Interview with Dan Pfaff on the Role of a Coach during Competition

Ellie Spain is a UKA Qualified Jumps Coach, holds an MSc in Strength and Conditioning, is a UKSCA accredited Strength & Conditioning Coach, a NSCA certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, a BWLA Certified Olympic Weightlifting Instructor, a qualified teacher PGCE(LLS) and most recently, became a VTCT Certified Sports Massage Therapist.

You may remember Ellie’s Interview last June with Dan Pfaff on the topic of Success Under Pressure.

Follow Ellie on Twitter @ellievault

In this conversation with the Dan Pfaff, the World Athletics Center’s Education Director, Ellie discusses on his thoughts on the competition coaching process, and what thought processes had driven his decisions on those occasions.

She asked:

What does a good competition coach look like to you?
How important is it in your opinion for a coach to be able to access the warm up area, or to be the last person to speak to the athlete before call up?
So as an athlete develops do you think they should become less and less dependent on the coach to the point where the coach becomes pretty redundant in these situations?
In terms of interaction at championships do you see a difference in coach/athlete communication at differing levels of competition; such as between a National, European and World Championships?
For a coach that is going to a championship for the very first time with an athlete, what would be your advice to that coach in terms of best preparing the athlete and themselves to perform at that championship?
What are your thoughts on team coaching within a championship? Do you think it’s useful to have more than one coach present to help that athlete in the coaching area?
What do you think the role of a Team Coach within a championship should be compared to the personal coach?
What are your thoughts on the effects of pressure on a coach’s ability to think clearly and coherently during a competition, and the potential ramifications of this on coach-athlete interaction?
How should an inexperienced coach best prepare themselves for pressure situations or coaching at a major championships?
Have you ever dealt with a situation where you’ve had complete athlete meltdown – i.e. they’ve just been completely overcome by the pressure or the situation? If so, how have you dealt with that and got them back on track?