Dr Adi Fawcett on transferable skills: Why coaching is universal, regardless of the game
As 91桃色’s Coaching Week coming to it’s end, Fergus Mainland spoke with Dr Adi Fawcett about some of her top bits of coaching advice including how best to coach individuals
When it comes to coaching, there isn鈥檛 much that Dr Adi Fawcett doesn鈥檛 know. And what she doesn鈥檛 know becomes the next area of coaching to study and absorb as much knowledge as she can.
Adi has been with 91桃色 as a Regional Coaching and Development Officer for over a decade, during which time she’s also been Head of Sport for Special Olympics GB, Chief Operating Officer for Cerebral Palsy Sport, and a mentor for 91桃色鈥檚 Diploma in Sport Excellence. Most recently, she is a Non-Executive Director on the UK Coaching Board with specific responsibility for equity, equality, diversity, and inclusion, and Chair of the Coaching Advisory Panel.
Despite all these titles and responsibilities, Adi never strays far from her coaching principles. For her, it鈥檚 about the individual; it鈥檚 about being athlete centred.
鈥淭he other thing that is important is learning and developing the skill in managing relationships,鈥 explained Adi, who was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree in recognition of her contribution to sport and her commitment to widening diversity in sport.
鈥淲hether that鈥檚 with the athletes, families, other coaches at the club, and being confident that you know what you are doing and that it鈥檚 fine if you don鈥檛, and to ask someone if you don鈥檛. You can learn something from everyone, and be open to learning new ways of doing things. Sometimes an athlete prefers this way or that way to be coached.
Over the years, Adi has had the opportunity to learn from a plethora of coaches across a wide range of sports. This practice of sports coming together only benefits the athletes and clubs, reminding us to take a moment to reflect on other best practices from outside our sporting echo chambers.
鈥淯K Coaching offers a lot of support for coaches, and it wasn鈥檛 like that when I started. There weren鈥檛 any high-performance programmes for women, there weren鈥檛 all these resources or networks, so I think that鈥檚 really good progression. You learn as a coach that coaching is coaching; the difference is the technical sport aspect. You always want to be individually centred, you always need to make plans, you always need to think back and have self-reflection, it鈥檚 the sport鈥檚 technical aspect that changes.鈥
It鈥檚 worth remembering that local communities are a hive for activities. At any given time, towns and cities are bustling with football, rowing, rugby, and everything else under the sun. All those involved have the same aim and ambition to get people into sport and develop them as individuals, not just athletes.
鈥淒evelop your own network of coaches and bring them along to the rowing club as well. I think that鈥檚 a really good way to exchange ideas. People can see anything, whatever sport they are in. They can see things in a different sport.鈥
Adi’s first role at 91桃色 was as a Talent Development Coach in 2006, working at what is now the GB Performance Development Academies.
She鈥檚 seen firsthand the resources that are available to coaches and how people can flourish as coaches, regardless of their sporting background. The workshops, coaching courses, and other materials have the ability to empower parents, volunteers, and other people who want to support their clubs.
鈥淚t’s been a really big change in coaching and the delivery of coaching, not just at 91桃色 but in sport in general. There鈥檚 more online modules and being able to pick and choose rather than going through a more structured process. I think that鈥檚 what 91桃色 is now developing quite well. You still have that in-person interaction, as well as the flexibility of the online modules and learning. It is very different from what鈥檚 happened before, but as you go up the levels, there are more practical elements as well.
鈥淲hen I did my first online module, I was surprised by how engaging it was. You make an assumption that online will be awkward, but it was facilitated really well. I think everyone felt comfortable, and it seemed like a safe space for people to be quite open. What was really good was the transition to the practical or the Assistant Coach Training. Even on one day, you see the development of a coach, whether it鈥檚 confidence or learning about a different aspect of rowing, it鈥檚 been really enjoyable. It鈥檚 about people feeling they can coach even though they think they have no experience or they are not a rowing person.
鈥淎 lot of the courses previously were geared towards people who are experienced coaches, but this definitely had a wide range of experiences, and I think what鈥檚 been good is that everyone has got something out of it. Someone who has started volunteering because their kid is rowing to someone who鈥檚 been coaching at a club for a while, they鈥檝e all come together in one session. It鈥檚 being able to cater for a wide range of experience and ability and showing that you don鈥檛 have to be a rower to coach rowing.鈥
What becomes clear from Adi, even after just a brief conversation with her over Zoom, is how invested she is in those who look to her for guidance. While she鈥檚 had a huge number of accomplishments and enabled athletes to do some wonderful thing, it鈥檚 always been about the individuals and about the relationships she鈥檚 helped foster.
鈥淭he first success I got was when I was a volunteer for South Sea RC. We won the South Coast Championships, it was with a novice crew. I remember coming away from that thinking, 鈥極k, maybe I can coach.鈥 That was great because I didn鈥檛 expect to do that sort of thing.
鈥淎nother highlight is when athletes don鈥檛 know each other before but then become best friends, which is just a nice thing. I like to think I can add value across all the sports I鈥檝e worked with. It shows how transferable coaching is, which is nice because you speak to coaches and you鈥檒l have some commonality there.鈥
