Usually, we only see coaches in the public commenting on the success or failures of elite athletes and teams. We don’t often come to think of the millions of coaches that daily support and motivate both young beginners and top athletes, the vast majority of them voluntarily without compensation just for the love of their sport and work. Only in Finland with a population of just over 5 million people, we estimate that there are about 80,000 coaches, and almost 9 million in Europe. They play a tremendously important role both in the society and in the lives of individuals. Finnish coaches associations came up with the concept of a Coaches Day, the idea of which is to raise awareness of the valuable work coaches do, and to thank them.
Coaches Day launched in 2019
Officially, the Coaches Day has been celebrated since 2019. Finnish coaches associations, having promoted the idea over several years, kick-started the campaign in the autumn of 2019, when, during its EU presidency, Finland led the European Week of Sport. The date was set as 25 September, which coincides both with the European Week of Sport and the National Coaches Week in Canada, one of the inspirations for the idea.
Athletes, parents, sports organisations and others involved in sports were challenged to thank coaches through social media and to come up with creative ideas to show their gratitude. There were many enthusiast participants from the start. One of the first was the Sports Academy of Central Ostrobothnia in Finland that celebrated the day by offering open morning training sessions and free seminars to coaches of local sports clubs and parents of young people.
The seed is planted
The idea of a Coaches Day came about much earlier, however: ”I actually got the idea already in 1995”, says Kirsi Hämäläinen, then working at Pajulahti Olympic Training Centre in Finland. ”I heard a presentation by Gene Schembri about the Year of the Coach 1994 campaign in Australia, the idea of which was to raise awareness of the work coaches do. I kept bringing this idea up in Finland over the years, but the time was really right only a few decades later. I also brought up the idea at the board of the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE), but it was quite difficult to carry out an international campaign before the era of social media. The development of social media and its popularity was the key to make the Coaches Day possible.”
A campaign to thank coaches was already trialled in Finland in a small scale in the autumn of 2017.One of the themes of the meeting of the elite sports network of the Finnish Olympic Committee was appreciation of coaches, and the Thanks Coach campaign was launched there and then. The idea was to encourage participants to send postcards, produced together with the Finnish Coaches Association, to their coaches, past and current. The campaign was warmly received, and Finns actively promoted the idea at international events.
From seed to blossom and to wider world
Early on, the day established itself as a part of the European Week of Sport, and every year more and more countries joined in the campaign, to great extent, thanks to the active promotion and enthusiasm of Finns and ICCE.
”The reception of the Coaches Day has been very warm. I am proud that we have managed to establish this campaign to raise awareness of the great work coaches do as an annual event both in Finland and internationally”, Sari Tuunainen, CEO of the Finnish Coaches Association smiles.
The Finnish National Agency for Education, responsible for organisation of the European Week of Sport in Finland has also eagerly supported the campaign: ”We are very happy that the Coaches Day has become an established part of the European Week of Sport, and spread across Europe thanks to the Finnish Coaches Association and their partners”, Terhi Liintola from the National Agency for Education confirms and reminds that EU programmes provide funding to projects and mobility of coaches and sports personnel.
Take part in the Coaches Day
You can take part in the Coaches Day in many ways. The simplest, and often the most valuable way is to thank your coach face-to-face, but there are many other options, and athletes, parents and organisations have come up with many creative ways to show their appreciation: people have showed up behind the door of their coach presenting them with honorary certificates or shared their gratitude publicly in social media. You can support the campaign by sharing your thanks in social media with hashtags #thankscoach and #beactive.
Video messages have been a popular method. In this video, produced by the Finnish Coaches Association, athletes from different countries thank their coaches for the inspiration, support and encouragement they have received. The Football Association of Finland thanks all of its over 10,000 junior coaches with a touching short film.
Fact Box 1: How to take part?
Thank coaches on the Coaches Day on 25th September with the help of these tips from the Finnish Coaches Association: - Download the #thankscoach frame from the picture bank.
