Any sport, when taught, elevates the development of skill, and it’s no different for Ultimate Frisbee which has nuances that can be missed, skills that don’t get explored if you’re not coached and guided.
Ultimate Frisbee & Coaching – The Benefits
Coaching Ultimate Frisbee is for several reasons. A coach can provide guidance, instruction and support to players, helping them develop their skills, improve their understanding of the game and enhance their overall performance. Here are some key roles and responsibilities of a coach in Ultimate Frisbee:
1. Skill Development:
Ultimate Frisbee is a dynamic sport – you probably hear me say this quite often in this blog, but it’s true, which is where a coach steps in. A coach helps players improve their fundamental skills, such as throwing (there are various ways to throw a disc), catching, cutting, marking, offensive and defensive techniques.
By providing structured training sessions, drills and exercises, it helps a player to enhance their individual abilities and helps to raise the standards of skill of a team.
Relevant Read:
2. Strategy & Tactics:
Yes, playing Ultimate requires strategy and tactics – how to develop an offensive and a defensive system, set plays, positioning and formations of players and game plans to maximise the team’s effectiveness on the field. All this is laid out and taught by the coach. It’s the coach that comes with the right experience and broader, birds-eye perspective of the player and team. It’s the coach that helps the team work in harmony.
3. Game Analysis:
During a game, the coach not only helps in the present moment, but is also able to observe and analyse the game to help identify strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement. They provide feedback to players, helping them understand their performance, make adjustments and refine their techniques. A lot is learnt during real-time situations with actual opponents – that’s when the coach gets the opportunity to understand the players and the team even better.
4. Team Building & Communication:
I was speaking of harmony earlier and taking this point further, it’s the coach that helps a team come together – to help them foster team cohesion, create a positive team culture and to guide effective communication among players. A coach encourages teamwork, sportsmanship and mutual respect, promoting the values of the sport – promoting the most important aspect of Ultimate Frisbee – and that’s Spirit.
5. Physical Conditioning:
A coach’s job is a constant one – they design fitness programs, conditioning drills and workouts to improve players’ endurance, speed, agility and strength. They help players develop the physical attributes required for optimal performance in Ultimate Frisbee.
Relevant Read:
- Developing Physical Fitness in Children through Ultimate Frisbee
- Developing Health Awareness in Children Through Ultimate Frisbee
6. Mental Preparation:
Just as the physical is important, the mental is too and coaches provide mental coaching too, helping players develop focus, confidence, resilience and adaptability. They teach strategies for managing pressure, maintaining composure and making effective decisions during games with clarity.
Relevant Read:
- Developing Emotional Well-Being in Children Through Ultimate Frisbee
- Developing Positive Discipline & Goal Setting in Children Through Ultimate Frisbee
7. Rules and Fair Play:
Coaches educate players about the rules of Ultimate Frisbee because in order to be fair and adhere to the Spirit of the Game, you need to know the rules too – what is and isn’t allowed and why these rules are essential to maintain the sanctity of the sport.
8. One-On-One Player Development, Progression, Motivation & Support:
Coaches track individual player progress, identify areas of growth and provide personalised feedback and guidance to support player development. They may create development plans or set goals for players to work towards.
We believe it is essential for a coach to be a source of motivation and for there to be an encouraging environment amongst the team itself – for players to be in a team that is nurturing and this guidance starts from the coach. And from the feedback we’ve received from our coaches and players, these one-on-one sessions have proved to be beneficial in plugging gaps and developing confidence for the whole team.
Relevant Read:
9. Organisational and Administrative Tasks:
This is one thing most of us cannot avoid! Otherwise it does catch up on us. The same goes for coaches who are responsible for organising team practices, scheduling matches, coordinating tournaments or events and handling administrative tasks related to the team or program. These are aspects that players and parents should be aware of but yes, it’s not something they need to be involved in, unless required to.
Overall, we have to remember that a coach’s role is to guide, educate and empower players, creating an environment conducive to growth, development, and success in Ultimate Frisbee. Their expertise, experience and leadership contribute to the overall improvement of the team and the individual players.
Thankfully, we have such a coach and advisors on-board that allow us to do this.
If you would like to know more about who we are, then you can here: Who We Are Or if you would like to know about our coaching sessions, then you can here: Our Classes
