Special Olympics Maryland Mentoring Program

Overview

Behind every successful person there is one elementary truth: somewhere, somehow, someone cared about that individual’s growth and development. That person was his/her mentor. The Comprehensive Mentoring Program is designed for the advanced coach who seeks excellence in coaching.

Benefits for the Mentored Coach:

• Exposure to a new way of thinking
• Gaining an accurate perception of the coaching environment
• Increase of self confidence to take on higher level tasks and responsibilities
• Better understanding of the coaching culture and SO sports.
• Better ability to deal with setbacks
• Better equipped to continue professional development

A mentor should be:

• Supportive and patient
• Respected
• People-oriented
• Good motivator
• Effective and positive teacher
• Self-confident

Building Mentor-Coach Relationships (Getting Started in a Mentoring Partnership)

What do you do once you have connected with a mentoring partner?

• The first meeting, whether it’s face to face, on the phone, or by e-mail, should
  be a time of getting to know each other, building rapport, sharing your career histories, and setting up guidelines using this guide as well as other mentoring resources. 

• Talk about any expectations and goals you may have, especially the level of confidentiality you will have.

• Discuss how often and for how long you will meet. It is suggested that in the
  initial stages partners meet once a week for an hour. It may need to be more
  often when working on a specific goal.

• Decide how you will communicate. If you will be meeting in person, decide
  on the location – preferably a place where you can carry on extended conversations easily without interruption.

• Decide how long you expect your formal partnership to last.  It can take a
  while to establish the trust where both feel open to sharing honest thoughts
  and ideas. Informal mentorships can last as long as each party is willing to participate.

• Set up checkpoint dates and/or halfway through a season, when you will determine if the mentorship is working for both of you, if the goals are being reached, or if perhaps a different partnership might be more beneficial at that point.

Five Essentials to Successful Mentoring Connections

• Respect:  This is established when the coach recognizes the knowledge, skills,
  and abilities of the mentor and when the mentor appreciates the success
  the coach has reached to date and the coach’s desire to develop to his/her
  full potential.

• Trust:  Mentors and coach should build trust through communication, and availability to each other, reliability, and loyalty.

• Partnership Building:  The mentor and coach are professional partners.
  Barriers that partnerships face may include miscommunication, an uncertainty
  of each other’s expectations, and perceptions of other people.  In order to overcome these barriers, they should work together to maintain communication, address and fix obvious problems as they occur, examine how decisions might affect goals, and have frequent discussions on progress.

• Realistic Expectations and Self Perception:  A mentor encourages the coach
  to have realistic expectations of the coach’s capabilities, the amount of time
  and energy the mentor can commit to the relationship, and what the coach
  must do to earn support for his/her career development. The mentor gives
  honest feedback when discussing the coach’s traits, abilities, talents, beliefs,
  and roles.

• Time:  Set aside the time to meet, even by e-mail or telephone. Don’t change times unless absolutely necessary. Control interruptions. Frequently “check in” with each other via informal telephone calls.

Special Olympics Comprehensive Mentoring Course

Sport Mentoring and Assistance

(Field Experience or Internship)

Course Description

In the Special Olympics Comprehensive Mentoring Course, a student is partnered with a mentoring coach (head mentor) who has been coaching for at least four years. A university or interscholastic coach outside Special Olympics could be a mentor or involved in the mentoring process. One or more mentors may be involved during the season.

Objectives and Competencies

After completion of this module students will be able to:

§         Apply Special Olympics mission and philosophy

§         Apply Special Olympics and sport-specific rules

§         Develop relationships and resources that Special Olympics coaches and athletes can access after the mentoring program

§         Observe, participate in and design practice organization, skills progressions, drills and tactics, positive athlete-coach interaction and effective
competition strategies from an experienced mentor

§         Improve and demonstrate effective coaching techniques and
communication skills

§         Demonstrate effective leadership skills; provide challenging, safe and supportive environments for coaches and athletes

Course Assessment

§         Achieve the standards and competencies identified above, or at the desired module of the coach education system, or in continuing the coach’s education.

§         Accumulate a minimum of six participation hours with mentors.

§         Accumulate a minimum of 10 practicum hours in working with
Special Olympics athletes.

§         Develop and submit three practice plans that include the essential and necessary components.

Class Activities/Recording Experiences

The mentor will identify the date, location, time spent and authorization of the following experiences on the “Comprehensive Mentoring Program Log”:

§         Meetings with the head coach (mentor) [minimum of three]

§         Meetings with head coach and coaching staff (staff briefings, practice planning, scheduling competition, assignments, video, etc.) [minimum of  two]

§         Observing training sessions in or outside Special Olympics [minimum of two]

§         Attending conditioning or weight-training workouts

§         Assisting mentor and staff with training sessions (charting, timing,
coaching, etc.) [minimum of three]

§         Attending competitions [minimum of two]

§         Developing effective practice plans [minimum of three]

§         Any other appropriate activity.

Suggested Materials: Mentoring Log