Coaching is a very popular occupation. Some persons are professional coaches while others do it for fun or just volunteer their time to help others. A Coach helps athletes and competitors to develop their knowledge and skills to play a specific sport like basketball, rugby, football or athletics. They assess an athlete’s performance and skill level to see what areas they need to work on or develop.
Coaches also prepare training programmes. They include aspects of nutrition and weight training as well, for the whole body development of the athlete. Many Coaches work in educational institutions like schools, colleges and universities. Some are professional Coaches and work for professional teams.
A Coach usually performs many of the following tasks:
• Developing training programs
• Maintaining records
• Attending competitions
• Giving feedback on performance
• Assisting in sports promotion/development
• Evaluating performance
• Doing administrative tasks

• Motivating
• Professionalism
• Being focused and amicable
• Time management
• People management
• Planning and prioritizing
• Nutrition
• Communication and listening
• Presentation
• Being enthusiastic and trustworthy

People who are interested in coaching sports need to study the technical aspects of a game and how to prepare athletes. To begin your studies in this career you may have a BTEC, GCSE, A levels or HNC/HND. With these qualifications you can go on to study for your Bachelors or Masters Degree equipping yourself with the knowledge and skills to coach professionally. Specializations may include:
•    Coaching
•    Sports Science
•    Sports Studies
•    Movement Studies
•    Physical Education
•    Sports Management
•    Physiology
•    Psychology
Some employers will require background or security checks, especially in the case of working with children. Also you may need a National Governing Bodies (NGB) qualification, this is a NVQ Level 1-4 in your sport of choice.