An analysis of the value of multiple mentors in formalised elite coach mentoring programmes

Background: Within the context of sports coaching and coach education, formalised mentoring relationships are often depicted as a mentor–mentee dyad. Thus, mentoring within sports coaching is typically conceptualised as a one-dimensional relationship, where the mentor is seen as the powerful member of the dyad, with greater age and/or experience [Colley, H. (2003). Mentoring for Social Inclusion. London: Routledge].

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the concept of a multiple mentor system in an attempt to advance our theoretical and empirical understanding of sports coach mentoring. In doing so, this paper builds upon the suggestion of Jones, Harris, and Miles [(2009). “Mentoring in Sports Coaching: A Review of the Literature.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 14 (3): 267–284] who highlight the importance of generating empirical research to explore current mentoring approaches in sport, which in turn can inform meaningful formal coach education enhancement. The significance of this work therefore lies in opening up both a practical and a theoretical space for dialogue within sports coach education in order to challenge the traditional dyadic conceptualisation of mentoring and move towards an understanding of ‘mentoring in practice’.

Method: Drawing upon Kram’s [(1985). Mentoring at Work: Developmental Relationships in Organisational Life. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman] foundational mentoring theory to underpin a multiple mentoring support system, 15 elite coach mentors across a range of sports were interviewed in an attempt to explore their mentoring experiences. Subsequently, an inductive thematic analysis endeavoured to further investigate the realities and practicalities of employing a multiple mentoring system in the context of elite coach development.

Results: The participants advocated support for the utilisation of a multiple mentor system to address some of the inherent problems and complexities within elite sports coaching mentoring. Specifically, the results suggested that mentees sourced different mentors for specific knowledge acquisition, skills and attributes. For example, within a multiple mentor approach, mentors recommended that mentees use a variety of mentors, including cross-sports and non-sport mentors.

Conclusion: Tentative recommendations for the future employment of a multiple mentoring framework were considered, with particular reference to cross-sports or non-sport mentoring experiences.     

Exploring formalized elite coach mentoring programmes in the UK: ‘We’ve had to play the game’

Formalized mentoring programmes have been implemented increasingly by UK sporting institutions as a central coach development tool, yet claims supporting formal mentoring as an effective learning strategy are often speculative, scarce, ill-defined and accepted without verification. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore some of the realities of formalized elite sports coaching mentoring programmes. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 15 mentors of elite coaches on formal programmes, across a range of sports. The findings were read through a Bourdieusian lens and revealed the importance of understanding the complexities of elite sports coaching environments, that elite sports coach development is highly specific and, therefore, should not be over-formalized, and how current elite sport coach mentoring programmes may be better conceptualized as a form of social control rather than being driven by pedagogical concerns. Following this empirically based analysis of practice, a number of implications for Governing Bodies, mentors and mentees were considered.     

Talent development of high performance coaches in team sports in Ireland

Background: Coaches are central to the development of the expert performer and similarly to continued lifelong participation in sport. Coaches are uniquely positioned to deliver specific technical and tactical instruction and mentoring programmes that support the psychological and social development of athletes in a challenging, goal-oriented and motivational environment. The current study aimed to qualitatively investigate current coach learning sources and coaches’ educational backgrounds in team sports in Ireland. Methods: Coaches from five team sports in Ireland were asked to complete an online questionnaire. Subsequently male coaches (n?=?19) from five team sports who completed the questionnaire and met the inclusion criteria were invited to attend a follow-up semi-structured interview. Inclusion criteria for coaches were that they possess at least 10 years’ experience coaching their sport and were coaching more than 4 hours per week. Results/Discussion: Formal coach education does not meet the needs of high performance coaches who rely more on self-directed learning and coaching experience as their main sources of CPD. Although prior playing experience at a high level is both valuable and desirable, there are concerns about fast-tracking of ex-players into high performance coaching roles. Conclusions: Preferred sources of education and the best learning environment for coaches of team sports in Ireland are more informal than formal. Further research is needed to examine how this learning is applied in a practical manner by examining coaching behaviours and the impact it has on the athlete development process.     

