what personal goals should i set myself?

Janet Coach, Australia

Hi Charlotte, I'm not sure about personal goals but IMHO the one most important goal for beginner coaches is developing a correct basic skill set in your players.  This could be a personal goal for you in finding out what are the correct basic skills you could teach, why they are necessary and how you could incorporate them into your coaching.  In short, the personal goal would be "to improve your own knowledge of basic netball skills". 

Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia

when it comes to personal goals, only you will know what areas you need/want to improve in.  but here are some areas to consider...

communicating for different age groups...ie young/teenage, adults all need to be communicated in a different way.  being about to describe a skill to cater for these differences is important.  also being able to discuss issues with players and their parents in a professional way is important.

self assessment...being able to recognise what works and what doesnt, and how you could improve your lessons.

creating lessons plans.  this is a skill in itself as its very easy to think that your plan will be able to be followed in a certain time frame, if the drills are appropriate for the ability, age, skill you are trying to coach.

game day strategies. do you play your best team at all times, play using the equal time on court rules, rotating positions, when to take a player off, position allocation and recogniting certain talents in positions even if the player doesnt know it or agree, game day warm up drills, pre game talks, post game talks, how to deal with rough teams, how to deal with your own team if they are playing rough, dealing with umpires, opposition coaches, what to do if there is an issue.

disciplining and encouragement of your players...how to deal with poor behaviour, lack of motivation, tardiness, and also how to encourage your players without going over the top.

injuries...when to let players play through an injury and when to take them off (no matter what they or their parents say).

stretching...warm and and cool down...increasing your knowledge and range of skills in this area.

as you can see there are heaps of areas that you can choose from.  dont try and takle more than a couple at a time or you may become overwhelmed.  pick a couple and set your goal and once you have achieved that, then move onto your next goal.  becoming a coach is a long and (should be) a rewarding and enjoyable process.  there will be times you get difficult players and parents, but thats part of the job...just dont take it too personally.  i think its great you are giving back to the sport that you obviously love.

 good luck and have fun

Netball CoachCoach

Thank you both! They are great advice and i will take on board what you both have said! much appreciated