Evidencing the impact of coaches’ learning: Changes in coaching knowledge and practice over time

ABSTRACT

It is clear that sport coaches learn from multiple interconnected learning experiences, yet there is limited direct evidence to elucidate what is learned and how these combined experiences shape coaches’ knowledge and day-to-day practice. This research aimed to investigate the impact of the learning of two groups of English youth soccer coaches over a period of a year and a half. Using the Coach Analysis and Intervention System (CAIS) and associated video-stimulated recall interviews, changes in the practice behaviours and knowledge use of coaches completing a formal coach education course, and equivalent coaches not undertaking formal education, were compared. Data indicated that the learning period had a different effect on coaches taking part in formal coach education versus those not in education. Changes in the use of knowledge about individual players and tactics were reflected in increased behaviours directed towards individuals, and an altered proportion of technical to tactically related questioning, linked to coaches’ participation in education. Overall, more change was evident in coaching knowledge than in practice behaviours, suggesting an absence of deep learning that bridged the knowledge-practice gap.     

Elite cricket coach education: a Bourdieusian analysis

The social structures within coach education have been largely unexplored, undiscussed, and treated as unproblematic in contributing to coach learning, both in research and practice. The study used semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 11 elite cricket coaches to gather their perceptions of an elite coach education programme. In particular, this research attempted a more nuanced critical inquiry into the impact of culture on coach learning, habitus on knowledge production and the extent to which capital structures practice within the field of cricket coach education. Data analysis followed abductive reasoning, combining inductive thematic analyses of the data, with a deductive abstraction of these themes within a Bourdieusian framework to provide a level of explanation to the data. The findings present coach education as a complex social field in which coaches were active social beings in the (re)production of coaching knowledge. The culture of cricket was found to perpetuate a powerful doxic system that highlighted the tensions and conflict between an accepted model of coach education with a singular and prescribed body of knowledge and a strong underlying sporting culture and individuals hierarchically placed within it. This data further highlighted how coach education contributes to the (re)production of power within the field of cricket coaching.     

‘Why am I putting myself through this?’ Women football coaches’ experiences of the Football Association's coach education process

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the provision of formal coach education. However, research has repeatedly demonstrated how coach education has had a limited impact on the learning and development of coach practitioners. To date however, these investigations have avoided female coach populations. Ten women football coaches who had recently completed various association football coach education courses participated in this study. Following the interpretive analysis of 10 semi-structured interviews the findings revealed high levels of gender discrimination and inappropriate cultural practice. The women's experiences are discussed in line with the Bourdieuian notions of social acceptance, symbolic language and power. The women coaches provided a number of recommendations for future coach education provision, which in turn, may help to improve the experiences for those women who participate in the coach education process.     

‘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’.     

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.     

How do technique and coordination change during learning of a whole-body task: Application to the upstart in gymnastics

ABSTRACT

When learning swinging skills on a bar there has been conflicting advice in the research literature regarding whether to coach the “gold standard” technique to novices. The present study aimed to determine how technique (joint angle time histories) and (inter-limb) coordination changed as novice gymnasts learned a fundamental gymnastics skill (the upstart). It was hypothesised that both technique and coordination would become more like an expert as learning progressed. Eight novice gymnasts, unable to perform an upstart, underwent four months of training, with the number of successful upstarts out of 10 recorded at the start and then every month subsequently. In the first and last sessions motion capture was used to determine joint kinematics. Root mean squared differences for the joint angle time histories and continuous relative phase at the shoulder and hip were calculated between the novices and an expert gymnast. As training progressed technique and coordination became more like the expert gymnast. The more successful novices were better able to time their actions within the swing than the less successful novices. Gymnastics coaches teach towards a “gold standard” technique since being successful at the skill is not the only goal, as considerations for future skill development are made.     

