WRU Game Locker

Welcome to the WRU Performance Coaching section on the game locker within these tiles you will find information about

The Why – The strategy and the purpose for developing performance coaches

The Who – The groups of coaches who will receive support

The What – Ten pragmatic and practical ways in which we will support coaches’ development

The How – Explains the process by which we will support your development

In order to continually receive support and development you will need to update your current registration annually to become a WRU registered performance Coach, this is simple and easy to do and the details and guidance are in the registration tile.

The high performing coach programme is a formal coach education course delivered by our partners at Cardiff Met University.

WHAT IS PERFORMANCE COACHING?

Coaching anybody is complex because we are all all different  - there is no silver bullet to success. As the sea shanty goes “Mother nature doesn’t draw straight lines, we are a union of different kinds!”.

Performance coaching is even more complex as it is carried out in the pressure of intense competition and success is usually measured by the outcome and one specific outcome… winning.

Success for the game in Wales has many metrics including participation, governance, equity, diversity, inclusion, enjoyment and of course winning. The Performance coach focuses upon all these metrics of success and is player and team focused with the intention  of enabling others to achieve their best version on themselves under pressure in moments of competition when winning really matters

The finances associated with professional competitions are essential to every element of the game and winning at the professional and especially international level can never be underestimated as a metric of that success. Every nation wants to win and so does every coach and every player and every fan, even the media pundits and reporters.

When winning becomes the sole purpose of the coach there can be dire consequences which can seriously damage the people involved and the wider game itself. Ironically an overfocus upon winning above all other aspects usually lead to less winning, especially where pressure is involved.  

Performance understands this complex dynamic and  helps players and their teams to achieve their best performances by focusing upon a clear coaching, playing and cultural credo, developing self-awareness for themselves and others. They have a clear purpose, vision and a plan. 

In addition they are constantly developing their leadership and coaching skills, their knowledge of the game technically and tactically through curiosity, rapport building, trust and feedforward.

Performance coaching is about the future and what can be achieved by a group of people who are aligned, congruent, confident and trust each other.

Winning in a competitive environment when the differences between success and failure are so small is not always possible. Performance coaches understand this and focus upon the areas which they can create and control and seek mastery in every aspect of their craft.

Mastery of all these areas is the role of the performance coach and if successful leads to more wins more often.

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