Academics
Center for Middle School Teaching & Learning
Teaching at Eaglebrook
Coach Skills & Responsibilities
Skill Set
- Belief in School Mission and Values
- Appreciation for and interest in middle school students
- Ability to model exemplary adult behavior and school values
- Good Communication Skills
- Good written and verbal communication skills with athletes, parents and other coaches
- Ability to communicate with athletes and officials verbally in sometimes stressful situations
- Ability to Plan and Organize
- Anticipate upcoming events
- Balance demands of practice and game preparation and other responsibilities
- Provide students with necessary structure to learn to organize themselves as student/athletes
- Knowledge of Adolescent Behavior
- Ability to create and maintain a safe athletic environment, both emotional and physical
- Model mature, caring, and responsible adult behavior
- Basic understanding of child development and psychology
- Willingness to learn more about adolescent behavior
- Knowledge of Sport
- Understand and communicate important skills and strategies of sport
- Knowledge of appropriate competitive level in sport for middle school athletes
- Willingness to learn more about areas in which assigned to coach
- Knowledge of Sound Coaching practice
- Understand range of ability for middle schools students in sports
- Basic understanding of how to develop practice and game plans
- Willingness to learn more about and employ safe and appropriate coaching practices
- Approachability
- Openness to helping athletes, parents and other coaches
- Ability to create clear boundaries in coach/athlete relationship
- Consistency
- Ability to follow policies and procedures consistently
- Cooperativeness
- Willingness to take direction and apply it
- Desire to work as part of a team and accept departmental decisions
Responsibilities
- Active support of the school's Mission
- Modeling of appropriate coaching conduct
- Advocate for athletes
- Individualize approach to each athlete
- Coach games
- Adequate appropriate playing time for each athlete
- Model and enforce good sportsmanship
- Ensure a safe competitive environment
- Communicate about upcoming contests
- Organize Practices
- Safe, both emotionally and physically
- Varied
- Age-appropriate
- Develop skills for different athletes
- Maintain appropriate practice discipline
- Maintain clear standards for behavior at practices
- Assign appropriate consequences when standards are not met
- Follow through with administrators and advisers about discipline issues
- Communicate with advisors and parents on athlete progress
- Emails and phone calls depending on situation
- Write thoughtful complete sports comments
- Participate in meetings about students athletes
- Read and apply information gained from memos and meetings
- About students
- About curriculum and routines
- Communicate information gained from your own experience to others
- Parents, administrators, and other faculty
- Support and advise other faculty with their coaching
- Help school develop sound age appropriate sports curriculum
- Keep abreast of new developments in sport and general athletic training for adolescents
- Anticipate events and workload, maintaining a personal calendar
- Properly arrange necessary coverage for absences
- Attend coaches’ and weekly Full Faculty meetings
- Participate in evaluation program
- Manage paperwork ( student memos, officials pay slips, etc.)
A coach’s immediate supervisors for matters related to coaching are the Director and Assistant Directors of Athletics.
271 Pine Nook Road | P. O. Box 7 | Deerfield, MA 01342 | 413-774-7411
