Master Jamie Dossantos is an internationally recognized coach, teaching from Young Choung Taekwondo in Toronto. She most recently received the Female Coach Award at both the World Championships and the Junior Pan Am Championships in Daytona, and now shares with us some coaching practices that have helped her athletes be successful:
Master Dossantos receives the Female Coach award at the 2007 Junior Pan Ams
The focus on relationship building is important to me as a coach. Because of my strong communication and leadership skills and my openness to listening, I am able to establish good relationships with our team members. When there is a channel of open discussion between coaches and athletes, it minimizes errors and maximizes results. Back in the days when coaches would give orders and athletes follow, but by listening to what the athletes think it helps us coaches do a much better job.
In the culture of sports, coaches/instructors are predominantly male; I think as a female coach I give a different twist to coaching and add a dynamic to the group. I value the opinion of others, from coaches to athletes, to parents and officials. In order for us to work efficiently and be productive in what we do, we need to be able to listen and when we do that we will learn. For us to grow, improve and develop ourselves, as an athlete, as a coach or as an individual, we need to be able to listen and learn.
I know I am heading the right direction, when I have the confidence of the athletes and there is a bonding of trust which makes us work well together as a team.
Over the past few years, I have been fortunate to participate in some great international tournaments with Team Canada. I am privileged to be recognized by my peers as one of the top female coach in the Taekwondo world. This continues to motivate me to further develop and grow as a Taekwondo coach.
Loading ...
