In today’s guest post coach Dave Doran shares his thoughts on the subject of a definition of coaching and invites you to share your thoughts.

What exactly is Coaching?

by Dave Doran

A few days ago I was asked to provide a definition for Coaching. My first response was to establish the context in which the coaching was to take place and having looked through the many available definitions it got me thinking exactly what is coaching?

Origins of Coaching.

The term “Coach” originated in the 15th Century, from a small Hungarian village called Kocs, and was the name given to a small carriage (kocsi szeker) used to convey people from one place to another. As the invention spread throughout Europe the name was adapted until it came to England where it was named a coach.

How then did a Hungarian horse-carriage word become adapted to the term coach that we associate today? Two theories have been offered, one suggesting metaphorical word use, the other bluntly descriptive of an action.

A coach was first a tutor who guided students through various fields of study or lessons. The coach carried the student through the course, as a coach and four might carry an 18th century English family to London. That is the commonly accepted theory.

The other theory is a British idea that wealthy squires had their servants read to them as they drove in coaches about the countryside on their business or on long trips into a nearby city. A private tutor might come along to assist their children or indeed read aloud to the children, who would thus be “coached” in their studies as they proceeded along the country roads.

Sports Influence in Coaching.

Within the 20th century the development of coaching centred around sport where the coach was a skilled trainer who helped in the development of athletes. Then in 1974 an extremely influential book was published “The Inner Game of Tennis” by Timothy Gallwey which revolutionised coaching and provided the basis for coaching as we know it today. That basis being that the most difficult opponent to overcome is the opponent within.

Coaching today.

Since Gallwey’s developments coaching has boomed and has now taken many forms and genres. A recent book “The Complete Handbook of Coaching” edited by Cox, Bachkirova and Clutterbuck lists 13 different theoretical approaches to coaching and a further 11 different genres and contexts of coaching.

This raises a number of questions such as what actually does the term coaching now mean. And does any terminology or definition accurately represent what takes place within a coaching relationship? Has the time now come to ditch the historic coaching terminology and find something more suited to today’s developmental environment?

What are your thoughts?

About the Author/Further Resources

Dave has been involved in the Coaching industry for over 25 years. After gaining a Masters Degree in Coaching, at Brunel University, he spent two years lecturing on ethical issues and risk management for coaches within sport.

Dave now runs his own Performance Coaching Company S4P Coaching Ltd. www.s4pcoaching.com and writes a regular blog about issues around Coaching and Performance at www.s4pblog.com

If you want to speak further contact Dave through the blog or website or at in**@s4*********.com