What is Positive Sports Coaching?
Positive Sports Coaching is an innovative evidenced based way of coaching teams and individuals built around the science of positive psychology. The program is built around the science of optimism, positive feedback and process praise and has the dual aims of: 1. Improving performance and 2. Promoting wellbeing.
Teams and Individuals coached using a positive psychology approach will perform better, exhibit greater resilience and optimism which will result in improved sporting performance under pressure as well as better mental wellbeing. In addition, by teaching the athletes to have an optimistic mindset they gain the tools to become more resilient when faced with setbacks. These skills assist with both their ability to cope with failure in sport but also in life, reducing the chance that they will suffer from depression and other mental illnesses.
Matthew Scholes has developed the PSC models to provide coaches and sporting organisations with the tools to implement a positive psychology approach. The PSC Models he has developed are based on what he calls for the Four Pillars of a Positive Sports Organisations (coaches, athletes, administration and supporters). Although the focus is on the coach, the effectiveness of the program is enhanced by involving all stakeholders.
The PSC model Scholes developed for the coaches to follow is called the Positive Sports Coaching Wheel©. This is a simple but extremely effective tool that helps the coaches learn the skills to develop and implement their PSC approach. The model is used by the coach as a reference to help them follow the PSC program as they coach. The focus is on learning to look for positives while dealing with negatives using an optimistic mindset. Coaches who have been trained in the program report that: “The PSC program has given me skills to feel confident in the way I coach and manage my team””, “The players are more energised and responsive”, “I like the feel of the positive approach”, “The positive approach got our team ready to cope with pressure games” “I really feel I am really educating the players” and “Focusing on the positives made me realise the opportunities for learning that I was missing”.
By focusing not only on the coaches but also on the Four Pillars of a Positive Sports Organisation (coaches, athletes, administration and supporters), Matthew has created a structure that embeds the Positive Sports Coaching approach throughout the whole organisation. This approach maximises the outcomes of the Positive Sports Coaching approach and ensures ownership throughout the organisation. The PSC model is suitable for schools, local clubs as well as elite sporting organisations.
The Positive Sports Coaching approach is backed by rigorous science whilst being simple to learn and easy to do. The approach not only will improve team performance it also helps protect the mental wellbeing of the athletes.
For further information on Positive Sports Coaching, please contact Matthew Scholes. Click here to download our PDF.
What is Positive Psychology?
Positive Psychology is a relatively new branch of psychology that conducts scientific inquiry into the factors that help individuals, communities and organisations thrive by building on their strengths and virtues (Peterson, 2008).
“Studying the positive can give us new knowledge about human flourishing, knowledge that would not be available to us if we simply studied the negative, no matter how comprehensively we did so” (Pawelski, p.9).
Positive Psychology is a fast growing field of science researched and taught at over 50 universities across the world including: Harvard University, Cambridge University, Princeton University and The University of Pennsylvania.
Positive Psychology is supported by prestigious funding bodies such as the National Science Foundation, USA National Research Schemes, Tempelton Foundation, Harvard Coaching unit. The first positive psychology researcher to win Noble Prize was Professor Daniel Kahneman in 2002. Positive Psychology tools and techniques have been successfully applied across sectors such as education, health, finance and the armed forces.
About Matthew
Matthew Scholes has over 15 years experience working in the sporting industry in the areas of athlete development, event management, sports marketing and training and education. Matthew is considered a leader in developing innovative experiential training models for athletes, volunteers and administrators in the sports sector. You can view Matthews full profile below.
(RMIT), Cert IV Fit (Swin.), Dip. VET. (NMIT)
Member of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA)
Life Member Victorian Commonwealth Games Association
Visiting Scholar La Trobe University’s Centre for Sport & Social Impact
Positive Sports Coaching
Improving sports performance and athlete wellbeing.