The World Triathlon is committed to supporting the development of Triathlon worldwide, and actively pursues this approach in several development initiatives. Many of these initiatives form the foundations upon which National Federations, particularly developing and emerging federations, can build an athlete development pipeline – a key element of any long-term strategy. Without such a pipeline, there will not be a growth in participation to develop the wider sport and significantly less chance of developing high performing athletes.
Triathlon coaches play a central role in this development at every level around the world. In addition to their core coaching role, it is this dedicated workforce that influences individual personal development and welfare by delivering the key messages about ethics, beliefs, fair play, and values, through quality coach-athlete relationships. Coaching is a powerful catalyst for change within societies and economies around the world; contributing positively to social agendas by promoting health and generating economic activity through employment, education, purchase of equipment, use of facilities and attendance at events.
Triathlon coaches continue to work tirelessly with increasingly diverse populations and face greater demands from athletes, parents, guardians, administrators and spectators alike. They are required to fulfil a variety of roles that include mentor, educator, technical advisor, psychologist and business manager. With this growing remit and increasing expectations, it is critical that a clear and comprehensive approach to developing coaches who can operate successfully in this context is a key building block to ensure the future development of Triathlon.
World Triathlon Coach Education Program has several key outcomes:
In a global environment, the approach to coaching cannot align itself with a one-size fits all approach. What works for certain coaches in one environment may not work for others. Equally,, the existing knowledge, learning and experience of individual coaches will differ and as they develop; different types of development will be of greater or lesser value. Therefore, a blended and flexible approach to learning and development has been adopted.
Limited resources for the World Triathlon and NFs mean that careful consideration and coordination is required to deliver these development activities. Utilising a collaborative and knowledge sharing approach the World Triathlon is in a strong position to be able to build strong relationships with a wide range of partners, including NFs and external organisations (e.g. International Council for Coaching Excellence) to offer a comprehensive fit for purpose solution.
To address these key concerns,, a four-way solution has been identified:
Having four different implementation approaches means than in any given context, an appropriate solution should be possible.
The World Triathlon coach development pathway is the World Triathlon model for coach education course delivery. It is designed to be flexible enough to meet the demands of coaches from a novice level to senior coach level, in a variety of different coaching contexts; ranging from participation to performance domains, and from environments where Triathlon is in its infancy to well established and highly effective National Federations.
The pathway provides for four stages of development, from Activator through to Level 3 coach. Many organisations seek to separate out different coaching domains (e.g. Performance, Participation, Children) into different coaching courses and separate pathways. The reality of constrained resources and coaches working in multiple areas suggests a more appropriate way is to deliver formal coach education courses which give coaches a progressive set of skills and knowledge which are fundamental to any area of coaching so that they can work in whichever domain they want and provide quality coaching experiences.
These skills build over the progressive courses to develop coaches who are:
These skills are not easily achieved and need to be built over a long period of time. The nature of the World Triathlon coaching courses reflects this, and it should be evident that the structure and nature of each course builds upon but is different from its predecessor. The pathway overview document describes the key differences between the course for coaches and NFs, to enable them to ascertain the best way to interact with the courses.
For more information please visit our coach education documents page.