Inclusive sport coaches continually communicate with their participants and their parents who know and understand their child’s needs and preferences better than anyone. Inclusive sport really relies on a family-focused approach and the more formal and informal communication that coaches have with participants with a disability and their families, the better.
Club Reflections
Think About Your Sports Club and Consider...
Communicate
In your role as a coach, think about how you communicate with your participants with a disability.
How can your communication help your participants develop their sport skills and tactics?
How can your communication inspire confidence in your participants?
As a coach, how can you make sure communication channels are open with parents of participants with a disability?
Engage
When you think about your current volunteers, how can you engage them in your club’s commitment to inclusive sport?
Partner
What groups or organizations in your community can you partner with to recruit new inclusive sport volunteers?
Be a strong and effective communicator with these guiding tips:
Be Respectful
Speak to your participants the way you would want to be spoken to. Use appropriate eye contact, and respect personal space. Give participants time to respond fully and use positive verbal and body language.
Use words that participants can understand. Check in with them to make sure you are understood.
Be Clear
Be Concrete
Use words that are specific to something physical and/or real. Some participants may have a cognitive delay in processing information (especially words) and will respond better to concepts that are concrete. For example, when teaching the 3-second lane in basketball, a coach can use the physical words of “hot” and “cold”. “Hot” refers to the lane on the offence and the athlete will burn up if he/she stops in the lane and not move through it. “Cold” refers to the lane at the defensive end of the court and that lane is cool and the athlete’s friend.
Less is more when describing skills or techniques to participants with intellectual and/or developmental disability. Use fewer words rather than long and detailed descriptions. For example, use a phrase like “reach for the sky” rather than long sentences or multi-part instructions.
Be Concise
Be Consistent
Use the same cue words for the same actions and repeat these cues often. Use A Variety of Cues: Mix up your cues by using verbal cues (simple, short phrases using clear terms and images), gesture cues (simple physical demonstrations highlighting the skill or tactic, often paired with simple verbal cues), and touch cues (with permission, assisting the participant to execute the skill with the help of a physical touch or tap)
Use lots of visuals such as charts, checklists, illustrations and videos. These all make communication easier.
Be Visual
Ask Questions
Rather than always giving directions or commands, ask participants questions to engage them and encourage them to think for themselves.
Give feedback right away and be specific in your comments. For example, telling your participant that “You kept your arms bent while running” is more effective than “Your arms were good”.
Give Immediate Feedback
Be Positive
Everyone likes positive reinforcement. There are more praise-worthy things happening among your players than negative. Praise your participants often.