Module 3: Putting It Into Practice

What’s in this module:

• Being a good coach: mindset, encouragement, modelling behaviour
• Managing groups and behaviour in different settings
• Adapting for come-and-try days, disability-specific programs, and after-school/holiday programs
• Inclusive coaching: supporting participants of diverse abilities, ages, and backgrounds
• Running your first session: before, during, and after
• Next steps after accreditation: ADG membership, clubs, grants, Sporting Schools
• Final assessment quiz (20 questions, 80% to pass)
• Accreditation application

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, you will be able to:

1. Describe the qualities and mindset of an effective community coach
2. Apply behaviour management and group engagement strategies appropriate to different coaching contexts
3. Plan and adapt a disc golf session for at least two different delivery contexts (e.g. come-and-try, disability program, after-school/holiday program)
4. Apply inclusive coaching principles to support participants of diverse abilities, ages, and backgrounds
5. Plan and deliver a first coaching session with confidence
6. Identify the next steps available to you as an accredited coach

Hit Next to start with what makes a good coach.

Being a Good Coach

Here’s something worth knowing early: the best community disc golf coaches in Australia aren’t necessarily the ones throwing the furthest. They’re the ones whose participants come back next week.

That might sound obvious, but it’s easy to overcomplicate things when you’re standing in front of a group for the first time. So here’s what actually matters.

• Put fun ahead of everything else. Particularly with beginners, come-and-try participants, and young people, enjoyment is the whole game. If people have a good time, they’ll want to keep playing. If they feel like they’re in a clinic being assessed on their technique, they won’t. Let people throw. Celebrate the good shots. Laugh off the shanks. Save the detailed coaching for those who ask for it.
• Show, don’t tell. A five-minute explanation of the backhand drive will lose most beginners before they’ve touched a disc. Show the grip. Show the motion. Let them have a go. Then offer individual tips as they practise. A quick “try keeping your elbow up” mid-throw is worth more than any lecture.
• Be specific when you give feedback. “Good job” is fine but doesn’t teach anyone anything. “That was a great follow-through, you pointed right at the basket” tells them exactly what worked so they can do it again. Specific feedback builds confidence faster than general encouragement, and it shows you’re actually paying attention.
• Encourage the effort, not just the result. Not every throw lands where it’s supposed to. That’s disc golf. When someone’s struggling, start with what they’re doing right before you correct anything. “Your grip looks great, try releasing a bit earlier and see what happens” goes a lot further than “you’re releasing too late.”

Being a Good Coach (continued)

• Meet people where they are. Your group will include people with different abilities, fitness levels, confidence, and experience. Some will pick up throwing immediately. Others need more time. That’s all fine. Avoid comparing participants to each other. Help each person measure their own progress. “That one went ten metres further than your last throw” is more meaningful than any leaderboard.
• Model the behaviour you want to see. Your participants will mirror your attitude. If you show patience when things go wrong, they will too. If you pick up litter, wait for paths to clear, follow the rules, and treat other park users with respect, they’ll learn that this is part of the sport.
• Include everyone. If someone’s hanging back or looking unsure, bring them in. Pair them with a buddy. Give them a shorter throwing distance. Ask them to help you demonstrate something. The goal is participation, not perfection. Nobody should be watching from the sidelines unless they’ve chosen to.
• Keep your group safe and aware. Always know where your participants are. Use clear signals for when it’s safe to throw and when to collect discs. Position yourself where you can see the whole group. Remind participants to watch each other’s throws to build awareness and learn.

Managing Groups and Behaviour

Good coaching isn’t just about throwing technique. A big part of the job, especially with younger participants or larger groups, is managing behaviour and keeping people engaged. This is a skill in itself, and it’s worth thinking about before your first session.

General principles

• Set expectations early. At the start of every session, cover the safety rules, the boundaries, what you’re doing today, and what good behaviour looks like. Keep it brief and positive. “We throw when I say clear, we collect when I blow the whistle, and we look after each other” covers most of it.
• Use positive reinforcement over correction. Catch people doing the right thing. “Great job waiting until the area was clear before you threw” reinforces the behaviour you want far more effectively than telling someone off after the fact.
• Keep instructions short. Demonstrate, don’t lecture. Disc golf is a doing sport. If you’re talking for more than two minutes at a stretch, you’re losing people.
• Build in choice. “Pick your target,” “choose your disc,” “decide which station to start at.” Giving participants some ownership over their experience increases engagement and reduces pushback.

