coach tracking study final report

COACH TRACKINGSTUDYA four-year study of coaching in the UK

COACH TRACKING STUDY

ContentsExecutive Summary ..................................................................1

Meet Joe......................................................................................2

The Importance of Coaches to Clubs and Participation ......3

The Changing Motivations of a Developing Coach ..............4

Supplementing Coaching Knowledge ....................................6

A Drift to Informal Learning..................................................10

A Manifesto to Improve Support to Coaches......................14

Tales of the Unexpected – the Exit from Coaching ...........16

Appendix 1: A Profile of Coaches in this Study..................17

Appendix 2: Methodology .....................................................21

90766:22 © The National Coaching Foundation, 2012. Designed and produced by Coachwise Limited. All images © Alan Edwards unless otherwise stated.


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his report is based on a unique four-year study of coaches in theUnited Kingdom. Each year, over 400

coaches completed a survey, providingdetails on their coaching practice,professional development and motivations.We have used this data to better understandcoaches and track their changes over time.

The coaches in this study represent a distinct section of the national coaching population. They are betterqualified and more experienced than average and couldeasily be referred to as the core of any coachingworkforce. As such, their views on coaching are worthlistening to and acting upon.

Below are six points to take away from this report:

1 Coaches play a vital role in participation. The 417coaches in this study alone provided coaching toover 13,000 participants. As club membershipincreased, it was often these coaches who stepped into fill the coaching gaps.

2 Although coaches often have very practical reasonsfor starting coaching (eg there was no one elseavailable to do it), as they develop, they experience arange of different and more personal benefits. There is the satisfaction that comes from seeingathletes develop and a feeling of giving somethingback to the sport/club/community.

3 Coaching allows people to stay involved in theirsport. It provides a social interaction with playersand, for some, provides a continuing involvement inthe competitive element of sport.

4 As coaches gain more experience, they start tosupplement their technical and tactical knowledgewith more interpersonal and reflection skills. There isalso a drift towards more informal learning sources,which reflects the different knowledge being sought.

5 There is a depressing trend in coaches feeling lesssupported by their governing body of sport andnational partners. While the majority still feelsupported, if this trend is allowed to continue, we willreach a stage where, by the end of what has beencalled a decade of sport, less than half ofexperienced, qualified coaches feel supported.

6 The decision to stop coaching is rarely planned inadvance. Eight out of 10 coaches who stop coachingdid not intend to do so the previous year.

This report provides information on themes

that emerged from the research. The next

step will be to create a series of detailed

reports concentrating on specific subjects

for appropriate audiences.

NEXT STEPS

1 Executive Summary

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Meet JoeIf there were such a thing as a typicalcoach from this study, it would be Joe. Hisfictional coaching story summarises thefindings from the Coach Tracking Study.

I was always a very sporty person. Looking back, Ithink I must have played about 15 sports. Some weremore serious than others, and I even made it tocounty level in a few. I think that’s why my clubapproached me in the first place – they were short ofcoaches and figured I knew the game and had thecommitment to turn up every week.

I liked the idea of giving something back to the clubthat had given me so much, and I was happy to help.While I remembered my old coach, I wanted to makesure I was doing the right thing so I signed up for aLevel 1 course. It was worth it. After the course, I hada lot more confidence to coach as I felt my knowledgewas more up to date.

After a few years, I wanted to take my coaching to thenext level so I completed my Level 2 qualification, butnowadays, I like to learn more on my own time.

When I started coaching, it was tactics and drills I wasafter. While I’m still looking for these, what I really wantto do is develop myself as a coach. If I’m going to askmy players to improve, it’s only fair I should try toimprove myself. I’ve learnt to reflect on my owncoaching and, these days, I would probably learn moretalking to other coaches than listening to someonestanding at the front of a classroom.

Over the years, I found the amount of coaching I didjust kept increasing. Our sport would have arecruitment drive, and lots of new people came to theclub, but we didn’t have any extra coaches! It wasusually me who had to fill in the gaps. I enjoyedworking with new people, but there’s only so muchone man can do.

What I really like about coaching is seeing my playersimprove and knowing I had something to do with it.Of course, it’s even better when we win – that’s justlike the good old days when I was out on the pitchmyself. But ultimately, it’s about the players I work with.I want them to have the opportunity to develop, butthey’ve also got to have fun. That’s what I love about it!

I haven’t coached for two years now. I just didn’t seethat coming! What happened was I changed my joband just didn’t have the same time to devote to myplayers. Hopefully, I can get back into it in some formas I have a lot of skills and experience to offer.

Joe


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ver half of the coaches in this studyoriginally started coaching becausethere was no one else available, and this trend appears to have

continued throughout their career. Last year,one third of coaches had undertaken morecoaching than before, and the most commonreason for doing so was an increase inparticipation and thus a greater demand forcoaches. Thirty per cent (30%) of additionalcoaching was due to increased demandwithin the club, while 27% was the result oftaking on a new coaching role with increasedresponsibility for more participants.Interestingly, about a third of coaches mentioned thatincreased demand had been stimulated by a clubrecruitment drive or a governing body/county sportspartnership (CSP) sponsored programme (eg Chance toShine in cricket, Get Back Into squash, Sky Ride).

Here are a series of comments from coaches as to whythey have done more coaching.

They show the link between increased participation and coaching:

• A growing need at our club, I have taken up footballcoaching as well as cricket.

• The club has more teams, meaning, to get betterimprovement, I must spend more time coaching.

• Local clubs have made a big effort to recruit new membersso more basic coaching is required.

• Increased demand by our club and local authority(LA)/primary care trust (PCT) projects and opportunities.