Exposing athletes to playing form activity: outcomes of a randomised control trial among community netball teams using a game-centred approach

This study evaluated whether exposing junior netball players to greater amounts of competition relevant activity (playing form activity) had an effect on game play outcomes and session involvement. A group-randomised controlled trial in one junior netball club in the Hunter Region, NSW, Australia. Ninety female athletes (mean age = 9.04 years, SD 1.53) were randomised by team (n = 11) into the intervention (n = 41) or 9-week wait-list control (n = 49) condition. The Professional Learning for Understanding Games Education into Sport (PLUNGE into Sport) programme was undertaken in the first half of nine training sessions (9 × 30 min). The intervention exposed athletes to playing form activity through a coach development programme within training sessions. Athletes’ decision-making, support and skill outcomes during a small-sided invasion game, and session involvement (pedometer step/min), were measured at baseline and 9-week follow-up. Linear mixed models revealed significant group-by-time intervention effects (P < 0.05) for decision-making (d = 0.4) and support (d = 0.5) during game play, and in-session activity (d = 1.2). An intervention exposing athletes to greater levels of playing form activity, delivered via a coach education programme, was efficacious in improving athlete decision-making and support skills in game play and increasing athlete involvement during sessions.     

Learning to mentor in sports coaching: a design thinking approach

Mentoring has been frequently cited as a valuable method of professional development for sports coaches. Nonetheless, there is an absence of scholarly work within the sports coaching field which explores the process of learning to become a coach mentor in detail. ‘Learning to Mentor in Sports Coaching: A Design Thinking Approach’ addresses this very issue with an innovative approach towards mentor training and preparation. The focus of the book is to highlight how design thinking, a systematic method to transform problems into creative solutions, can be adopted to analyse and rewrite mentoring conversations to optimise learning for both mentors and mentees. The central argument of the book maintains that sports coach mentors share similar characteristics and traits to design thinkers in the ways in which they attempt to facilitate and support coach learning and development. This review seeks to examine the focus of the book and consider its contribution to the broader body of literature in this field.     

The use of behaviour change theories and techniques in research-informed coach development programmes: a systematic review

Coaches are often targeted in interventions to enhance athlete outcomes. While coach development programmes (CDPs) may change coach behaviour, little is known about theories and techniques used to design and implement effective programmes. Examining the use of behaviour change theories and techniques (BCTs) can aid in understanding and improving CDPs. Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, the purpose of this research was to conduct a systematic review examining the use of behaviour change theories and BCTs in CDPs. In total, 29 CDPs met the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted using the Theory Coding Scheme and Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy (v1). Only six CDPs were explicitly based on behaviour change theory, and no single theory or combination of theories was used more than once. The number of BCTs used per CDP ranged between one and nine. There was no significant difference between theory-based and non-theory-based CDPs concerning the number of BCTs used per CDP. Theoretical frameworks and techniques that have the potential to effectively change coach behaviours are not being used frequently or consistently in the design and implementation of CDPs. To design CDPs that change coach behaviours and facilitate positive outcomes, further research examining theoretical influences on coach behaviours is needed.     

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.     

Psychophenomenology and the explicitation interview for accessing subjective lived experience in sport coaching

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this position paper is to promote the interest, usefulness and specificity of a coherent system that is based on psychophenomenology as a theoretical framework [Vermersch, P. (2012). Explicitation et phénoménologie. Paris: PUF], and the explicitation interview [Vermersch, P. (2009). Describing the practice of introspection. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 16(10–12), 20–57] as an appropriate and original method for studying the subjective lived experience of participants in sport situations. This original approach is associated with an epistemological posture which accords significant importance to the first-person point of view (i.e. what is appearing to a person about his own subjective lived experience in a past situation). After presenting some limitations in other phenomenological approaches and interview methods, we highlight the specificity of the theoretical background and the method of explicitation interview, for describing in detail the actions and understanding the lived experience of a person in a past and singular situation. To demonstrate the potential of this approach, we provide two specific examples of explicitation interview data from an in-match player decision-making situation and an in-game half-time speech of a coach. In concluding, we contend that psychophenomenology and the explicitation interview present new perspectives and opportunities for coach education, by developing the analysis of the subjective lived experience. This may have important implications for sport-related research and the development of coaching practice and formal coach education, through closer links to real life experiences.     