In school settings

• Work with the classroom teacher. They know the students and should remain the primary behaviour manager. Ask about the school’s behaviour framework before your session and follow it.
• Manage transitions. Moving between holes or stations is where behaviour issues typically arise. Have a clear system: whistle, regroup, explain, move. Don’t let the group drift.
• Time management matters. Underestimating setup time and overestimating how long activities take is the most common mistake for new coaches. Have a backup plan if an activity finishes early, and be ready to cut one short if you’re running behind.

In community and come-and-try settings

• Mixed-age, mixed-ability groups need flexible activities. Avoid activities where people stand around waiting for a turn.
• Pair beginners with more experienced participants where possible.
• Keep the vibe fun and low-pressure. Scoring and competition can come later.

When someone isn’t engaging or is being disruptive

• Go to them. Don’t call them out in front of the group.
• Ask what’s going on. Sometimes disengagement is about confidence, not defiance.
• Offer an alternative: a different role, a different station, a partner activity.
• If behaviour is unsafe (throwing at people, refusing to follow safety rules), address it directly, calmly, and immediately. Safety is not negotiable.
• In a school setting, defer to the classroom teacher for serious behaviour issues. That’s their role.

Adapting: Come-and-Try Days

A come-and-try is usually a one-off session of one to three hours. The kind of thing you might run at a local park, a community event, a school fete, or alongside a club league day.

Keep it simple. Pick two or three activities and run them well rather than trying to cram in the whole lesson plan. A putting activity like Gyronaughts & Crosses or Ring of Fire (if you’ve got a basket), a short driving activity like CTP, and a few holes of actual play if possible. That’s a solid session.

Don’t spend too long on technique instruction. Brief demo of the fan grip, a basic putt or throw, then let people play. Fun first, technique second. Have helpers stationed at each activity. Experienced club members are ideal for this. And make sure you’ve got more discs than participants. Nobody wants to stand around waiting for a turn. If you’re at a park with a permanent course, set up the activities near the first few holes and let people play a few holes to finish.

Adapting: Disability-Specific Programs

Disc golf is genuinely well-suited to adaptive and disability-specific programs. It’s non-contact, self-paced, played outdoors, and you can modify it extensively without losing what makes it disc golf.

Practical adaptations

• Participants can throw from a seated position, whether in a wheelchair or a chair.
• Distances can be shortened as much as needed. Putting from two or three metres is a perfectly legitimate challenge and good fun.
• Lighter discs under 150 grams, or even soft-lid frisbees, work for participants with limited grip strength.
• Targets can be widened or lowered. A hoop on the ground is just as valid as a basket.
• Verbal cues and physical demonstration may need to replace written instructions, depending on individual needs.
• The buddy or best-shot format, where participants pair up and play from the better lie, works well for mixed-ability groups.

Focus on participation and enjoyment. The self-paced nature of disc golf means every participant can progress at their own speed without holding anyone up.

One thing that matters here: if you’re delivering a disability-specific program, talk to participants’ support workers or carers before the session. Ask what adaptations would help. Don’t assume.

Inclusive Coaching

Inclusion isn’t a separate topic you bolt on to your coaching. It’s a lens you apply to everything: how you set up your session, how you communicate, how you design activities, and how you interact with participants. If you design a session that works for the person with the highest support needs in your group, it almost always works better for everyone. This is sometimes called Universal Design, and it’s a well-established principle in education and disability services.

Physical adaptations

• Offer multiple throwing distances for every activity. Closer lines for those who need them, further lines for those who want more challenge. This benefits everyone, not just participants with disability.
• Have a range of disc weights available. Lighter discs (under 150g) suit participants with less grip strength or upper body mobility.
• Consider ramps or guide rails for participants who cannot throw independently. These can be simple DIY setups.

Communication and cognitive considerations

• Use one-step instructions. “Pick up a disc” then “stand behind the cone” is easier to follow than “grab a disc and line up behind the cone on the left.”
• Demonstrate everything. Visual instruction is more accessible than verbal instruction for many participants.
• Use consistent routines. Many participants, particularly those with autism or intellectual disability, benefit from predictable session structures. Same warm-up, same format, same wrap-up.
• Consider visual aids: picture cards showing the throwing steps, a visual schedule of the session, high-contrast cones and targets.

Sensory considerations

• Open environments can be overwhelming for some participants. Wind, sun, background noise, and unfamiliar spaces can all be factors.
• Provide quiet options. If someone needs a break from the group, let them step aside without making it a big deal.
• Check in regularly. A quick “how are you going?” goes a long way.
• Use high-contrast discs and targets where possible. Bright colours against green grass are easier to track for participants with low vision.

Cultural considerations

• Be aware that some participants may have cultural practices around physical activity, gender, and group interaction that differ from your own.
• Ask, don’t assume. If you’re unsure about how to make someone comfortable, ask them or their support person.

