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Blog: 'Communicating effectively is a skill that coaches need to develop'

The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) website features a blog post every Friday through the year.

May's theme is communications. This week is also Deaf Awareness Week and Stuart Harrison, workshop co-author, lead tutor and volunteer with UK Deaf Sport, discusses how Effective Communication: Coaching Deaf People in Sport offers a unique, and valuable, training experience.

Stuart‘s blog:

Being able to communicate effectively is a skill that sports coaches need to develop in order to best deliver their work.

Books, articles and the internet all touch on this, but to my knowledge there is nothing out there that teaches effective communication to coaches in a practical way. Sports coach UK provides a workshop as part of its inclusion and diversity portfolio.

Coach educators often refer to the concept of non-verbal communication, but never in much detail because it was invented by people who live in a world where speaking and listening are the predominant elements of communication.

This is why, in my role as Vice Chair of UK Deaf Sport, two or three years ago I approached sports coach UK and the National Deaf Children’s Society with the idea to collaborate and develop the Effective Communication in Sport workshop. It immerses delegates into practical learning right from the start.

Coaching Deaf People in Sport video

The title - Effective Communication: Coaching Deaf People in Sport - is used because the unique aspect of this workshop is that delegates derive their understanding of communication from the perspective of deaf people in sport.

We aim, in the three hours, to enhance sports coaches’ communication skills to be used in their everyday coaching, and also prepare them to meet the needs of deaf people.

It is, after all, likely that at some point in their career, they will coach someone who has a disabling hearing loss*.

What makes this workshop fun, exciting, enjoyable and stand out from the crowd is that it is also delivered by coaches who are deaf themselves.

This was an important aim of mine when approaching sports coach UK with the idea of the workshop. We need to get more deaf and disabled people into the coaching workforce and also into positions where they are directly contributing to their continuing professional development.

I believe that this workshop is unique, as it‘s the only one that is part of a national coaching development framework that focuses primarily on non-verbal communication.

When you complete this workshop, you will:

  • Be aware of deafness and understand the barriers facing deaf people in sport.
  • Have developed your own communication skills and be able to use them effectively in any coaching session.
  • Be aware of and understand the pathways for deaf sport to encourage deaf participants to aim high.
  • Be able to develop an action plan to include deaf people in your coaching session.

Brian Ward, level 3 squash Coach at Fair Oak Squash Club in Hampshire, said:

“This workshop was a fantastic experience and has increased my confidence to coach deaf people. Understanding the technique around non-verbal communication has been invaluable and has also helped my everyday coaching sessions. Whatever sport you coach I’d recommend you attend this workshop.”

When giving official feedback, 96% of delegates rated this workshop 8 out of 10 or higher. 100% of delegates agreed that sports coach UK tutor performance was good or very good.

Although you can buy the workshop resource directly from the sports coach UK website, it cannot provide you with the practical elements that make this a unique experience and enable you to understand your own effective communication skills.

 * A Disabling hearing loss refers to hearing loss greater than 40dB in the better ear in adults (15 years or older) and greater than 30dB in the better ear in children (0 to 14 years). World Health Organisation, Mortality and Burden of Diseases and the prevention of Blindness and Deafness (2012)

To find your nearest Effective Communication workshop, log on to the sports coach UK website. To find out how to get involved in deaf sport and the DEAFinitely Inclusive programme contact Clive Breedon, UK Deaf Sport, participation@ukds.org.uk