Valued learning experiences of early career and experienced high-performance coaches

Background and purpose: This paper attempts to move the discussion of high-performance coach development from an examination of coaches' volume of experiences towards a consideration of the contribution of the learning experiences that coaches have reported throughout their careers. Furthermore, a discussion of proximal and distal guidance in the development of coaches was investigated. We examined the kinds of learning experiences within the framework of workplace learning and specifically the situated nature of learning and the view that learning occurs through social participation.

Method: Nineteen high-performance coaches participated in this study, including 10 scholarship and 9 mentor coaches (MCs). Participants rated a list of 14 developmental activities derived from empirical research on a seven-point Likert scale (0?=?not used, 1?=?of little value, to 7?=?extremely valuable). Each participant coach rated the 14 (guided, unguided) activities in the first two years of their coaching career, middle two years, and final two years. To analyse the data and identify the key trends for both the scholarship and MCs we examined statistical differences between scores for each of the sources the non-parametric Friedman test was used (p?<?.01). Significant χ² results were followed up with the Wilcoxon (two-tailed) T-test (p?<?.05) to identify statistically significant differences between scores at different time intervals.

Results: Three key findings emerged from these data: (i) reported increased valuing of a range of developmental experiences over time; (ii) temporal variance in the value of different learning sources at different stages of their careers; and (iii) an acknowledgement of the shift away from an emphasis on proximal learning sources for the MC and the shift towards proximal sources for the scholarship coach.     

Perspectives of mentoring: The Black female student-athlete

The purpose of this study was to understand Black female collegiate athletes’ perception of mentors and the characteristics of their current mentors. Understanding their definition of a mentor and the persons whom fulfill the psychosocial and career mentor roles will provide insight on the mentor–mentee relationship. In addition, the researchers found it necessary to ascertain the persons whom fulfill the athletic mentor role due to the collegiate athletic status. This study is approached from a critical feminist lens, utilizing a qualitative questionnaire to capture and analyze the voice and perceptions of the Black female athletes (n = 38) from two Division I universities. Critical race theory and Black feminist thought were employed to capture the “multiple jeopardies” of the Black female athlete, thus recognizing race, or racism, and gender, or sexism, are at the fore of their daily experiences. The findings revealed Black female athletes’ definitions of a mentor were characterized by the traditional mentor qualities such as a guide, a supporter, and a role model. Further analysis indicated the women had three distinctly different persons to fulfill each mentor dimension to include: career/academic support, psychosocial support, and athletic support. However, the characteristics of those persons who fulfilled each dimension were family members, with greater influence by the coach on the athletic support dimension. Based on the findings it would benefit administrators to recognize these characteristics and persons of influence when providing support services and developmental programs for the Black female collegiate athlete.     

Recreational and developmental youth coach learning

Background: Within the field of coach development, previous research has ascertained that elite coaches learn through a variety of formal, non-formal, and informal sources. Little is known, however, about how coaches from different coaching contexts such as recreational and developmental learn to coach.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how coaches from youth recreational and developmental coach contexts access and appreciate various coach learning sources, and whether there were any differences between these two contexts.

Data collection and analysis: Basketball and soccer coaches (N?=?758) from the two different contexts (recreational and developmental) were recruited through their respective sport organizations to participate in an online questionnaire about their coach learning. Specifically, they were asked about which learning sources they consulted and how helpful they found each source to be. The two groups were compared using chi-square and odd ratios, independent t-tests, and factorial ANOVA analyses.

Findings: Findings suggest that developmental coaches access a greater number of learning sources than do recreational coaches; however, for most sources both groups of coaches report the same level of helpfulness. Together, these findings suggest that the specific coaching context (recreational versus developmental) is an important consideration when examining coach learning.     

