Evaluating and Reflecting upon a Coach Education Initiative: The CoDe of Rugby

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Cassidy ◽  
Paul Potrac ◽  
Alex McKenzie
Keyword(s):  
Education Program ◽  
Curriculum Change ◽  
Rugby Union ◽  
Coach Education ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Education Initiative

The aim of this paper is twofold. The first purpose is to report on participant coaches’ perceptions of a theory-based coach education program (known as the CoDe program). The second purpose is to discuss how we, as coach educators, reflected on the initiation of the CoDe program. In evaluating the coach education program, semistructured interviews were conducted with eight rugby union coaches. Three themes emerged from the interviews: (a) thinking about athletes as learners, (b) focusing on the process of coaching, and (c) the value of talking with other coaches. Fullan’s (1991a) notion of curriculum change frames our discussion of the participant coaches’ evaluations and our reflections on the initiation of the CoDe program.

scholarly journals Reflection in a High-Performance Sport Coach Education Program: A Foucauldian Analysis of Coach Developers

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Downham ◽  
Christopher Cushion
Keyword(s):  
Education Program ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Critical Depth ◽  
Coach Education ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Program Support ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Relations Of Power ◽  
Foucauldian Analysis

Reflection is a contested but taken for granted concept, whose meaning shifts to accommodate the interpretation and interests of those using the term. Subsequently, there is limited understanding of the concept. The purpose of this article was to consider critically the discursive complexities of reflection and their articulation through coach developers’ practice. Data were collected from a National High-Performance coach education program. Coach developers responsible for one-to-one support (n = 8) and on-program support (n = 3) participated in the research. Semistructured interviews were conducted with coach developers, and participant observations were undertaken of a coach developer forum and program workshops (n = 9). Foucault’s concepts: power, discourse, and discipline were used to examine data with critical depth. Analysis explored “Discourse of Reflection,” “Discipline, Power, and Reflection,” and “Coach Developers: Confession, ‘Empowerment,’ and Reflection.” Humanistic ideas constructed a discourse of reflection that was mobilized through coach confession. Coach developer efforts to be “critical” and “learner centered” were embroiled with intrinsic and subtle relations of power as “empowering” intent exacerbated rather than ameliorated its exercise. This article makes visible a different destabilized and problematized version of reflection, thus introducing an awkwardness into the fabric of our experiences of reflection.

Researcher, Coach Developer, and Coaches’ Perspectives on Learner-Centered Teaching in a Rugby Coach Education Program

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Vitor Ciampolini ◽  
Martin Camiré ◽  
William das Neves Salles ◽  
Juarez Vieira do Nascimento ◽  
Michel Milistetd
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Coach Education ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Viable Approach ◽  
Education Courses ◽  
Sports Coaching

In the sports coaching field, learner-centered teaching (LCT) has been advocated as a viable approach to increasing learners’ involvement in the learning process. However, implementing LCT is not a simple undertaking as coach developers, and coaches have encountered dilemmas when it comes to shifting to LCT in coach education. This study aimed to investigate how LCT principles were implemented in a rugby coach education program through the perspectives of the researcher, the coach developer, and coaches. Participants included the researcher (i.e., first author), a coach developer, and 10 rugby coaches. The researcher observed three coach education courses, gathered descriptive and reflective field notes, and conducted individual semistructured interviews with both the coach developer and the 10 coaches. Findings shed light on the strategies adopted by the coach developer and the extent to which these strategies aligned with LCT principles. Coaches discussed how they enjoyed their active role in the courses and the approaches used by the coach developer to leverage learning. The discussion highlights the importance of coach developers in facilitating a learning process that is challenging, motivating, and supports coaches throughout the courses.

Understanding Performance Coach Development: Perceptions About a Postgraduate Coach Education Program

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Araya ◽  
Andrew Bennie ◽  
Donna O’Connor
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Formal Learning ◽  
Coach Education ◽  
Types Of Knowledge ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Diverse Learning ◽  
Coach Development ◽  
Semistructured Interviews

The purpose of this study was to enrich our understanding of formal coach education settings. We investigated how coaches developed knowledge during a postgraduate tertiary coach education course. We also explored coaches’ perceptions of changes they made to their coaching attitudes, behaviours, skills, and practices as a result of their studies. Semistructured interviews1were conducted with 17 performance coaches. Results revealed that coaches developed knowledge through rich learning situations that were relevant to their coaching context. Furthermore, the three types of knowledge (professional, interpersonal and intrapersonal; Côté & Gilbert, 2009) were fostered in an environment that was socially constructed through a Community of Practice. Coaches felt they were better equipped to develop athlete performance as a result of the knowledge gained through the course. The findings reinforce the importance of developing formal coach education that is learner-centred, provides diverse learning experiences, and embraces informal learning concepts when embedded in formal learning contexts.

Common Coaching Challenges and their Association with Coach and Contextual Characteristics

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-96
Author(s):  
Ian Reade ◽  
Wendy Rodgers
Keyword(s):  
Education Program ◽  
Female Athletes ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Coach Education ◽  
Contextual Characteristics ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Multiple Challenges

This study asked a group of coaches about the major challenges they encounter in their coaching experience. The study was conducted with a group that had recently completed an introductory coaching course, but they had widely varied coaching experience, and coached male and female athletes in a variety of sports at multiple levels. We were interested in the extent to which the challenges were specific to the coaches’ context, or varied according to the age, education or experience of the coach. Our results showed that coaches face multiple challenges, but dealing with parents was commonly cited as the most challenging in all contexts, indicating that a generic coach education program on this topic could be effective. Other challenges tended to be associated with specific contexts and generic coach education programs may not be able to effectively prepare coaches for those challenges.

