Club Coaching Programs – A membership retention and growth strategy

The benefits of using coaching and mentoring are significant. Club coaching programs are both a member recruitment and a member retention strategy. It provides a means of connection, learning and belonging as well as pathways, if it is conducted in an efficient and productive manner. Pairing experienced coaches with up and coming sailors supports them in the environment and can give guidance on personal development for the future.

Coaching and mentoring encourages loyalty to the sailing community.  Having been provided with coaching services, individuals feel a greater sense of connection and belonging within the club, which means that it is highly likely they will remain members.

Benefits of Coaching for your club

There is a wide range of benefits of coaching for the club through the people involved:

Empowers individuals – Once individuals have received the personal benefits of coaching through a club they will feel confident in their sailing ability and in the services provided by the club.  This will  be the encouragement they may have needed to remain in that sport.

Increases volunteer and staff engagement – Coaches who are supported by the club will also gain satisfaction in the role and will be more willing to contribute and be loyal to the club.

Improves individual performance – Sailors and coaches gain confidence leading to an increase in skills and performance, which provides the club with a good professional status.

Improves the fun – Sailors who are more capable are able to enjoy the sport of sailing to a greater extent and can then experience other avenues of the sport.

Increases the likelihood of achieving goals – A good coach is professional and inspirational and, as a role model, will provide great motivation and enjoyment in the sport to sailors.  This in turn will check the boxes for clubs in regards to ensuring that participation and membership targets are achieved.

Helps identify both club and individual strengths – Enables strategies to be put in place for pathways for the individual and the club to grow.

Demonstrates commitment to personal development – Acknowledgment of coaching skills and the benefits gained from them, shows that the club is committed to maintaining good relationships and loyalty. 

Contribute more effectively to the team - Coaching and mentoring can improve the function of the team by allowing identification of the weaknesses and strengths of each individual. Capitalising on the resources at hand enables the whole team to continue working smoothly. Being a part of a team also builds a sense of belonging and can lead to retention of members. Clubs can achieve a good reputation for providing opportunities to individuals seeking a good community atmosphere.

Australian Sailing – Sailing Coach Course Overview

Australian Sailing’s philosophy is to create coaching programs that develop skills and competencies; and deliver best-practice within a nationally consistent framework. The Australian Sailing, ‘Sailing Coach Course’ is based on the learnings and success of the Australian Sailing Team over a number of years.

The course builds on the Instructor's knowledge and caters for those working with participants and athletes who have learnt the basics and want to develop their skills further so that they can enjoy competing at Club, State and National events.

The course contains both theory and on-water components and is conducted over 2.5 days (generally a Friday evening and a weekend). The course is delivered by Australian Sailing accredited Senior Coaches. Online learning is now also available for some of the course.

Sailing Coach Course cost is $450 and requires the following prerequisites before registering. These details need to be recorded on the individual’s mySailor profile.

• Safety Boat Operator certificate
• First-aid certificate (Apply first-aid HLTAID003 or above)
• Working with Children Check
• Must be 18 years-old
• Water confident.
• Comply with relevant State Maritime Licence requirements
• Instructor qualification or appropriate experience (teacher, coach, tutor, etc), with minimum expectation being the completion of the Australian Sailing Instructor General Principles online course.

Pre- Course
An online component known as the ‘Sailing Coach General Principles’ and takes six hours to complete.

Face-To-face Course
The face-to-face course is conducted over 2.5 days (generally a Friday evening and a weekend).

If participants are successful in their assessment and have all prerequisite documentation on their mySailor profile, they will be awarded the Sailing Coach qualification which will remain valid for 5 years.

To find Sailing Coach Courses near you CLICK HERE

Action item for clubs:

Australian Sailing encourages clubs to develop and implement a club coaching program. Successful programs at clubs around Australia have proven that they assist in the recruitment of new members and the retention of existing members. Coaching programs also help keep teenagers in the sport for longer and can be used to upskill all club members. Club Coaching programs can be implemented for yacht clubs just as they can for dinghy clubs.

If your club would like to know more or have any questions your Australian Sailing Club Services Team are here to help- CONTACT US