Coach Tracking Study(PDF) - sports coach UK

COACH TRACKING STUDY
4 Supplementing Coaching
Knowledge
There is no doubt that coaches believe
there is a benefit to learning and
development. Ninety-five per cent
(95%) believed it was important to improve
or widen coaching knowledge and practice.
Three themes that emerged from coaches as
to why learning is important to them
revolved around: the need to avoid
stagnating; a link between coach
development and player improvement; and
providing better coaching sessions.
Coaches often mentioned that you cannot stand still, as
sport is always changing, and that you never stop learning:
• To continue to improve my coaching, I must have access
to coach development, new/fresh ideas and opportunities
to learn.
• Without continuing improvement personally, any
coaching skills and abilities would stagnate and, with it,
a loss of enjoyment in my chosen lifestyle and impact
on clientele.
• It doesn’t matter how experienced a coach is, they
can never stop learning or improving how to improve
their knowledge.
They also see a link between the coach developing and
improvement in the player:
• To be able to get the gymnasts in my care to achieve their
full potential.
• To help improve the performance of the athletes. There has
to be a strong knowledge base to supplement effective
questioning/discovery methods.
• Sports coaching is always developing/changing. I need to
keep abreast of important changes so that I can pass on
any relevant knowledge/skills to my students to improve
their knowledge/skills.
Thirdly, coaches felt that improving their skills led to
better sessions:
• To make my sessions/lessons relevant, specific to their
needs and up to date.
• I want to improve the way I deliver my thoughts and ideas
to players, to simplify as much as possible and facilitate
their development.
• This will keep me fresh so that, when I deliver, my sessions
are new and fresh.
Information sought by coaches
When coaches were asked what types of knowledge and
information they sought, technical/tactical knowledge
emerged as the most important. This and knowledge of
other coaching skills, such as providing feedback, planning,
motivation, observation and analysis, were sought by
around two thirds of coaches.
However, these more experienced coaches also accessed
information associated with learning from their own
practice. Skills such as listening, self-reflection and
evaluation were also in the top 10 knowledge/information
sources sought.
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