The rugby training in coaches from Almeria

The sport practice has increased during the last decades, which has propitiated that sport became a great social, educational and politic phenomenon. Therefore, governments of developed countries have increased the investment in the coaching development. Research shows the importance of the theoretical and practical bases for coaching transmitted in formal training activities, however is also questioned the effectiveness of these type of courses. Consequently, it is critical to study and to know more about these training processes. In this study, it have been sought to better understand the reality of the rugby training courses in the province of Almería (Spain). It have been carried out a quantitative methodology, via a questionnaire, which achieved related data for the initial formation of the coaches. Once the process of elaboration of the instrument was concluded, it was applied to 27 rugby coaches in the province of Almería. In this sense, a descriptive analysis was performed, and according to the most relevant results, it can be deducted that the most of the rugby coaches surveyed have the minimum level of coaching certification, and that they agree with the duration, content and distribution of theoretical and practical activities during the courses carried out by the Andalusian federation.

Understanding the Perceptions of Master Coach Developers in the National Coaching Certification Program

The National Coaching Certification Program is an adult education program in Canada that provides education to individuals engaging in sport coaching. In this program, certification is achieved through a successful evaluation. This research examines the perceptions of master coach developers, leaders of coach education in Canada, specifically exploring what factors contribute to them feeling confident and competent in leading National Coaching Certification Program evaluations. Ten master coach developers from across Canada were interviewed, and the following themes were identified: opportunity to engage, connection with participants, and perceptions of evaluation tools and processes. Constructivist grounded theory guided the research, supporting the development of the theory of evaluation leadership in the National Coaching Certification Program. This theory describes the impact of focusing on relationship, process, preparation, and practice on the perceived competence and confidence of program leaders in adult learning.

A Fraction of Recommended Practices: Implementation of the FIFA 11+ in NCAA Soccer Programs

Background and Objectives: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) soccer coaches implement numerous warm-up and flexibility strategies to prepare athletes for training and competition. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) developed the 11+ injury prevention program to reduce non-contact injuries. This study aimed to analyze the level of familiarity with and implementation of the evidence-based FIFA 11+ amongst NCAA Division I (DI) and Division III (DIII) men’s and women’s soccer coaches. Materials and Methods: NCAA soccer coaches in the United States received an Institutional Review Board—approved survey hyperlink. A total of 240 coaches completed the survey. The respondents represented 47.5% men’s and 52.5% women’s teams distributed within DI and DIII programs. Descriptive statistics are reported as frequency counts and mean ± standard deviation where applicable. Pearson’s chi-square tests were performed to assess potential differences with a significance level set at α < 0.05. Results: The results indicated that approximately 62% of the respondents reported being familiar with the FIFA 11+ program. Of those coaches familiar with the program, 15.0% reported full implementation, 57.5% reported partial implementation, and 27.5% reported no implementation. Chi-square analyses revealed significant differences in FIFA 11+ implementation based upon division level (χ2 = 4.56, p = 0.033) and coaching certification levels (χ2 = 13.11, p = 0.011). Conclusions: This study indicates that there is a gap between FIFA 11+ knowledge and actual implementation. To reduce the risk of non-contact injury, there is a need to educate coaches and athletic trainers on the purpose of the FIFA 11+ program and how to perform the exercises correctly.

Investigating the Barriers and Facilitators to Achieving Coaching Certification

Despite a significant number of coaches pursuing formal coach training through the National Coaching Certification Program in Canada each year, very few complete the entire certification process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the barriers and facilitators that influence Canadian coaches’ decisions to acquire coaching certification. A mixed-methods convergent parallel design was employed to address the research question. The participants included 1,518 certified and noncertified coaches across Canada who completed an online questionnaire identifying the barriers and facilitators to pursuing coaching certification; of this sample, 38 coaches participated in a follow-up telephone interview. Using the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change, the findings suggest that most coaches reside in the precontemplation stage, in which they believe in and are thinking about certification, but have yet to engage in preparation. The barriers to pursuing certification included time, cost, tediousness of the process, and inaccessible evaluators, whereas the facilitators included enhanced knowledge and skills and improved coaching reputation. Future directions for increasing participation rates in the certification process include clearly identifying and broadly disseminating the benefits of acquiring certification, clarifying the criteria for evaluation, streamlining the certification process and incorporating online models, enhancing accessibility of evaluators, and incentivizing and rewarding certification.

“One Piece of a Big Puzzle”: Understanding the Roles of Coach Developers Through Interorganizational Relationships in Canada’s Coach Education System

Coach developers (CDs) are an integral aspect of the coaching education system in Canada, as they are responsible for the delivery of the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) to coaches. A means of understanding the role of CDs within the Canadian coaching education system is to gain insight into the enablers and challenges of the interorganizational relationships (IORs) between the stakeholders (e.g., organizations, CDs, and coaches). The purpose of this insights paper was to use IORs to understand the CD relationship with other stakeholders in the coach education system as they pertain to enablers and challenges. The use of IORs is a relatively new theoretical concept within the field of coaching and coach education as it pertains to CDs. Through the empirical evidence of three sports—hockey, soccer, and baseball—there were three key themes that were indicative of IORs: the NCCP delivery, communications, and monitoring/evaluating for effectiveness. On the basis of the findings from this current study, the intended system design of the Canadian coaching education system, which is based on role-set IOR, is a vertical model of top-down governance model. On the basis of the findings from this current study, the intended system design of the Canadian coaching education system, which is based on role-set IOR, is a vertical model of top-down governance, where one decision from the top impacts all the other stakeholders within the system.

Coach Developers as ‘Facilitators of Learning’ in a Large-Scale Coach Education Programme: One Actor in a Complex System

The Canadian National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) redesigned its coaching education programmes to utilise a learner-centred, problem-based approach. The purpose of this paper is to document the design, delivery, and subjective assessment of this large-scale coach education programme through the perspectives of the different actors, with a special focus on the coach developers (CDs) as an essential and important group within the coach education system. A constructivist view of learning, supported by the work of Jennifer Moon on the impact of short courses and workshops, guided this work. Part 1 of the results provides an overview of the studies conducted on the revised NCCP. Part 2 examines the perspectives of 26 CDs concerning their training and experiences delivering the redesigned NCCP. Conclusions include the importance of considering the cognitive structures of the CDs and coach learners; issues related to covering the module content versus addressing coaches’ learning needs; ensuring adequate time for questions and reflection to enable deep learning; specific training for CDs to support post-workshop learning; and the importance of taking a systems approach to coach development that considers all the actors involved in a national programme being delivered at the provincial/territorial or sport organisational level.

Coaching and Coach Education in Russia: Ice Hockey

The purpose of article is to provide an overview of coaching and coach education in Russia with a focus on ice hockey coaching. The coach education system in Russia is in a transitional stage. Previously, it was a threestage model: Baccalaureate Degree, Specialist Degree and Master’s Degree in any sport (Mikhno, Vinokurov, & Maryanovich, 2004). However, a law created by The Ministry of Sport (2014) delegated the establishment of a coaching certification system to each of the sports federations. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) proposed a 4-level license system. The N.G. Puchkov’s Ice Hockey Coaching Academy is the modern school for ice hockey coaches, which has evolved from Tarasov’s Higher Education School for Ice Hockey Coaches. Anatoly Tarasov is the Russian ice hockey coach who developed the system in the 1920s when ice hockey was first introduced to the USSR. Ice hockey coach education in Russia is gradually developing every year.