Become a coach

Become a coach at Special Olympics

Was there a coach, mentor, or teacher in your life who gave you courage, perseverance, and confidence? Someone who shaped not only your athletic performance but also your personality? You can be that important person for our athletes.

As a coach at Special Olympics, you not only teach technique and training – you promote values, team spirit, and character. You are a role model, mentor, and motivator – on and off the field.

Our coaches go one step further: They support people with intellectual disabilities in discovering their strengths, exceeding themselves, and gaining a little more self-confidence every day.

With your commitment, you bring athletic success and joy of life – and you get an enormous amount back yourself. Because you get to know athletes who inspire: courageous, determined, and full of energy.

Responsibilities

• Training, guidance, and support for athletes with cognitive disabilities
• Ensuring that athletes train regularly and are correctly registered for competitions
• Implementation of the values and sports philosophy of Special Olympics
• Adherence to the regulations in the respective sport and the Ethics Charter of Swiss Olympic

Requirements

• Expertise in dealing with people with cognitive disabilities
  (e.g., through work in the disability sector, as a caregiver, social pedagogue, disabled sports instructor, or through personal experience in family or friends)
• Sports expertise
  Ideally, you have experience in a sport. A formal coaching qualification is not strictly required.
• Commitment
  Regular training (ideally once a week) and participation in competitions (two to three times a year).

Training

For personal development, we recommend:

• Module Introduction
• Module Coach
• Optional: Module Sport (specific to the respective sport)

For optimal preparation for participation in competitions, coaches are advised to attend the “Introduction” and “Coach” training modules.