The foci of in-action professional judgement and decision-making in high-level adventure sports coaching practice

This article continues a theme of previous investigations by the authors and examines the focus of in-action reflection as a component of professional judgement and decision-making (PJDM) processes in high-level adventure sports coaching. We utilised a thematic analysis approach to investigate the decision-making practices of a sample of high-level adventure sports coaches over a series of sessions. It was discovered that adventure sports coaches utilise a combination of questioning and observation to collect and constantly verify the information that forms the basis of their PJDM. Each coach responds to matters of immediate security, collecting information until a best-fit decision can be made regarding changes to the environment, task or individual. Implications for professional training, accreditation and development are presented against these data, offering a template for a more expertise-focused progression in the adventure sports coaching profession.     

Environmentalization of the physical education curriculum in Brazilian universities: culturally comparative lessons from critical outdoor education in Australia

‘Environmentalizing’ curriculum in Brazil is a worthy goal of global educational reform for sustainability but is challenging given the limits to rational change thesis already argued in critical social science and post-structural deconstructionism. The federal government mandate to environmentalize undergraduate physical education programs poses the question of which aspects of physical education are conducive to change. ‘Nature’ sports, or outdoor/adventure activity education, is the most likely candidate. In Australia over the past three decades, the environmentalization of ‘old’ physical education outdoor activities has led to the development of ‘new’ discourse practices that integrate environmental studies and outdoor education and are designed for ecological responsibility and social sustainability. In this culturally comparative light about the possibilities for curriculum change in environmental, outdoor and physical education, we examine the potential for change in Brazilian approaches to physical and sport education by critiquing broader ‘environmentalizing’ issues as they have occurred historically within the Australian outdoor education context in the university and secondary schooling sectors.     

Professional judgement and decision-making in the planning process of high-level adventure sports coaching practice

This investigation examined the planning and decision-making processes in adventure sports coaching. We utilised a thematic analysis approach to investigate the planning decision-making practices of a sample of high-level adventure sports coaches over a series of sessions. The investigation discovered that, in planning coaching activity, high-level adventure sports coaches draw on their epistemological values and domain-specific expertise, employ a synergy of classic and naturalistic decision-making processes, and continually audit the evolving coaching process. Based on these findings, implications for professional training, accreditation and development of adventure sports coaches are presented.     

The ‘outdoor industry’ as social and educational phenomena: Gender and outdoor adventure/education

Abstract

This paper discusses social and cultural theory and tracts the ways in which gender has been conceptualised. It argues that the ‘outdoor industry’ in its various manifestations constitutes an aspect of society that can not be ignored. It suggests that outdoor adventure/education, like other dimensions of society, can usefully be subjected to critical examination. Having discussed perspectives surrounding the social construction of gender, the paper draws attention to classic work that has explored ideologies of femininity and the implication for women and men. The paper then goes on to argue that the more recent interactionist theories and cultural studies offer less deterministic and more insightful approaches to exploring people's experiences of outdoor adventure/education. The concept of hegemonic masculinity is drawn upon to examine ‘the outdoor industry’ in light of the current ‘crisis of masculinity’. Finally, the paper raises further questions regarding outdoor adventure/education as a site of alternative femininities and masculinities and as counter-culture.     

‘Salting’: preserving,seasoning, savouring,purifying and transforming through ‘marine adventuring’

ABSTRACT

This article explores, from a personal perspective, ageing and adventure in the context of the outdoor environment. Employing an autoethnographic sensibility, and drawing on fields of positive psychology, life course development, Outdoor and Adventurous Learning, and leisure studies, the paper discusses a range of motivations that contribute to my personal pursuit of a ‘fulfilled life’ now and in the future through ‘marine adventuring’. Adventuring is used to refer to my engagement with challenging physical outdoor activities; but also to my pursuit of learning; and, moreover, in my ‘existential’ quest for meaning. The specific activities under consideration are: seakayaking, SCUBA-diving and sailing.     