教练员领导问题的研究进展

体育运动领域中教练员领导问题的研究是运动心理学和管理心理学中一个具有交叉性的重要研究领域。通过对以一般领导理论为基础发展起来的体育运动领域中教练员领导问题的理论、测评方法和研究成果的综述,旨在推动我国运动心理学者对教练员领导问题的研究。     

‘Trying to get our message across’: successes and challenges in an evidence-based professional development programme for sport coaches

This paper reports data from the evaluation of a coach education programme provided by a major national governing body of sport (NGB) in the UK. The programme was designed for youth sport coaches based on research evidence that suggests that CPD is most effective in supporting practitioner learning when it is interactive, collaborative and located in practice. At the same time, the NGB was keen to ensure that in order to meet the objectives of the organisation, there was some consistency in delivery across the various practice sites. The research aimed to investigate how the original CPD programme was enacted across eight professional sports clubs, and to understand how professional knowledge was interpreted and negotiated between participants at the NGB and sports club levels. Over a 2-year period, data were collected from a series of focus groups and extended individual semi-structured interviews. Participants were 7 senior managers, 8 coach educators, 8 Academy club directors and 12 sports club coaches. Data were initially analysed inductively and, drawing on the theoretical work of Bernstein [(1999). Vertical and horizontal discourse: An essay. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20(2), 157–173, (2000). Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: Theory, research, critique (Rev. ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield], illustrate the numerous ways in which programme knowledge was interpreted, facilitated and blocked at different levels of the organisation. The paper adds new insights into the complexities of coach education settings and the inherent challenges faced when attempting to ‘roll out’ a coach education intervention – even when it is ‘evidence-based’.     

Changing lives? Critical evaluation of a school-based athlete role model intervention

There would appear to be an enduring belief that successful sportsmen and women can act as powerful motivational role models for young people, especially disaffected, disadvantaged or disengaged youth. In the UK, for example, this belief has been expressed recently in the development of programmes, such as changingLIVES, the Respect Athlete Mentor Programme and Playing For Success. There are further examples around the world of programmes based on similar beliefs including Sporting Partnerships, Athlete Development Australia, Active Girls Breakfast and the Whitelion Sports and Recreation program. This paper reports an evaluation of the changingLIVES ‘athlete mentor’ programme in the UK. This was a school-based programme using successful sports people to deliver a series of motivational activities to young people who were identified as being disengaged or disaffected in some way. Conceptual confusion in the terms ‘mentor’ and ‘role model’ evident in the literature was mirrored in the programme design. The design of an appropriate evaluation strategy was constrained by the scale of the programme aims and the comparatively low evaluation budget. Nonetheless, detailed data were collected on individual pupils. Evaluation data suggested that although the teachers and young people did report an immediate positive reaction to the activities, there was limited evidence of a wider impact on young people's behaviour, school attendance or self-esteem. It is argued that there should be greater conceptual clarity and a stronger evidence base supporting the design and delivery of interventions in schools that seek to use sports people as role models (or mentors) for young people.     

论教练员在竞技体育训练中的地位与作用？

教练员是运动训练过程的掌控者,是竞技体育训练的核心。教练员的综合能力强弱关系到运动队成绩好坏和运动员未来发展,同时对我国体育事业较快从体育大国迈向体育强国起着推动作用。因此,从理论上分析教练员在竞技体育训练中的地位与作用,探讨优秀教练员应该具备的素质,具有非常重要的现实意义和社会意义。     

Autonomy,eating disorders and elite gymnastics: ethical and conceptual issues

Participation in elite sport, and in particular those sports with special demands in terms of weight and shape, is associated with a higher risk for eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa [Sundgot-Borgen, J., & Torstveit, M. K. (2010). Aspects of disordered eating continuum in elite high intensity sports. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 20, 112–121]. We report upon research exploring eating attitudes and behaviours within elite gymnastics. The study comprised 42 semi-structured interviews with gymnasts and support staff—34 gymnasts and 9 staff/support staff. The majority of those interviewed were acrobatic gymnasts (22; 16 males and 6 females) with 7 rhythmic gymnasts (all female) and 5 tumblers (all female). The mean age of those gymnasts interviewed was 17.4. A difficulty in precisely delineating extreme eating patterns (disordered eating) from having an eating disorder was noted. Within an elite sports context behaviours thought to be pathological in a more general setting might be fairly commonplace and even functional to the athlete's performance. The extent to which the athlete consents to these patterns of behaviour is problematic given their age and development. We argue that conceptualising consent as ‘authority to be cared for by a trustworthy coach’, more felicitously applies to the child/adolescent elite sporting context, helping us understand not only the focus of the elite gymnast, but also their relationship with the coach and the coaches' responsibilities.     