scholarly journals The Learner-Centred Status of a Brazilian University Coach Education Program

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Milistetd ◽  
Pierre Trudel ◽  
Steven Rynne ◽  
Isabel Maria Ribeiro Mesquita ◽  
Juarez Vieira do Nascimento
Keyword(s):  
Education Program ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Sport Performance ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Coach Education ◽  
Learner Centeredness ◽  
Education Leaders ◽  
The Social ◽  
Higher Education Leaders ◽  
Performance Area

Previous research has suggested a shift from instructor-centred to learner-centred approaches in an attempt to improve coach education programs. To implement such crucial change it is essential to master the ‘new language’ and better understand educational contexts. The purposes of this article are to (a) highlight new social factors indicating an urgent need to change, (b) present a learner-centred framework based on the work of a recognized group of researchers (i.e., Blumberg, Cullen, Harris, and Weimer), and (c) analyse the learner-centeredness of a Bachelor in Physical Education program, especially with respect to its sport performance area. Based on the social factors explored throughout the text and the learner centred principles, results showed inconsistencies between the conceptual orientations mentioned in the ‘official documents’ and the teaching processes used in the Bachelor program. Recommendations for higher education leaders and instructors are explored.

“Pain in the Assets”: The Effects of Commercialization and Professionalization on the Management of Injury in English Rugby Union

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Malcolm ◽  
Kenneth Sheard
Keyword(s):  
Rugby Union ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Semistructured Interviews

This paper examines the management of injuries in men’s elite rugby union in England and, in particular, how this has altered as a consequence of the (formal) professionalization of the game in 1995. Data are drawn from 42 in-depth, semistructured interviews, conducted with seven coaches/directors of rugby, nine rugby club doctors, ten physiotherapists, and sixteen players. Partly as a consequence of examining pain and injury developmentally, our findings contrast with much of the existing sociological research in the area. The professionalization of rugby union, we argue, has not led to a greater acceptance of pain and injury in the sport or to a higher level of pressure upon, or “coercion” of, players to play under such conditions. Rather professional players receive markedly better medical backup and seem increasingly disposed to utilizing it.

Impact of a Large-Scale Coach Education Program from a Lifelong-Learning Perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Deek ◽  
Penny Werthner ◽  
Kyle J. Paquette ◽  
Diane Culver
Keyword(s):  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Coach Education ◽  
Coach Learning ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Coaching Certification ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews

This study examines the impact of a coach education program on coach learning and perceived changes to coaching practices, while situating this episodic learning experience within a lifelong-learning perspective. Three sets of in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 coaches taking part in one of three competition-development modules within Canada’s National Coaching Certification Program (Coaching and Leading Effectively, Managing Conflict, and Psychology of Performance). It was found that (a) the coaches’ biographies varied widely, (b) all of the coaches reported learning from the modules, (c) eight of ten coaches reported a change in their coaching practices as a result of participation in one of the modules, and (d) the coaches credited a combination of mediated, unmediated, and internal learning situations for their learning before and after the modules. These findings suggest that a large-scale coach education program can have an impact on coaches when the program takes a lifelong-learning perspective and integrates constructivist principles into its design and delivery.

scholarly journals “Who’s Who?”: Identifying Cycling Coaches’ Biographies

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Samuel Wood ◽  
David Richardson ◽  
Simon Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Coach Education ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Coach Learning ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Perceived Relevance ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Educational Course

Consideration of a learners’ biography is deemed to impact on their engagement with formal education and their connection with, and perceived relevance of, educational course content. It is considered equally important to understand coaches who enrol on formal coach learning in sport—their motivations, beliefs, values, existing knowledge, and previous life experiences. This research explored the individual biographies of eight neophyte cycling coaches over an 18-month period following the successful completion of a national governing body coach award. Following 23 formal semistructured interviews and 26 unstructured interviews, deductive thematic narrative analysis revealed three different typologies of coach: the “performance coach”; the “parent-coach”; and the “community coach.” Although the subjective details of the life stories varied according to their idiosyncratic perspective, all participants’ stories broadly followed one of these three identifiable narratives. Identifying different “typologies” of cycling coaches’ answers calls from coach developers to account for the specific backgrounds of coaches’ practices. It is hoped this research will begin the process of developing more personalised approaches to coach education.

scholarly journals Women Rugby Union Coaches’ Experiences of Formal Coach Education in Ireland and the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-37
Author(s):  
Gareth M. Barrett ◽  
I. Sherwin ◽  
Alexander D. Blackett
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Rugby Union ◽  
Women Coaches ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Coach Education ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Abductive Logic ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Continual Professional Development ◽  
Education Courses

Although the sport of rugby union has expanded globally in both the men’s and women’s formats recently, there remains an under-representation of women coaches across all contexts. Research has focused its analysis on the under-representation of women coaches in a select few sports such as soccer. No extant research has empirically analyzed this under-representation within rugby union. This study addressed this research lacuna on why this under-representation exists from the perspective of 21 women rugby union coaches based within the United Kingdom and Ireland. The specific research objective was to analyze the coaches’ lived experiences of attending formal coach education courses in rugby union. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed thematically and conceptualized via an abductive logic against LaVoi’s Ecological-Intersectional Model and Pierre Bourdieu’s species of capital. Supportive and positive themes reported how the coach education courses had been delivered in a collegiate and lateral manner. Courses thus acted as settings where greater amounts of cultural and social capital could be acquired from both course tutors and peers. This enabled social networks to be made that were used for continual professional development beyond the courses. Barriers and negative experiences orientated upon the lack of empathy imparted by course tutors on account of men having fulfilled these roles on most occasions. Recommendations on how national governing bodies can improve the experiences of women coaches attending future coach education courses are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document