My challenge to Develop and promote coaches issues in Israel

On my background I was Physical Education Teacher, and Basket Ball coach and B.B coache's facilitator, I'm Master Degree in Physical Education Athletic Administration.

For the last 15 years I'm working for the Ministry of Culture and Sport. Since 2011 I'm the Head of Coach Education Department, in the Sport Authority in the Ministry of Culture and Sport and my challenge is to lead the developing and promoting of coaches in Israel.

1. History of Coach Education in Israel.

2. Present situation.

3. Our intended changes in the sport’s law

4. Special programs for Develop and promotion coaches in Israel

1. History/ Background:

・ Until 1988 there was no Law of Sport in Israel. The Net Hollman School for coaches and instructors at the Wingate Institute was the only Coach Education body in Israel.

・ The Law of Sport was approved in 1988.

・ According to the law : “A person will not work as a sport coach or instructor unless he owns an authorizing certificate for the relevant sport ”. ・The law defined two levels of coaches and what sports are committed to certification and a witch certificate of degree.

・1999 - A high Court of Justice Decision determined that the State should publish criteria for recognition, and every institution that requests to educate coaches and instructors and will pass the criteria, will be recognized as such by the State.

・ Since 1999 – up today 55 additional institutions have been recognized as authorized Coach Education bodies.

・“Authorizing certificate”- a certificate authorizing a person to work as a Coach or Instructor, issued by: A school/body that get recognition from the Minister of Sport.

・In Israel differently from other countries ,the associations/ federations do not educate coaches, except for the Football Association, and Bicycle Association

2. The State’s role

✓The State examines the requests of the institutions and grants its recognition as a Coach Education institute for coaches and/or instructors in the relevant sport branch.

✓The State with the sports associations decides on the teaching program as well as the entrance conditions.

✓The institutions Teaching, testing & provide certificates.

✓Not even an outside auditor the quality of training and quality coaches who have been authorized

Out of the 56 institutions only 3-4 of them train coaches in a large number of sport disciplines

The problems that we found:

・Institutions working for financial reasons.

・There are no courses that are not profitable / economic - resulting in many sports, courses are not met.

・Low-level coaches

・No renewal certification, no ongoing learning – the sport is dynamic and coaches is left behind.

・The training programs that were not updated for more than 25 years.

・The coaches that running those courses didn’t get any education in how to teach? They know the "what" but not the "how".

・No one have any data about coaches (numbers, levels, sports, demography data etc.…)

・There is no professional guidance for coaches (especially for beginners coaches) , no coach developers

3. And what next?- Our intended changes in the sport’s law

・We learn what have done in other countries& international Associations/federations.

・ We learn the EU model for 4 levels – ICCE.

・We adapted the 4 levels model for each sport according to its properties and needs.

・We involve the all stakeholders along the process specially the federation. And….We have built to our Ministry a proposal for changes in the law that the main changes are:

✓ Having 4 levels for coaches adjusted to each sport.

✓License for coaching will be provided by the state greater involvement of federations/ associations.

✓ Renewal the license every four years - conditional participate in advance studies that determined by each federation/association for each level.

Note: The sports federations & association are deeply involved.

With those changes we:

- adapted to the level of the Coaches to the athlete’s level (building new training programs tailored to the needs).

- Ensure better quality training for our children while maintaining safety and health.

- Coaching will be recognized as a profession by the state by giving license

- Continuing learning for Coaches all the time.

- Have control on the level of the coaches getting licensees.

- Having data about coaches in Israel.

4. Special (additional) programs for Develop and promote coaches in Israel

Beside those programed changes we have additional programmes that develop and promote coaches together with our National Sports Council and lottery – “TOTO WINNER”

1. Program for building our national reserve elite coaches.

2. From athlete to coach course.

3. Multidisciplinary studies for national coaches (advanced study) .

4. Academic degree for Coaches (for the day after).

5. Studies and professional courses for coaches in various subjects (for the day after).

6. Knowledge Exchange Program (with advance countries in the same sport).

7. Building a system for having coach developers.

I'm very happy to take part In NSSU – Coach Developer Program, I expect to get the knowledge, and the tools which will help me to develop and implement the important role of developer's coaches.

I came as a representative of a country in which coach developers do not exist but I met in this program wonderful people exposed me to the world that was hidden. In the 1st week, (before and after) and along the way, I must say that I acquired many tools and knowledge regarding coach developers. As physical education student, 35 years ago, I got in the past, some of those tools for being a teacher (Teaching techniques, feedback, methodology, pedagogy, etc.). Of course, all this was forgotten since then and I had the pleasure to go back and restore those skills in sports training field. The Interaction with professional and wonderful people who came from different countries around the world to learn from the world's best experts in the development of coaches was great. As I said my main goal is to implement and integrate the topics and tools I'll get in CDA program into my plans to make big change on coach education in Israel it's one of my big challenges and I'll do it.