- Take a picture of your coach or find one you have taken earlier and add the frame on the picture. You can find instructions on how to add the frame on your picture from here.
- Publish the picture in social media using hashtags #thankscoach and #beactive and tagging @suomenvalmentajat (Finnish Coaches Association).
You can find marketing material for the Coaches Day here.
Fact Box 2: Background of the Coaches Day
The idea for the Coaches Day was proposed in Finland in 2019 when, during its EU presidency, it was responsible for the official opening of the European Week of Sport. The proposal was made by the Finnish Coaches Association, the Professional Coaches of Finland (SAVAL), the Finnish Olympic Committee and the International Council for Coaching Excellence ICCE. The Finnish National Agency for Education as the national coordination body for the European Week of Sport also promotes the concept.
Finnish Coaches Association, Professional Coaches of Finland SAVAL, Finnish Olympic Committee, International Council for Coaching Excellence ICCE, Finnish National Agency for Education
Timeline of the Coaches Day:
1995
The first Coach Education Summit is held in July in Leeds, Britain, where Kirsi Hämäläinen from Pajulahti Olympic Training Centre hears the presentation by Gene Schembri about the ”Year of the Coach 1994” campaign that was organised in Australia and the idea of which was to raise awareness of the role of coaches, and she starts dreaming of making this a reality in Finland, too.
1995-2017
Kirsi Hämäläinen together with other Finns inspired by the concept keep the idea alive in different contexts.
2017
9 Oct. The first "Thanks Coach" campaign is launched during the meeting of the elite sports network of the Finnish Olympic Committee, the theme of which is coaching and skills development.
2018
3-5 Oct. The idea of an International Coaches Day is approved in the board meeting of ICCE in Paris.
2019
Spring. The campaign is kick-started, led by the Finnish Coaches Association. The date is set as 25 September with the theme #thankscoach. It is decided to link the campaign with the #beactive activities of the European Week of Sport. The idea is promoted actively in the board of ICCE and in the European Commission.
May. Sari Tuunainen, Finnish Coaches Association, participates as the representative of ICCE in the Key Players’ Seminar in Sintra, Portugal, which was organised as part of the European Week of Sport, and promotes the idea there.
28 June. A marketing video When have you thanked your coach?, produced by the Finnish Coaches Association, is published on YouTube. It is made in English to enable international marketing of the day.
Autumn. Promotional material, particularly first #thankscoach videos, are produced to market the day in Finland.
25 Sep. The first official Coaches Day is organised in Finland. A few other European countries, such as Hungary, already join in. John Bales, the president of ICCE, visits Finland and contributes to promotion of the concept in the main event of the European Week of Sport, in Espoo, Finland.
25 Oct. Kirsi Hämäläinen, Finnish Olympic Committee, and Sari Tuunainen, Finnish Coaches Association, make a marketing video that is presented in Trento, Italy, in the meeting of the European Directorate responsible for sport.
31 Oct-2 Nov. Kirsi Hämäläinen, Finnish Olympic Committee, and Sari Tuunainen, Finnish Coaches Association, present the #thankscoach challenge to the approximately 450 participants of the ICCE Global Coaching Conference in Tokyo. Almost all raise their hand in confirmation of accepting the challenge, and the pair receives an enthusiastic response.
2020
25 Sep. The second Coaches Day is organised in an increasing number of countries. ICCE markets the day actively, raising international awareness of the concept. Finland produces and publishes more #thankscoach videos for promotion of the event.
2021
25 Sep. The third Coaches Day is organised in Finland. The theme of promotional material is ”facts about coaching”. Awareness about the day continues to grow, and now we can say that the campaign has become world-wide. The input of ICCE in marketing the day is again significant.
2022
25 Sep. The fourth Coaches Day is organised in Finland. The theme of promotional material is ”good coaching and ethics”. The campaign continues to grow both in Finland and internationally and many sports organisations really get involved in the event.
Data compiled by Maarit Ritvanen
