An Examination of the Definition and Development of Expert Coaching

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Melissa Wiman, Alan W. Salmoni and Craig R. HallMethodologyThe qualitative research approach used was in the tradition of grounded theory (Glaser &Strauss, 1967). Grounded theory research seeks to discover a theory that is “grounded” oremerges from the data (Glaser & Strauss). The current study lent itself to such an analysis sinceliterature on the development of coaching expertise requires more exploration.ParticipantsTo provide richness of data purposeful sampling was utilized to select study participants(Patton, 1990). The participants in this study were eight Canadian, university level or highercoaches (representing both team and individual sports) and seven Canadian, varsity level orhigher competitive athletes (both team and individual). All of the coaching participants were headcoaches. It was decided to interview elite athletes along with coaches since it was felt that theathletes would provide a unique (and informed) insight into coaching expertise. University-levelcoaches were selected because they exhibit the characteristics of expert coaches that have beenused in previous coaching studies (e.g., have coached for 10 or more years, have lead athletes tonational level or higher) (e.g. Horton et al., 2005; Côté et al., 1995; Côté & Sedgwick, 2003)and they represent a diversity of sports, as well as representing male and female teams.The coaches had a mean of 26.8 years of experience as coaches. One coach in this studywas National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Level 5 certified, five coaches were Level4 certified, one coach was Level 3 certified and one coach did not provide his NCCP level sincehe did not feel that NCCP qualifications were important. The National Coaching CertificationProgram is the coaching certification program in Canada. Five of the coaches have coachedinternational competitors (one has coached Olympic and World Champions, one had coachedWorld Champions and Olympic medallists), two of the coaches had coached professional athletesand one had coached National university champions. The coaches had a mean of 13.3 years ofexperience as athletes in the sport they currently coach (experience accrued prior to commencingcoaching). Their athletic experience ranged from Olympic competitor to Professional athlete toNCAA participant. Seven of the coaching participants were male and one was female.The athletes came from a variety of sports (rowing, n=2; synchronized swimming, n=1;rugby, n=1; wrestling, n=1; cross-country running, n=1; and swimming, n=1) and hadaccumulated a mean of 10.0 years of experience in their sport. All of the athlete participants hadcompeted at the international level and had had a mean of 9.1 coaches in their careers. Thisnumber is important since the experience that the athlete participants have had with coachesprovided a rich context on which to base their comments. Six of the athlete participants were42
International Journal of Coaching Science Vol. 4 No. 2 July 2010female and one was male. The coaches represent six sports: rowing, n=2; football, n=2; icehockey, n=1; cross-country running, n=1; wrestling, n=1; and rugby, n=1.The gender breakdown was not something of concern as there was no a priori sense thatgender made a difference in expertise development. We interviewed the coaches at our disposal.At the time the interviews were done there were only two female head coaches of any varsityteam at our university. These coaches were strategically chosen because of the backgroundunderstanding they would have for the development of expertise in coaching and their lengthyeducational and academic experiences.ProcedureIn-depth, semi-structured interviews were utilized to elucidate the qualities of an expert coachand to delve into the process of coaching expertise development. The coaches were recruited viaemail by the research team. The coaches email addresses were accessible by the research team on theuniversity website. The athletes were also recruited via email. Since all of the athletes were studentsat the time of the interview, their email addresses were found on the university website. Some of theathletes were recommended by the coaching participants in the study. Others were sought out due totheir elite status and past athletic success. Once recruited to participate in the study, the participantscompleted a short demographic questionnaire to provide background information on his/herinvolvement in sport. A different questionnaire was used for coaches and athletes. The participantswere sent the interview guide via email so that they could consider their answers prior to arriving tothe interview. Upon arrival at the interview, the participant was briefed on the purpose of the study.At this time, the participants read the letter of information on the study (if they had not read it priorto arriving) and signed a consent form. The interviews lasted approximately fifteen to sixty minutes(the coach interviews typically lasted longer than the athlete interviews) and were recorded with aSony Voice Recorder. Interviews were later transcribed verbatim. Ethical approval for the study wasobtained through the University of Western Ontario ethics board.InterviewThe main interview questions were as follows: How would you define an expert coach?Can someone who coaches development level athletes be considered an expert coach? How canwe identify an expert coach? What does it take to become an expert coach? Probes andfollow-up questions were utilized to ensure richness of the data. A commonly used probequestion that was directed to the coaches was: how do you think you became an expert coach?Other common probes consisted of: Can you give any specific examples of a coach that youthink is an expert? Can you think of any skills that an expert would have or any attributes or43
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