The Australian Council of Professions define a 'Profession' as:
“A Profession is a disciplined group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by the public as possessing special knowledge and skills in a widely recognised body of learning derived from research, education and training at a high level, and who are prepared to apply this knowledge and exercise these skills in the interest of others. It is inherent in the definition of a Profession that a code of ethics governs the activities of each Profession. Such codes require behaviour and practice beyond the personal moral obligations of an individual. They define and demand high standards of behaviour in respect to the services provided to the public and in dealing with professional colleagues. Further, these codes are enforced by the Profession and are acknowledged and accepted by the community.”
Currently, sport and performance coaching is not a profession. In Australia, there is no uniform prolonged coach training or formal coaching qualifications for coaches across sports. Instead, most national sport organisations (NSO’s) or governing bodies have their own sport or performance coach certification programs. Unfortunately, most of these NSO’s and governing bodies only educate member coaches on a very limited scope of professional knowledge, particularly in the “ologies”, that is psychology, physiology, biomechanics and sport science and then certify them if they pass a written exam or take a weekend course. Even fewer of these NSO’s and governing bodies train coaches in an applied setting and require member coaches to demonstrate coaching competency. In order for coaches to do the best job possible to recruit and retain athletes, to foster athletes into developmental or elite level competitors, or simply to develop and/or retain clients, this current system needs to change.
WHY WE EXIST
We believe that in order for sport and performance coaches to make meaningful, impactful and positive changes both in the personal lives of the athletes they work with and in the competitive environment that coaches need to be trained in how to do this.
HOW WE ARE ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM
Our objective at the AASPC is to provide the best education and training for coaches possible. The best education and training possible means delivery of the most up-to-date content, flexible content delivery strategies, reception and implementation of feedback from coaches, an evaluation system for effective coaching and individualization of education and training based upon the needs of coaches, teams, clubs and organizations, which is what the AASPC strives to do.
WHAT DO WE DO AT AASPC
AASPC provides thorough sport and performance coaching education and training in regards to personal development(e.g., self-awareness, participant needs) and pedagogy(e.g., how to coach, communication, skill acquisition, performance analysis). By educating and training coaches on the various aspects mentioned above, coaches can truly become successful and effective in enhancing athlete competence, building and/or strengthening athlete confidence, fostering deep and meaningful inter-athlete and coach-athlete connections and developing character.
Mission
The mission of the AASPC is to educate and train sport and performance coaches on how to coach better.
Vision
To transform coaching in Australia into a profession, where sport and performance coaches across all sports and performance organisations in Australia are formally trained on how to coach and are held accountable to the same code of ethics and standards.
Core Values
To CREATE AWARENESS.
Awareness is the first step for personal, professional and community growth. We teach and promote both self-awareness within the coaches themselves and within the coaching and sport community at large.
To DO THE RIGHT THING
All people, including sport and performance coaches need to live by a set a moral principles from which we can all be held accountable for when we fall short or when we surpass normal expectations of what’s required. AASPC operates with integrity and educates and trains its coaches to do so as well.
To MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Making the difference in the life of a coach can have a huge knock-on effect. By the coach improving oneself through self- and professional development, that coach can then make a difference with the athletes she or he is working with.