Carl Rogers,learning and educational practice: critical considerations and applications in sports coaching

Discussions about ‘athlete-centered’ coaching and ‘coach-centered’ coach education have started to gain increasing popularity in the field of coaching science. While it has been suggested that these ‘learner-centered’ approaches arguably align with the theoretical ideals of humanistic psychology, an in-depth examination of the implications of this learning orientation to sports coaching remains elusive. Rather, discussions have tended to be detached from theory, focusing instead on practices and methods. In light of this development, the present paper provides a detailed and critical overview of one of the leading humanistic thinkers' work, namely Carl Rogers, in order to consider what implications his theorising about ‘person-centered’ learning could have for the development of athletes and coaches. In doing so, we hope that this article will serve to advance understanding and theoretically underpin what have tended to be largely a-theoretical and superficial discussions about ‘athlete-centered’ coaching and ‘coach-centered’ coach education.     

‘You don't need a degree to get a coaching job’: investigating the employability of sports coaching degree students

ABSTRACT

Though highly popular, degree-level sports coaching qualifications are in their infancy, and it remains that ‘an individual intending to become an accredited coaching practitioner can only do so by undertaking their sport's national governing body (NGB) coaching award(s)’ [Nelson et al., 2006, p. 254. Formal, nonformal and informal coach learning: A holistic conceptualisation. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 1(3), 247–259]. Consequently, little is known about the development of HE sports coaching students’ employability. This study critically investigates sports coaching students’ degree-study motives, development of employability skills and perceptions of career prospects as graduates. Survey data and follow-up interviews from two U.K. post-92 universities reveal tensions between liberal and vocational philosophies of university education and concerns about the graduate labour market. Critical incidents and missed opportunities in students’ development of key skills for coaching during and outside of university are also discussed.     

In pursuit of becoming a senior coach: the learning culture for Australian Football League coaches

Background and Purpose: Given the turbulent and highly contested environment in which professional coaches work, a prime concern to coach developers is how coaches learn their craft. Understanding the learning and development of senior coaches (SCs) and assistant coaches (ACs) in the Australian Football League (AFL – the peak organisation for Australian Rules Football) is important to better develop the next generation of performance coaches. Hence the focus of this research was to examine the learning of SC and AC in the AFL. Fundamental to this research was an understanding that the AFL and each club within the league be regarded as learning organisations and workplaces with their own learning cultures where learning takes place. The purpose of this paper was to examine the learning culture for AFL coaches.

Method: Five SCs, 6 ACs, and 5 administrators (4 of whom were former coaches) at 11 of the 16 AFL clubs were recruited for the research project. First, demographic data were collected for each participant (e.g. age, playing and coaching experience, development and coach development activities). Second, all participants were involved in one semi-structured interview of between 45 and 90 minutes duration. An interpretative (hierarchical content) analysis of the interview data was conducted to identify key emergent themes.

Results: Learning was central to AFL coaches becoming a SC. Nevertheless, coaches reported a sense of isolation and a lack of support in developing their craft within their particular learning culture. These coaches developed a unique dynamic social network (DSN) that involved episodic contact with a number of respected confidantes often from diverse fields (used here in the Bourdieuian sense) in developing their coaching craft. Although there were some opportunities in their workplace, much of their learning was unmediated by others, underscoring the importance of their agentic engagement in limited workplace affordances.

Conclusion: The variety of people accessed for the purposes of learning (often beyond the immediate workplace) and the long time taken to establish networks of supporters meant that a new way of describing the social networks of AFL coaches was needed; DSN. However, despite the acknowledged utility of learning from others, all coaches reported some sense of isolation in their learning. The sense of isolation brought about by professional volatility in high-performance Australian Football offers an alternative view on Hodkinson, Biesta and James' attempt in overcoming dualisms in learning.     

