Coaching
The triathlon coaching community in Scotland continues to grow with a number of courses available to prepare coaches to the full. These are delivered by tutors in Scotland and also with the support of British Triathlon.
Coach Education
There are five levels of coaching qualification in triathlon, with levels 1-3 currently available:
Level 1 – Assistant Coach
Level 2 – Session Coach
Level 3 – Coach
Level 4 – Under development by British Triathlon
Level 5 – Under development by British Triathlon
Current dates locations and costs are available for all course in the UK on the
British Triathlon website. We have a limited number of tutors in Scotland who will administer and deliver the courses locally. Courses are organised in Scotland subject to demand. Interested parties are also able to attend courses delivered by British Triathlon in England and Wales.
Background to the qualifications
These courses are mapped to the National Occupational Standards and the qualification criteria established by the UKCC at each level. This ensures there will be comparability across sports coaching qualifications and raise the profile and professionalism of sports coaching in the UK.
Material, content and delivery style are constantly reviewed and updated to ensure the courses provide the most appropriate delivery for our members. The courses place a greater emphasis on a coaches competence - what they can do - rather than knowledge - what they know.
Through this, we draw out the importance of the 'how to' skills of coaching rather than the 'what' skills, in particular by integrating theory into practice. To enable a coach to progress, we aim to create more opportunities to put their coaching skills into practice, with readily available feedback from the tutors.
Course composition
Level 1
The Level 1 course is competence based with informal assessments during each module and practicals in the swim, bike and run. A formal assessment will be conducted on day three, where each coach is required to deliver a 10 minute coaching session. This is based on the template coaching cards supplied, with five minutes of questions after. Assuming the coach displays a level of competence in line with the assessment criteria, they will be qualified as Level 1 assistant coaches.
Level 2
The Level 2 course is also competence based, with informal assessments during each module and practicals in the swim bike and run. A formal assessment is conducted on day four, where each coach is required to deliver a 10 minute coaching session, with five minutes of questions after.
Assuming the coach displays a level of competence in line with the assessment criteria, they will be able to work towards their Practical Coaching Experience and complete the Theory Paper, which relates to the course resources. For this, they will be required to plan, deliver and evaluate 12 group sessions (four sessions per discipline). This should be submitted to the Coach Education Department for assessment, with certificates issued upon successful completion. Click here for full details of the
course content.
Register for a course
Current course dates and fees are shown
here, and are also updated on the
triathlonscotland news section. Courses are limited to 16 per class and you must be a member of
triathlonscotland to attend. Places are confirmed when your payment has been received.
Bookings should be made directly through Judith at British Triathlon on
judithbrand@britishtriathlon.org or 01509 226161. Information on grants and award assistance towards coaching courses can be found in the Grants & Assistance document.
Contact group
Triathlon coaches in Scotland are spread around the country so to bring them together and enable them to interact with one another, a
contact group on the main forum has been established. Giving coaches the opportunity to contact each other, share ideas, ask questions and generally keep in touch, this is open to anyone involved with triathlon coaching. It is hoped this will be a valuable tool for coaches and will help to drive up the standard, quality and quantity of coaching in the sport.
Keep in touch
triathlonscotland is always keen to keep track of who and where the active coaches are, so we can keep them advised of developments. For this reason we have set up a coaches register. For information and a registration form please contact either:
Jacqui Dunlop on
admin@triathlonscotland.org (01875 811344) or Brown Ferguson on
brownferguson@triathlonscotland.org (07545697841). As a coach this is your chance to have your say and have a real input into how the sport develops.