NFE in sport

Dear Trainer, who are you?

Trainers play the key-role in NFE activities, as apart from facilitators of the process, they also represent an “authorative” figure in the process. In this Chapter we get a glimpse at their role and the needed skills.

As a starting point, The Oxford Dictionary defines training as “bringing to desired standard of performance or behavior by instruction and practice”.

What the desired standard is, and how it is achieved can clearly vary. The trainers are a crucial component of NFE, without whom there wouldn’t be any valuable outcome. The role of the trainer is very responsible and challenging. Sometimes it can be difficult and exhausting. But it is always dynamic and needs constant focus and concentration. Trainers are always assessed by the trainees, the community and the society, having a public role, working with people and fulfilling pedagogical/learning objectives. The most powerful tools that trainers possess in their work with others are personal example and inspiration, which they radiate and transfer to their trainees.

Training is a particular form of education or teaching that encompasses the transfer of knowledge and the performance of skill at a later date. In the process of training, the trainer has a variety of responsibilities. In addition to being skillful in communicating so that learners understand the meaning and intent of the experience, the trainer must be aware of the learners needs and sensitive to their issues. The trainer might be obliged to embody a great variety of roles: the presenter, the demonstrator, the guide, the administrator. Typically, the trainer creates specific objectives to be accomplished within a given time period and then manages the time given to ensure that by the end of the session (whether it be 15 minutes or 2 weeks) all objectives are met. The trainer manages the tasks and the processes and designs the session ahead of time to ensure that the outcome of the training is achieved.