FITA

Coach’s
Manual

CODE of ETHICS
Module

 dertaking. This should include the responsibility toward
FITA Coaching Manual the archer parent and family, and colleagues of the ath-
Intermediate Level lete, their employer and the organisation under which
umbrella they are operating, i.e. club, county, country
and FITA.
Module
2. Role of the Coach
CODE of ETHICS To gain respect you have to give respect, and when
you give it make sure that it is genuine and sincere.
Contents Coaches play a vital role in the progressive development of
their archers. How coaches communicate with the archer
Preamble_ __________________________________________ 1 and the atmosphere they create often determines whether
Role of the Coach__________________________________ 2 the interactive experience is beneficial or detrimental.
Dignity______________________________________________ 3 Based on this, coaches should adopt a positive approach
Integrity in Relationships_________________________ 4 to coaching. This should be based on good common sense
Professional Competence_ ________________________ 5 and incorporate several basic principles to teach the cor-
Personal Standards________________________________ 6 rect execution of the shot from the beginning.
Confidentiality_____________________________________ 7 2.1 Give plenty of praise and encouragement. When
Coach Responsibility______________________________ 8 people are learning and refining newly adopted
skills, coaches should provide plenty of genuine
praise and encouraging statements that are related
1. Preamble to the skills and performance of the archer.
Coaching within the sport of archery can contribute with 2.2 Give praise sincerely. If coaches are not sincere with
the development of individuals in their chosen sport. It their praise and encouragement, they will lose their
is used as a process for developing archery and coaching credibility with the archers they are coaching.
skills which when used will enhance the archer’s ability, 2.3 Develop and produce realistic expectations. It is im-
consistency and enjoyment of shooting the bow. perative that coaches and their archers have realis-
Every coach should respect and protect each person’s tic expectations that are based on each individual’s
human and civil rights, and should not participate in any abilities.
unfair discriminatory practices or condone such activities. 2.4 Give praise for effort as much as outcome. For some
It is essential to establish and maintain a standard of archers, winning events may be an unlikely achieve-
ethical behaviour what ever level of coaching is being un- ment, but trying to succeed by giving maximum ef-
dertaken. The coach should work within an agreeable eth- fort is attainable by all those involved.
ical framework that is acceptable to them, the person they 2.5 Give praise for correct techniques and performance,
are coaching and the national guidelines of the country in not just outcome. Coaches should remember to en-
which they are coaching. The principles of responsibility courage archers to improve their skills, they should
detailed in this document provide the basis of core values also provide encouraging feedback to the archer
for good progressive coaching. when they have produced a good technique but are
This code of ethics for coaching is a framework within less than successful with the result. Winning at the
which to work; and lists a series of guidelines rather than expense of skill development will lead to failure at
a framework of rules. the more advanced levels of archery participation.
It is expected that archery coaches will encounter 2.6 Employ a ‘sandwich’ approach to correcting mis-
ethical standards in many areas; they must respect the takes. Such an approach focuses on providing a cor-
integrity and confidentiality of the athlete at all times rective instruction sandwiched between two posi-
and reject any forms of abuse what ever level or guise tive and encouraging statements. Also by making
this may take. the archer aware of the mistake, is often an opening
Coaches who adopt this code of conduct for coaches for correction.
should accept the responsibility of the task they are un-
 Code of Ethics 3

2.7 Coaches should adopt a positive and genuine ap- the archer and that they are in accordance with the
proach to coaching. age, ability and experience of the archer and will not
2.8 A coach should help archers set realistic but chal- cause any incapacitation.
lenging and attainable goals. 4.3 The coach should be responsible for the conduct
2.9 Coaches should ensure that training and practice are of their archers and must discourage any behaviour
enjoyable and always end on a positive note. that would bring them, the archer or sport into dis-
2.10 Coaches should not expect children or juniors to repute, whether this is in training, travel or competi-
perform as miniature adults but give consideration tion.
to their age, physical attributes and ability. 4.4 Coaches must treat all opponents with respect
2.11 Coaches should help archers to define success by whether it is in victory or defeat, and should encour-
achieving personal goals that have been set by mu- age their archers to act similarly. It is the coaches’
tual discussion and agreement. These goals should duty to prepare their archer to respond to success
be recorded so that they can be referred to through and defeat in a cordial and dignified manner.
the progression of improvement and time. 4.5 Coaches must be able to present any evidence of
documented qualifications on request and must not
3. Dignity refer to or display any item that falsely implies any
Safeguarding the dignity of the individual is a fundamen- sponsorship or accreditation qualifications.
tal requirement of being a coach.
There shall be no discrimination between participants 5. Professional Competence
on the basis of race, sex, ethnic origin, religion, philo- The coach should take the limits of their knowledge
sophical or political opinion, marital status or any areas and capacity into account; and should not assume
that would be offensive or cause an aggravation to any responsibility if they are not sufficiently prepared
person the coach is likely to come in contact with. for the task at hand.
3.1 No practice constituting any form of physical or 5.1 The coach should recognise and accept when it
mental injury to the participants will be tolerated. is necessary or appropriate to refer their archer to
All doping practices at all levels are strictly prohib- other coaches or sport specific specialists for further
ited. Any form of inducement to indulge in, or par- development. It is also their responsibility, where
take in, any drug abuse will be contradictory to the appropriate, to verify the competence of the per-
Code of Conduct for Coaches. son or organisation to which they are referring their
3.2 All forms of harassment or abuse against participants archer.
or spectators; be it physical, mental, professional or 5.2 Competence to coach should normally be verified
sexual, are prohibited. by documented qualifications, or documented evi-
dence of performance. Competence cannot be in-
4. Integrity in Relationships ferred solely from prior experience.
Coaches must not encourage archers to violate the rules 5.3 The coach must refrain from working in an environ-
laid down by the official organisation/federation govern- ment that is unsafe or jeopardises the safety, or well
ing that activity. They should actively condemn any such being, of their archers or other participants.
action and encourage archers to adhere to, and abide by 5.4 Coaches should actively seek ways of improving
the spirit of the rules. their personal and/or professional development;
4.1 Coaches should not compromise their archer’s in- they have a responsibility to themselves and their
tegrity by condoning any activity that would present archers to improve their own ability and effective-
an unfair advantage. The coach must encourage and ness.
actively pursue measures that progressively develops
performance improvement in a safe and considerate 6. Personal Standards
manor and one that which will not jeopardise the Personal appearance is a matter of individual preference
archers well being for future performances. and culture but a coach should project an image of clean-
4.2 It is the coaches’ responsibility to ensure training liness and efficiency; and not project an image that would
and programmes they follow are directly relevant to offend either onlookers or the archers being coached.
4 FITA Coaching Manual Intermediate Level

