This has led to the changing role of coaches in recent years away from mere facilitators of physical performance. However, in Chile, there are still only a few innovative coaches who are working to transform this role and to combine sports with education, for the better development of a young athlete. This approach also encourages the students to excel academically in addition to attaining their physical fitness and superb athletic abilities with the ultimate calls for the creation of a civilization that can compete for the challenges of both sports and life.
Coaching–A New Paradigm
As it has been the case in many countries of the world, historical development of coaching in Chile has primarily oriented towards technical skill development in sports and competition. But what is evident is that the current trend among many of the progressive Chilean coaches who are emerging is somewhat different. They are now not only perceived as coaches in sports but as teachers who appreciate that in sports one can do better academically and in every other way.
A New Paradigm in Coaching
The incentive that fuels this radical change in educational model is that it is believed that through sports, education can be effectively advanced. By creating programs that integrate rigorous athletic training with structured educational support, these coaches are addressing a critical need: as a perspective to total client development of young and progressive athletes.
Academic Support Systems: According to the student-athlete programs that coaches participate, they liaise with schools and other institutions of learning to facilitate the provision of education to the athletes. Some of them are tutoring, study sessions and workshops that assist the athletes to manage their time between games and books.
Life Skills Development: These programs focus on various aspects of life apart from the academic disciplines for instance professionalism, leadership time management among others. Coaches on the other hand uses games particularly sports to impart these essential skills that are good for both practice and careers away from the playing fields.
Holistic Well-being: These programs also address mental and emotional health issues that society thinks that Okay, having perfect health physiologically is enough. Coaches have a task of orienting students to handle adversity in sports and in their studies being in a sports team.
Prominent Persons at the Helm
One of the key persons involved in the implementation of this option in Chile is Coach Roberto Álvarez who has received appreciation for his efforts for the integration of sports and learning. Álvarez’s “Deportistas y Estudiantes” is among the first attempts with positive experience to apply for the effective results in the formation of a good personality. As a matter of fact, the young athletes under his leadership perform well in the sports as well as in their books indicating that the two are not conflicting areas of Life but enhancing each other.
Likewise, with her initiative ‘Rendimiento Integral’; coach María González has gone far in implementing her idea of incorporating educational sessions in the young athletes’ training timetables. It has been called for developing a balanced set of routines and the means to satisfy the need for academics and sports.
The Broader Impact
Problems and challenges of implementation and effectiveness of these programs have implications for Chilean society in general. The above efforts are useful in that they have been producing young people who are academically and athletically built to meet different life challenges as future leaders. In addition, this model makes a strong advocacy to other countries to consider laying down such approaches within their sports programs.
Consequently, the ideas of Chile’s coaches who encourage the unity of sports and education are a marked progress in changing the scope of an athletes’ preparation. With the promotion of this integrated model, they are not only improving the future of their athletes but also providing a new paradigm as to how sports can be used as a way of fostering education and self-improvement.