Communities of practice,social learning and networks: exploiting the social side of coach development

Large-scale coach education programmes have been developed in many countries, and are presented as playing a key role in the development of coaches and the promotion of high standards. Unfortunately, however, coaches often perceive that the current system of formal coach education fails to meet their needs. Perhaps as a result, the majority of their development is personally perceived to take place via informal and non-formal means. Appropriately, therefore, there has been an increasing focus within the coaching literature on the social aspects of learning, with social constructivist perspectives receiving particular attention. Reflecting this appropriate focus, this article explores some of the potential opportunities and threats that social learning methods, such as Communities of Practice (CoP), present for coach developers. In tandem, we outline how all coaches are influenced by a set of pre-existing beliefs, attitudes and dispositions, which are largely tempered by their experiences and interactions both with and within their social ‘milieu’. We argue that, at the very least, we need to begin to understand these constructs and, if we do, the potential for coach developers to manipulate and exploit them is obvious. In conclusion, it is highlighted that whilst offering inherent challenges, CoPs and other social learning methods provide coach developers with a great opportunity and legitimate tool to change coach behaviour and raise coaching standards. Perhaps paradoxically, we also propose that formal coach education may still have a vital role to play in this process.     

短道速滑运动员观察力的培养

运用运动智能训练学相关知识,采用理论分析方法,结合短道速滑实际情况,简要分析短道速滑运动员观察力训练在竞技体育领域里的重要意义。研究专项训练与运动观察能力的相互关系,同时总结归纳出视野训练、环视能力训练、视觉定位训练和视觉反应训练等方法和手段,并提出训练观察力时应加强心理学相关知识的学习、制定合理计划和加强与运动员训练后的沟通,及时总结等注意的问题,为短道速滑教练员培养运动员观察能力提供依据。     

Professional coach educators in-situ: a social analysis of practice

Professional coach educators are key to the success of coach education and play a crucial role in developing coaching practice. However, coach education research remains remarkably coach centric with little attention paid to the coach educator or the broader role of the socio-cultural context that frames the learning process. Four professional coach educators working for a Sport Governing Body in-situ with twenty five professional clubs took part in interviews and focus groups over the course of a year. In addition, interviews were undertaken with nine academy managers and thirty two coaches as well as observations in eight of the clubs. This paper focuses on the coach educators specifically and aims to understand the nature of coach educators' social reality and practice by examining something of the relational nature of the coach educators and their practice in context. Using the work of Bourdieu the paper engages in epistemic reflexivity and attempts to uncover coach educators' social and intellectual unconscious embedded in and reflected through their social practice. Findings show the operation of a number of socially constructed legitimating principles where the success or failure of the coach educator's practice and learning was inextricably linked to power. Each club (field) was a field of struggles, and coach educators had to play a symbolic and relational game being defined by and, at the same time, struggling to define these relations. Hence practice for the coach educators was both social and embodied.     

美国高校高水平运动队建设经验与启示

运用文献资料、访谈与实地考察等方法,基于体教融合视角,研究美国高校高水平运动队建设经验,提出对我国的启示。美国高校高水平运动队建设经验:整体化,NCAA竞赛体系的资源整合;专业化,专职教练员配置助力专业化发展;系统化,目标一致性的系统化管理;科学化,科学训练与备赛助力训练质量提升。对我国的启示:赛事整合,构建中国特色高校高水平体育赛事体系;专业提升,专职教练员团队促进运动队专业化建设;系统管理,竞技成绩目标驱动运动队系统化构建;科学训练,协调"学训"关系,提升训练质量。     

南通市青少年竞技体育可持续发展影响因素与对策

运用文献资料法、实地调查法、访谈法等,对南通市青少年竞技体育实力现状进行研究.认为,影响南通市青少年竞技体育发展的因素有系统外部因素之社会变迁和经济发展因素,系统内部因素之培养模式、项目优势和教练员群体因素.提出南通市青少年竞技体育可持续发展对策:增强青少年运动员保障体系建设;挖掘项目潜力,优化项目结构,注重对基础性项目的培育;优化教练员结构,建立教练员引进、选拔、培养机制;建立青少年竞技体育市场化培育机制等.