Adapting: After-School & Holiday Programs

These programs typically run one to two hours per session across several days or weeks, which gives you room to build skills progressively. The 5-Lesson Plan fits well here, either as-is or pared down.

For a holiday program, you might deliver all five lessons across a single week, one per day.

For an after-school program, spread them across five weeks or condense into three sessions: combine Lessons 1 and 2, combine Lessons 3 and 4, and run Lesson 5 as a standalone round.

Mixed age groups are common in these settings. Pair older or more experienced participants with younger ones using the buddy/best-shot format. Set up multiple difficulty levels: closer throwing lines for less experienced participants, further lines for those who want more of a challenge.

Running Your First Session

Before you start

• Walk your venue beforehand. Check for hazards like uneven ground, sprinkler heads, nearby roads, broken glass, low branches. If you’re in a public park, note where foot traffic flows so you can set up away from busy paths.
• Bring more equipment than you think you need. Extra discs, extra cones, a spare hoop. Something always goes missing, breaks, or ends up on a roof. Having backups means you don’t lose momentum.
• Write a simple plan. Even a few dot points on your phone: what you’re starting with, what you’re moving to, roughly when. You don’t need to follow it rigidly, but having a structure means you won’t freeze up at the start.
• If you’re working with a specific group, talk to the organiser beforehand. Group size, age range, any specific needs, where the toilets and water are. Basic stuff, but it makes a difference.

During the session

• Start with something active and fun. The warm-up games from the 5-Lesson Plan (Heads or Tails, Rob the Nest, OB Island Tag) are built for this. Get people moving and touching a disc within the first five minutes.
• Keep technique demos short. Grip, motion, throw. Refine individually as people practise.
• Move between activities before the energy drops. If a game’s dragging, wrap it up and move on. If something’s working brilliantly, let it run. Read the group, not the plan.
• Use a whistle or a clear verbal call for safety. Establish the rule early: when you hear the whistle, stop throwing and wait.
• Circulate. Don’t get drawn into a five-minute one-on-one coaching conversation while everyone else is unsupervised. Give quick tips, keep moving.
• If someone isn’t engaging, go to them. Gentle encouragement or pairing them with a friendly partner usually does the job.

After the session

• Collect your gear. Count your discs. They disappear into long grass with remarkable efficiency.
• If it’s an ongoing program, jot down a few notes while it’s fresh. What worked, what didn’t, who might need extra support next time.
• Thank your participants. If it’s a come-and-try day, point people to where they can play locally and meet other disc golfers.

Next Steps After Accreditation

• Join ADG. If you’re not already a member of Australian Disc Golf, consider joining. Membership connects you to the national disc golf community, gives you access to events, and supports the growth of the sport. Visit australiandiscgolf.com/join.
• Connect with your local club. ADG has affiliated clubs in every state and territory. Your local club is your best resource for borrowing equipment, finding experienced players to help with sessions, and building a network. Find yours here.
• Find your nearest course. Check the ADG course directory or download UDisc.
• Explore the ADG Grants Program. If you’re looking to install a course, purchase equipment for a program, or run an event, ADG offers grants of up to $1,000. Details here.
• Look into Sporting Schools. AFDA is already a Sporting Schools partner for Ultimate. As disc golf grows within the AFDA ecosystem, there may be opportunities to deliver disc golf through Sporting Schools as well. Contact your school’s Sporting Schools coordinator and your state AFDA representative.
• Keep learning. Watch disc golf technique videos on YouTube. Follow professional disc golf coverage to build your understanding of the sport. Play with experienced players at your local club. The more you play and watch, the better your coaching will become.
• Share what you’re doing. If you run a session, take a photo (with appropriate permissions) and share it with ADG or your local club. Seeing disc golf happening in new settings inspires others to do the same.

Part A: Final Assessment Quiz

Take the Final Assessment →

After passing, you’ll receive an email with a link to submit your accreditation application.

Part B: Accreditation Application

After passing the final quiz, submit your application via the link provided in the email sent to you. The form will ask for:

• Full name and date of birth
• State / territory
• WWCC number and expiry date
• SIA Safeguarding Children and Young People completion certificate (upload)
• A brief description of how you plan to use your accreditation (1–3 sentences, e.g. “I want to run come-and-try days at my local club,” “I’m a teacher adding disc golf to Year 7,” “I work with disability sport participants and want to offer disc golf”)
• Confirmation you have read the ADG Respect Agreement
• Confirmation you have read and agree to uphold the AFDA Code of Conduct

What Happens Next

Your application will be reviewed within 5–10 business days. If everything is in order, you’ll receive your Level 1 – Community Coach accreditation via email with a digital certificate and access to coach resources. If anything is missing, the administrator will contact you.