Positioning Mentoring as a Coach Development Tool: Recommendations for Future Practice and Research

Current thinking in coach education advocates mentoring as a development tool to connect theory and practice. However, little empirical evidence exists to evaluate the effectiveness of mentoring as a coach development tool. Business, education, and nursing precede the coaching industry in their mentoring practice, and research findings offered in these domains could be drawn upon to position mentoring as sports coaching development tool. Given the remote basis of some of mentor–coach relationships in sports coaching, additional learning can be drawn from mentoring conducted by virtual or electronic mediums. This article concludes with a series of reflective questions arising from research findings in other domains, designed to engage the potential coaching organization with the mentoring process.     

Becoming a coach: reform,identity, and the pedagogy of negation

This article examines one US high school teacher's attempt to become a coach by enacting what I call ‘a pedagogy of negation’. For this teacher, the challenge of becoming a coach is nested within a wider agenda of social and personal transformation. That agenda is symbolized first in words as she constructs ‘a language of coaching’ to inform her interactions with students and content as well her conception of herself as a teacher. Second, talk is transformed into pedagogical action through, as described by Driver, the ‘playful work’ of ritualized negation. I argue that the phenomenon of negation is a logical sense-making strategy for teachers attempting to realise transformed pedagogical identities. Negation also reveals a range of uncertainties involved in enacting the practice of coaching. As this case reveals, the pedagogy of negation is constructed as a corrective to restrictive and oppressive forms of schooling. It serves as a mechanism for ‘becoming’ a different, presumably better, kind of teacher. And though the results are mixed, this portrait of practice in the midst of change illuminates the complex and reciprocal links between identity and practice entailed in becoming a coach.     

The adventure sports coach: all show and no substance?

The primary objective of this research was to establish the range of interpersonal strategies, tools and techniques used by adventure sports coaches (ASCs) to influence participants’ actions and behaviours, and to determine where these strategies were acquired. An interpretative approach was employed using semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of expert paddlesport coaches (n = 4). Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to get close to the data and identify salient topics. Five themes were subsequently identified as fundamental to effective coach–participant interaction: appropriate environment, stories told, knowing the participant, formal training and situational context. The implications are that whilst ASCs have well-developed intuitive social engagement skills, these are not consciously or declaratively employed in coaching sessions, and neither are they used at strategic levels to enhance participant development. Therefore, a multi-layer approach is recommended to help ASCs access and employ these skills that has consequences for the education, training and continued professional development of ASCs.     

Toward a Theory of Coaching Paradox

Multiple tensions exist as part of the coaching process. How a coach responds to these tensions is a fundamental determinant of an athlete or team’s fate. In today’s highly competitive, socially demanding, and ever-changing sports environment, and as the expectations on coaches become more complex, the paradox becomes a critical lens to understand and assist contemporary coaches. This article defines the paradox based on a synthesis of existing literature and proposes an organizing framework for categorizing tensions relevant to coaching. This review draws distinctions between the paradox and other similar constructs, such as dilemmas and dialectics. In doing so, it is suggested that tensions are inherent and persistent to the coaching process and that purposeful management of paradoxical forces over time can lead to a tradition of success. Together, the review of literature and frameworks provide the foundations of a paradoxical perspective of coaching, offer clarity, provoke discussion, and fuel future research.     

The role of ‘pracademics’ in education and development of adventure sport professionals

Understanding and exploiting the synergy between theory and practice lies at the heart of effective education for outdoor professionals. Accordingly, and in an attempt to stimulate debate, this paper conceptualizes the interaction between theory and practice in the context of the education of outdoor professionals. We identify issues specific to the often separated worlds of practice and academia. While acknowledging those distinct skills and competencies, however, we also explore a mid-role; that of the ‘pracademic’ or scientist–practitioner or practitioner scholar, considering behaviours that may encourage greater collaborative work to inform the process and implementation of the education of outdoor professionals.     