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.     

Self-efficacy,perceived training needs and coaching competences: The case of Portuguese handball

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse handball coaches’ perceptions of self-efficacy and recognition of training needs related to coaching competences according to their coaching experience, coach certification level and academic education. Two hundred and seven Portuguese handball coaches answered questionnaires that included a scale of self-efficacy and another of recognition of training needs. Data analysis started with an exploratory factorial analysis with Maximum Likelihood Factoring and Oblimin rotation. From the factors obtained, a One-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc multiple comparisons were applied. Coaches’ self-efficacy revealed coaching competences related to: annual and multi-annual planning; planning and guiding training and competition; coaching methodology; implementation of sport development projects and coach education and meta-cognitive competences. Coaches’ recognition of training needs revealed four main areas: planning and guiding training and competition; multi-annual planning; management of sports careers and coaching education and leadership. Although an independent relationship between coaches’ perceptions of self-efficacy and training needs was confirmed, they perceived themselves as having competences and highlighted training needs in all areas. Coaches’ perceptions of self-efficacy were influenced by their coach certification level, academic education and coaching experience. The study suggests that sport specificity within the social culture in addition to the precise sporting domain of action influence the perceptions of coaches about their self-efficacy and training needs as related to coaching competences and, therefore, should be considered in the coach education curriculum.     

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.     

Lived experience and community sport coaching: A phenomenological investigation

Coaching in the participation domain is the act of coaching participants that are less intensely engaged in sport than performance orientated athletes. This form of coaching is a popular activity occurring in community settings such as schools or sport clubs, and it is often undertaken with a broad range of social and health outcomes in mind. The experiences and practices of the large army of ‘community coaches’¹ have been under-explored in comparison to those of elite performance coaches who focus on competitive success and dominate much academic research. This study focuses on the little known world of the community coach. Drawing on the philosophy of phenomenologists such as Husserl, and in particular the methodology of Van Manen, the study explored the lived experiences of a single case study community coach. Derived from semi-structured interviews and in keeping with Van Manen's methodology, findings are presented in a narrative format. The narrative describes the ‘lifeworld’ of the coach and seeks to identify the ‘essential features’ of community coaching in this case. Specifically, the narrative illustrates a dichotomy in the lifeworld of the coach; between a frenetic practical delivery mode visible in the public arena and a ‘hidden’ largely unknown, private world used predominantly for planning and organising. For this case study coach, the essence of community coaching lay in two complementary activities; planning and then delivering fun based activities that achieved social, health and sporting outcomes. Additionally, interacting with others, such as parents, carers and teachers was identified as an essential feature of this coach's experience.     

Faster,higher, stronger,older: Relative age effects are most influential during the youngest age grade of track and field athletics in the United Kingdom

The relative age effect (RAE) is a common phenomenon in youth sport, whereby children born early in the selection year are more likely to experience success and to sustain participation. There is a lack of research investigating variables which influence RAEs within track and field athletics. Such information is vital to guide policies in relation to competition structure, youth development squads and coach education. A database of competition results was analysed to determine the extent to which RAEs were present in track and field athletics in the United Kingdom. Subsequent analyses examined whether age, sex, event and skill level influenced the RAE. Examination of 77,571 records revealed that RAEs were widespread, but most pronounced during Under 13 (U13) competitions; that is, during athletes’ first exposure to formal track and field competition. Sex, event and skill level further influenced the existence and magnitude of RAEs at different age grades. Relative age is a key influencing factor within track and field athletics, especially at the youngest age category. Consequently, national governing bodies need to consider what administrative and stakeholder initiatives are necessary to minimise the effects of RAEs on young athletes’ early experiences of competition.     

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.