6.1 Coaches must be aware of, and project an image 8. Coach Responsibility
of high standards of coaching to their archer, their The basis of responsible coaching carries the expectation
archers parents and families, other coaches, specta- that activities carried out by coaches will be beneficial to
tors, officials and all other persons that may be in the the archers they are coaching, and to the sport in which
vicinity or able to observe any activity being under- they partake. The implementation of this coaching ac-
taken. tivity is to improve the archer’s performance and at the
6.2 Coaches should never smoke when they are con- same time minimising the risk of injury by ensuring their
ducting a coaching or training session. knowledge is current and all their training programmes
6.3 Coaches should not drink any alcohol just prior to are well prepared.
conducting a coaching session. It may effect their 8.1 The coach should recognise and acknowledge their
decisions or competence to coach and may com- limitations and work within these limitations. They
promise the safety of the archers or spectators of the should accept the responsibility to refer their archer
session. It may also be offensive to archers to smell to other coaches or sports specific experts who have
alcohol on the breath of the person they are being more advanced knowledge than them selves, and
coached by, and breathing out alcoholic fumes does work with these people to enhance their archer’s
not portray a very good image of a coach in charge well being and/or performance.
of an important training session. 8.2 The coach should strive to enhance their knowledge
and coaching skills through research and personal
7. Confidentiality learning projects, and to ensure their training pro-
When a coach has a good working relationship with an grammes enhance their archer’s well being and/or
archer it is inevitable that a great deal of confidential in- performance and does not harm or hinder them in
formation is interchanged and sometimes recorded. It any way.
is imperative that the coach and archer agree on which 8.3 The coach must be responsible for their archer or team
of this data is regarded as confidential, this confidential and themselves in the pursuit of professional compe-
information must not be divulged to any person or per- tence both in training and competition through well
sons without the express approval of the archer/parent balanced and appropriate training programmes.
or guardian. 8.4 The coach must ensure that all training exercises and
Coaches must not disclose information entrusted to training programmes are appropriate for the person
them in confidence. Any disclosure of information must they have been designed for, and take into considera-
not be for personal gain or benefit, nor be undertaken tion, age, health, ability and experience of that per-
maliciously to damage the reputation of any person or son.
organisation. 8.5 The coach must take into consideration the individ-
Some person, persons or organisations may have a uality and ability of each team member when con-
need/right to have knowledge of some of this confiden- structing training exercises or training programmes.
tial information. It may fall on the coach to decide wheth- 8.6 The coach must constantly monitor their archer’s
er the disclosure of such information is in the best interest physical and mental condition and take the nec-
of the archer or sporting organisation. Some examples are essary or appropriate action, and to take this into
listed below: consideration when overseeing training exercises or
• Performance information for team or competition constructing training programmes.
selection. 8.7 The coach must be aware of every day pressures the
• Disclosure of information to doctors, the athlete’s archer may have, such as; educational, occupational,
parents or family where the health or safety of the and family or financial, and adapt their actions, in-
athlete may be in jeopardy. structions and training programmes accordingly.
• Disclosure of information to protect children or vul- 8.8 The coach must consider the archer’s well being
nerable adults from abuse. and future development when making decisions on
• Disclosure of information for legal or disciplinary re- whether the archer can continue competing if suffer-
quirements. ing from a minor injury, fatigue or minor ailment. It is
imperative that the well being and future development
of the archer are put before current performance.