Success and failure
  • Impact of different approaches on player development and performance
  • Coaching with the intangible, invisible aspects of a player’s game in mind.

When would you like to start?

  • Date to be announced

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Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Identify the differences between coach-centred and player-centred coaching
  • Explain the differences between the art and science of coaching
  • Investigate the impact of a coach- or player-centred approach on player development and performance
  • Apply player-centred coaching principles to enhance player/team performance.

Who is the course for?

This course is aimed at anyone with an interest in sports or business coaching, but may be of particular interest to those already working in the area.

Who will you learn with?

I'm a Professor of Practice at Deakin University, coach of professional cricket teams and athletes, and business coach - which I do to support my surfing, fishing and stand-up paddling habits

Who developed the course?

Deakin University

Deakin University is one of Australia’s largest universities with more than 61,000 students and over 15,000 online.

  • Established

    1974
  • Location

    Melbourne, Australia
  • World ranking

    Top 280Source: QS World University Rankings 2021

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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You can use the hashtag #FLplayercentred to talk about this course on social media.