Volunteer to Volunteer Coach
What makes a volunteer think of coaching? Volunteer coaches are the backbone of RDA. Without our 250 coaches and trainee coaches in Victoria the RDA programs would come to an abrupt halt. No Centre can operate without at least a Level One Coach present. There are very few paid coaches in RDA - over 98% of coaches voluntarily give up their time most weeks of the year to spend many hundreds of hours working with riders to develop their riding skills and equestrian goals.
Coaches begin training for many reasons. Perhaps they have professional equestrian qualifications that they wish to transfer into the RDA setting. They may be a rider or an ex rider. They may be parents of a rider eager to help give their child an experience that will stay with them for the rest of their life. They may be trying to relive their childhood riding memories. They may be a volunteer who is asked to undergo coach training because of a lack of coaches. They may have a disability themselves. Whatever the reason all coaches begin and continue training because they truly care about their role as coaches and their riders they teach.
Coaches play an important role not only in the sporting life but also in the everyday lives of the participants they coach. Coaches not only influence the development of sports specific skills but also the rider’s development as a person and their approaches to other aspects of their life. Coaching is often challenging but incredibly satisfying and rewarding.
Coaches are accredited with the Australian Sports Commission and with Riding for the Disabled Association of Australia. RDAA delivers the syllabus and trainees are required to buy the package and then are able to train in their local Centres with an experienced Coach Educator. Training begins at Orientation to Coaching (or OTC) level. Volunteers undertaking coach training have completed RDA volunteer training and have usually been volunteering at a Centre for at least six months. OTC gives them a broad overview of coach training and qualifies the trainee to assist a Level 1 coach in delivering the program.
To train as a Level 1 coach you must be able to ride or have ridden at a certain standard, teach set riding skills (such as trot diagonals and canter leads) teach for at least 40 hours as a provisional coach, attend at least two half day workshops, have a minimum level 2 first aid certificate, spend at least one day at another RDA Centre, and complete your Level 1 workbook and manual, all within two years of having your training application approved. A prospective trainee Level 2 coach must be able to ride at a higher level, teach an additional 40 hours, present two half day workshops as well as complete the workbook and manual. Coaches can be accredited in riding both dressage and jumping, vaulting (gymnastics on horseback) and carriage driving.
When trainees feel that they are ready they are assessed by a national assessor as to whether they have met coaching standards.
The characteristics of a respected coach include such attributes as:
Intelligence – sporting intelligence requires an open minded, creative and adaptable person who can appraise a situation quickly and calmly. When one thinks of a RDA session it can sometimes involve at least 5 riders, 5 horses and up to 15 volunteers. That is 25 brains the coach has to deal with. And quite often these brains are all very different agendas! Coaching intelligence requires research and knowledge, often requiring many hours of homework.
Drive – the coach is an achievement oriented person – a person who tries to make things happen rather than just waiting for them to happen. Drive is essential to motivating the rider.
Persistence – the coach should have the fortitude to persist in the face of adversity and frustration. The coach relays to the rider that failure to succeed in a task is actually a learning experience – mistakes are often good.
Patience – to realize that both coach and rider must work methodically and systematically towards improvement.
Enthusiasm, conscientiousness, confidence, emotional stability, decisiveness, character, organization, preparation, appropriateness asa role model, communication and teaching skills are also important.
Knowledge - What must one know about when coaching in the RDA setting? Level 1 Coaches are examined on a wide variety of topics such as the RDA organization, risk management and OH&S, medical conditions, the role of the coach, teaching riding skills, mounting and dismounting, horsemastership, selecting and training the RDA horse, volunteer management and the coach in action.
Level 2 coaches are additionally required to study sports psychology, effective leadership skills, teach higher riding skills such as pirouettes and lateral movements, study principles of training, theory of human development, anatomy and disability among other things!
Any course that combines Erikson’s Psycho – Social Theory with aids for collected trot, the principle of specificity, the differences between quadriplegia in cerebral palsy as opposed to spinal cord injury, summarizing the structures and function of the nervous system with discussions on athlete motivation and nutrition (both horse and human), training principles and assessments of horses, the implications of congenital hip dysplasia in riding, familiarity with current OH and S policies, lifting guidelines and use of hoists (throw in another leg yield for good measure) has got to be both exhausting and yet incredibly rewarding. I am sure you end up semi qualified for any number of university degrees along the way.
However, despite the depth of knowledge required, one of the most important qualities a coach must have is a sense of humour!
Coaches are also required to sign a Code of Ethics. This requires a coach to acknowledge and respect the rights, dignity and worth of every human being, ensure that the riders time with them is a positive experience, treat every rider as an individual, be fair, considerate and honest with riders, be professional and accept responsibility for their actions, make a commitment to providing quality service to riders, operate within the rules and spirit of the sport, refrain from any abuse or harassment towards those in their care, provide a safe environment for training and competition, show concern towards sick and injured riders and be a positive role model for their sport and their riders.
All this training and gaining of skills and knowledge is done at their own cost, in their own time because volunteer coaches truly believe in what they do. Volunteer coaches spend many hours organizing, observing, analyzing, adapting, communication and improving performance, both their athletes and their own. This brings me to my concluding thought:
“Volunteers are not paid because they are worthless, but rather because they are priceless”.
Riding Develops Abilities Victoria2011