“I thought we were supposed to learn how to become better coaches”: developing coach education through action research

ABSTRACT

Youth coaches play a crucial role in the development of young athletes and their physical, psychological and social well-being. Therefore, it is important to foster and develop youth coaches’ ability to govern and act effectively in their coaching practices. Sports organisations facilitate the development of youth coaches through formal coach education. However, research has shown this to be with limited effect. The purpose of this action research study was to involve youth coaches in developing a new and more effective coach education practice.

The coaches developed their practices through both dialogue and reflection with each other. A shift in the mindset of the coaches resulted in a more reflective and analytical approach in their way of thinking and talking about their practices. The most effective tools for improving the coach educational practice was the active management of the relations between the participating coaches and assisting the coaches’ reflection and dialogue through the use of scaffolding. In order to engage coaches in the educational practice, alignment between coaches’ expectations and both course content and form was crucial. These findings provide further insight into how coaches can develop their practices and how sports organisations can develop more effective coach education practices.     

‘It's good for their self-esteem’: the substance beneath the label

This paper provides an informed and critical understanding of the concept of self-esteem. It explores this psychological construct in relation to its use in adventure education and outdoor learning. Enhancing a participant's self-esteem is perceived to be fundamentally a good thing and is culturally linked to the Hahnian notion that implies outdoor education is good for character-building and more recently personal development. This paper suggests that the improvement of self-esteem has become a reified programme outcome as well as an argument for the value and importance of outdoor education programmes. In this paper I seek to address the often uncritical and at times evangelical claim that outdoor programmes enhance self-esteem. This paper looks at the development of self-esteem generally and then considers its appearance in the outdoor education literature. Aspects of this that relate to outdoor learning and adventure education include: development of the self, behaviour, disaffected young people, recent UK developments and common misconceptions regarding self-esteem. These are explored and their implications for practice and research are considered. The essence of this paper is that outdoor educators need to be more critical, informed and specific about exactly what it is they are trying to achieve, how their programmes are evaluated, particularly with outcomes that are related to potential changes in ‘self’ and how these changes are measured.     

What can be learned from action learning coaching? Learnings of novice action learners and their coach

Action learning coaching (ALC), a form of action learning that integrates leadership coaching, is suggested as a method and ethos to build future capacity, specifically in novice HRD practitioners. The purpose of this article is to offer an account of learning from the perspectives of novice action learners, who were new to the field of human resource development (HRD) and to the concept of ALC, as well as their similarly noviced coach. Data from budding practitioners and their coach, participants in an action learning action research (ALAR) study, are analyzed to show how they used action and generative learning through ambiguity to apply learning to their new roles. Action learning coaching elevated participants’ skills, self-concept, efficaciousness, professionalism, commitment to action, and capacity for learning and growth. Participants changed themselves, their practice, and ultimately the way they approached human resource development as novices.     

Toward the development and validation of a career coach competency model

The career coaching profession is a dynamic field that has grown over the last decade. However, there exists a limitation to this field's development, as there is no universally accepted definition or empirically based competencies. There were three phases to the study. In the first phase, a conceptual model was developed that highlights four unique and distinct domains of the career coach. The model illuminates the triadic relationship between the client, the organization, and the coach. The second phase established a definition for career coaching, and the third phase involved using both the definition and conceptual model to create a list of skills and abilities, which was used to design a survey that was administered to 424 career coaches internationally. Through the use of factor analysis, an eight‐factor competency model emerged. Finally, it is hoped that these findings will lead to a vigorous academic and professional debate for the development of a universal, empirically based career coaching competency model.     

Can communitas explain how young people achieve identity development in outdoor adventure in light of contemporary individualised life?

In contemporary life, young people’s identity development is a popular topic for investigation. This includes better understanding their development and their participation in outdoor adventure. From ancient times to modern days, literature conveys the benefits of outdoor adventure on their identity development and more recently there is a growing focus on understanding how and why it occurs. This article discusses the author’s doctoral research conducted on the Western Australian Leeuwin II tall ship that explored the relationship between trainees’ personal development and their participation on this ocean-bound vessel in light of an individualised contemporary life. The study recognised the Leeuwin II tall ship as communitas contributing to trainees’ personal development. The article considers communitas explaining how and why outdoor adventure benefits young people’s personal development, which has implications for young people’s development in the twenty-first century.     

