An email recently brought up an interesting debate. Let's begin by showing the email (For legal reasons the sender cannot be named and some details have been covered).
Interesting from the email above is the fact the experience of the coach had been acknowledged but in spite of this not holding a Uefa A license meant he/she wasn't even considered for the interview stage. So are badges really a true reflection of a coaches capability to work within certain roles?. Why is the badge almost seen as a rank/standard of coaching now days?.
When somebody asks if you are coaching now days often it's followed by the "what badge have you got" question as if it was some kind of way to assess how good you are. Understandably courses to obtain badges do have some outstanding learning opportunities and knowledge to be gained within them, but these courses last just a few months of a year or in some cases maybe a year or two at most. Does a coach for example who has coached one team for 6 years and obtained all his Uefa Badges possess more knowledge than say a coach who is coaching week in week out for 30 years but may only possess a C license?. You would imagine the coach who is coaching week in week out for 30 years in most cases would be the coach with more knowledge yet if both those coaches went for a job within 90% of profesional academies the lesser experienced coach would get it based solely on his badge.
Coaching badges introduce knowledge and information for adaptation but where is the coaches ability to get along with people, his or her motivational skills, his or her commitment, desire, organisation and so on......where is any of these things represented within a coaching badge?.
We will be producing robot coaches from books reliant on information they are given and shown unless we begin to appreciate and encourage innovation and begin to show appreciation for experience. The qualities of a coach that really truly matter most can't be taught on coaching courses, the ability to motivate as one example of something either within you or gained from experience......no books or courses can embed that in you.
Are coaching badges really a true reflection of a coaches level?
