Your Coaching Philosophy underpins and aligns everything you do as a coach. Ensuring your coaching philosophy is clear and coherent can help provide you with clarity, direction and focus.

1. What is your Coaching
Philosophy?
@JohnStoszkowski

2. • If you were to represent your coaching with any
brand worldwide, which brand would it be?
• List three words you perceive to be synonymous
with that brand.

3. • Which brand would you most like your
coaching to be represented by?
• Again, list three words you perceive to be
synonymous with this brand.

4. Values and Beliefs
• Your values and beliefs are
a product of your own
unique history, experiences
and education.
• They are the root of
everything you do.
• The reason you place
importance on some things
and not others.

5. Influences on YOU
List the external influences on, and sources of,
your coaching values and beliefs.
Examples might include:
– Peers
– Your own/ex coaches
– Clubs
– Administrators
– NGBs
– Coach Education
– Parents
– Athletes
– Conferences
– Social media
– Lectures, Seminars, Workshops
– Books/magazines
– Coaches espoused in media

6. Values and Beliefs
• Into what framework
do you apply this
knowledge?
• Philosophy = values and
beliefs manifested in
particular behaviours
and principles.

7. Need to construct or ‘scaffold’ a coherent
coaching philosophy, not a collection of nuggets.
Vs.

9. Coaching Philosophy
• Your Coaching Philosophy underpins
and aligns everything you do as a
coach.
• ‘How’ and ‘Why’ you coach and
behave the way you do.
• Ensuring your coaching philosophy is
clear and coherent can help provide
you with clarity, direction and focus.
• This is not an easy task! Takes time
and can be uncomfortable identifying
deep rooted values and beliefs.

10. Coaching Philosophy – Task 1
• List three fundamental values that guide you in all aspects
of your life.
• Next to each value, note the name of one person who
influenced the development of that value. Why did this
person have such a significant impact on you?
• Write down three characteristics that you feel all great
coaches possess.
• List three words that describe your approach to coaching.

11. Coaching Philosophy – Task 2
• Note down three words you feel describe your
role as a coach.
• List three words that you would like your athletes
to use when describing your coaching.
• Write down three words that you think your
athletes would actually use to describe your
coaching.

12. Your Coaching Philosophy
• You now have a list consisting of several key
words which can begin to form part of your
coaching philosophy.

13. Your Coaching Philosophy
• Can you communicate your coaching
philosophy in a statement no longer
than 150 words?
• Ernest Hemingway bet $10 he could
write a complete story in just six words.
He won the bet.
• Can you outline your coaching
philosophy in just 6 words?
• Over the next few weeks, re-visit this
after each coaching session. Do your
behaviours match what you wrote? Is
your coaching philosophy manifested in
what you actually do?

14. A Critical Mindset is Key
• Do you knowingly or unknowingly
ignore information that contradicts
your existing values and beliefs?
• Do you consciously or
unconsciously seek out
information that compliments and
reinforces your existing values and
beliefs?
• Your coaching philosophy must
remain flexible and may change
over time.