Coach Tracking Study(PDF) - sports coach UK

COACH TRACKING STUDY
Facilitating
Planning programmes (over a season, year, cycle)
Evaluating sessions/programmes
Decision making
Observation and analysis
Understanding/evaluating athlete/player
Knowledge of a wide range of coaching methods
Managing the coaching environment
Responsiveness/adaptability to situation/person
Self-reflection and critical thinking
Technical/tactical knowledge
Motivating athletes
Providing feedback
Listening
Questioning
Providing instruction
Planning sessions: structure, format, content
Organisation of sessions (eg facilities,
equipment, health and safety)
-3 -2 -1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Percentage point change
Figure 1: Change in knowledge/information sources sought by coaches
(percentage point difference Year Two to Year Four)
The value placed on
information sources
While coaches continue to seek out learning
opportunities, there has been a decline in the importance
they assign to various types of knowledge and information.
Although these changes are relatively small (and as
Table 3 shows, 88% of coaches still agree that all types
of information are important), what is of more interest is
that this shift confirms a recurring trend of traditional
coaching knowledge being supplemented by interpersonal
and reflection skills.
Table 3 shows that basic coaching skills around the
planning and organisation of a session are the most likely
to have decreased in importance for coaches, while those
information sources that maintained their value in the eyes
of coaches involved more interpersonal skills (such as
motivating, listening, providing feedback, and
responsiveness) and evaluation skills.
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