We asked the first year of Sport-Levelup’s internationally accredited Sport Coach training about their experiences. Our students included coaches, trainers, elite athletes, and parents raising children who are athletes. You can get to know our graduates in our interview series, this time we asked Dr. Ildiko Gergátz, who supports those who come to him as a consultant, mentor, executive business and sports coach.
“As an economist, I spent 15+ years in a management environment of a large company, my academic background started in the research field of consumer behavior, and was then supplemented by legal training. Organizational development was useful for me from daily practice, while behavioral science was useful as a discipline in the interest of business results. I obtained my Corporate Internal and Executive Business Coach degrees at Corvinus, which I expanded with an Art coaching toolkit. The field of sports, the love of competition, the support of “competitors” and the personal development that can be experienced through sports are my creed.”
Why did you choose Sport-Levelup Sport Coach training?
Quality training was promised by the internationally accredited program, the lecturers, and the subject of the training.
You started studying to be a sports coach as a qualified business coach. How did your coach identity change (if it did) during the training?
The fulfillment of my identity as a coach was shaped by working with sports teams and managing pairs teams in several dimensions.
Tell us about a defining experience of your training!
My most memorable experience is related to the first practical session, where I managed to guide 20 joking teenagers to the realization of the miracle of honest conversation in 90 minutes. Having thus experienced the strength and life-giving energy inherent in the feedback that can be given and obtained from each other. All this in the with the professional application of the dynamism of the pair coaching toolkit, which is authentic for the participants.
What was the biggest challenge for you during the training, which you successfully solved?
I had experience in individual processes, teamwork is also comfortable for me. The biggest challenge was double team coaching. The pair itself, which requires the dynamic, coordinated and ideally attuned cooperation of two individuals, seemed like a serious challenge and a step out of the comfort zone. I paid due respect to the magnitude of the task, so the success of the implementation did not wait for me.
What did you become more of through the training?
The training provided opportunities for many positive connections, and really deep professional cooperation was possible both within the group and with the lecturers.
Sport-specific knowledge, the operation of sports teams, the position and role of individuals within the teams are what the practical examples of the group’s athletes made more plastic and brought into easy-to-process proximity.
How do you apply/will you apply what you learned here?
I work with elite athletes in individual processes, there is no question that I can apply this during my daily work. I can also immediately incorporate what I learned here in the topic of supporting performance management through sport for managers.
To whom would you recommend Sport-Levelup Sport coach training?
It is an exciting question, as there are many possible sub-segments of the entire target group of the training. What they have in common is the love and respect of sport and a deep understanding of the value of the personal development it can achieve.
Anything else you would like to say:
I loved the training, the team, the always energized atmosphere and the professional execution.