Exploring coaching actions based on developed values: a case study of a female hockey coach

There are few empirical studies that demonstrate how values are developed and how they are linked to coaching actions. There can be a discrepancy between the statement of coaches’ values and their actual coaching actions. In order to examine how coaching actions are influenced by values that are developed over a lifetime, the purpose of this article is to first describe a female hockey coach’s approach to coaching using five key coaching actions, then identify the underlying values that influenced those actions, and then explore how these values were developed in different experiences throughout her life. A time-oriented network analysis was conducted based on four semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the coach. The results present five key coaching actions: (a) organizing coach education programmes for athletes, (b) creating groups to help athletes bond, (c) bringing in experts from various domains, (d) asking athletes to reflect on attitudes and goals, and (e) giving athletes playing time based on hard work and effort. We identify the core values guiding these actions as: (a) equity, (b) connectedness, (c) holistic development, (d) respect, and (e) effort. Finally, we present a number of the coach’s experiences that demonstrate the complexity of developing these values throughout her life. The importance of reflecting on and discussing coaching actions, experiences, and the underlying learned values may help coaches develop coaching actions that are guided more explicitly by those values.     

Doing the plastic fantastic: ‘artificial’ adventure and older adult climbers

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to determine the perceptions and experiences of climbing at artificial climbing walls (ACWs) as undertaken by a cohort of ‘young-old’ people (approximately 65–75 years). The engagement of older people in outdoor activities and adventure is an evolving topic; however, as part of this development, little has been written on the use of ACWs. Methodologically, the research employed in-depth semi-structured focus groups and interviews with a purposive convenience sample of six recreational climbers, subsequently expanded to ten through snowball technique. Both sexes were equally represented. Manual thematic analysis identified two key motifs: ACWs and the notion of adventure, and ACWs and the potential for learning. The findings point at what constitutes ‘real’ adventure for this group of older adults; the shifting nature of ‘old age’; the significance of self-awareness; and the role of reflexivity and physical activity in the construction of a ‘successful’ old age.     

The Training of Coaching Skills: an implementation study

In this study, the implementation effects of a programme for the training of coaching skills with Dutch school counsellors are described. These school counsellors are expected to provide help and support to primary school teachers. Coaching is a form of in‐class support intended to provide teachers with feedback on their own functioning and thereby stimulate self‐reflection and self‐analysis in order to improve instructional effectiveness. To assist school counsellors in their attempts to coach teachers, a training programme was designed: ‘The school counsellor as coach.’ A quasi‐experimental, treatment‐control group investigation was then set up to test the effects of this programme. Based on the pre‐ and post‐training ratings of coaching conferences, a significant treatment effect was found for the coaching skills concerned with the development of autonomy (empowerment), feedback, and purposefulness. The pre‐ and post‐training ratings from coached teachers showed no significant treatment effects. This was because the teachers were not accustomed to in‐class assistance and thus rated the coaching skills of the school counsellors quite favourably even at pre‐test.     

How do women construct adventure recreation in their lives?

Research into adventure recreation has tended to be located in the experiences of men. This is largely due to a history of dominant male participation, though it is acknowledged that more women are accessing these forms of leisure experiences. This paper reports a study of forty-two women who had participated in adventure recreation at some stage throughout their adult lives. These women were interviewed regarding their personal meanings of adventure reaction. This included exploration of how adventure was experienced and the types of issues that affected their participation in adventure recreation. The results showed that adventure for these women incorporated risk and physical challenge, but also a sense of newness, learning, personal development and creativity. The evidence presented suggests that while traditional definitions of adventure recreation offer a general differentiation of adventure activities from other forms of outdoor recreation, they are perhaps too limiting. The women's experiences indicate that adventure extends beyond labeled “adventure” pursuits and that broader understandings need to be incorporated into our meanings of adventure.