• Pressure from my club due to increased success of anexpanding membership.

• Increase in players needing coaching.

• Loss of other staff. Taken on another squad group.

These findings show the vital role coaches play inabsorbing demand created by new participation projects.Equally important are the skills these more experiencedcoaches bring to a session that ensure new participantsreceive a good first impression of the sport and areencouraged to maintain their participation.

This is in line with exercise psychology research that hasfound the important role coaches can play in participation.Weinberg and Gould (2003) suggest:

Most people starting a programme need extra motivation andthe coach/leader’s encouragement, enthusiasm and knowledgeare critical in this regard...Good coaches/leaders also showconcern for safety and psychological comfort [and] developexpertise in answering questions about exercise.1

These are precisely the skills that experienced coaches canprovide to new participants.

2 The Importance of Coaches toClubs and Participation

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1 Weinberg, R. and Gould, D. (2003) Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. ISBN: 978-0-736064-67-5.

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lenty has been written on the needs of participants and the benefits they receive from coaching, but less has

been said about what coaches get out of thisrelationship. From this study, it appears that,as coaches gain experience, so the benefitsthey receive change.

It is often the case that coaches initially got involved incoaching for practical reasons. The two most commonreasons for starting coaching were an existing shortage of coaches at a club (stated as a reason by 49% ofcoaches) and as a way to give something back to their club/sport/community (stated as a reason by 58% of coaches).2

By Year Four of the study, we see a change. Now, thereasons for coaching are more personal and reflect thesatisfaction that coaches receive from seeing theirathletes/participants improve and knowing that they hadsomething to do with it. There is also an important socialaspect for coaches who enjoy the interaction with players.Nine out of 10 coaches identified these three reasons astheir motivation to continue coaching.

3 The Changing Motivations of a Developing Coach

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42 Coaches could have more than one reason for starting coaching and therefore the percentages do not add up to 100.


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A secondary, and apparently less expected, benefit is thatcoaching becomes a continuation of participation. Lessthan a third of coaches started coaching to stay involved atthe end of their sporting career, but by Year Four, that hadmore than doubled. Now, the proportion of coaches citing‘maintaining involvement in a sport I don’t play any more’as a motivation to coach had risen to 68%.

Similarly, there has been a significant increase in coachesstating that enjoying the thrill of competition is amotivation to coach. Since this question was first asked inYear Two, the percentage of coaches who mentioned the‘thrill of competition’ has also more than doubled from26% to 55%.

These findings on coaching as a continuation ofparticipation and competition need to be viewed withinthe context that these coaches predominantly operate in.Only a third of these coaches work with beginners orimprovers, and less than half work with children under 11.It is doubtful these results would be the same for coachesworking with younger children or in a more participation-focused environment.

Very few differences emerged between the motivations ofmale and female coaches. Male coaches rated the following

motivations more highly: maintaining involvement; the thrillof competition; and helping their children. For femalecoaches, career development was a more importantmotivation for coaching, but this may reflect the fact thattwo thirds of female coaches in this sample were eitherpart-time or full-time coaches.

It is not just participants who wish to achieve somethingfrom their sporting experience. For coaches, a consistentset of objectives has emerged, with nine out of 10 agreeingthe following were essential objectives:

• improving the team/athlete in terms of performance,physical conditioning and skill

• providing fun and enjoyment

• improving life skills.

Of these, improving performance, skill and fun were ratedas very important by over 70% of coaches.

Over the four years, the importance given to eachcoaching objective has remained constant. The onlyexceptions were an increase in importance for objectivesrelated to competition (albeit by less than 5%). This is inline with what was said earlier about the changingmotivations of coaches.

Motivation Number %

I like the interaction with athletes/players/participants. 393 98.3

I like seeing athletes/players/participants develop their skills and improve. 391 97.8

I like the buzz when athletes/players/participants do well, knowing that I had

something to do with that.365 91.3

It provides me with opportunities for personal development. 286 71.5

It allows me to maintain involvement in sport now that I don’t play/participate

any more.270 67.5

I like the thrill of competition. 219 54.8

I do it so that I can help my old club/team. 190 47.5

I enjoy coaching because it is a good career in terms of benefits

(eg work-life balance).167 41.8

It enhances my career development. 166 41.5

I do it so that I can help my child in his/her sport. 105 26.3

It is a good social alternative. 89 22.3

It is a good career in terms of pay. 67 16.8

Table 1: Motivation to continue coaching (Year Four)


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here is no doubt that coaches believethere is a benefit to learning anddevelopment. Ninety-five per cent

(95%) believed it was important to improveor widen coaching knowledge and practice.Three themes that emerged from coaches asto why learning is important to themrevolved around: the need to avoidstagnating; a link between coachdevelopment and player improvement; andproviding better coaching sessions.

Coaches often mentioned that you cannot stand still, assport 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 andimprovement in the player :

• To be able to get the gymnasts in my care to achieve theirfull potential.

• To help improve the performance of the athletes. There hasto be a strong knowledge base to supplement effective

questioning/discovery methods.

• Sports coaching is always developing/changing. I need tokeep abreast of important changes so that I can pass onany relevant knowledge/skills to my students to improvetheir knowledge/skills.

Thirdly, coaches felt that improving their skills led to better sessions:

• To make my sessions/lessons relevant, specific to theirneeds and up to date.

• I want to improve the way I deliver my thoughts and ideasto players, to simplify as much as possible and facilitatetheir development.

• This will keep me fresh so that, when I deliver, my sessionsare new and fresh.

Information sought by coachesWhen coaches were asked what types of knowledge andinformation they sought, technical/tactical knowledgeemerged as the most important. This and knowledge ofother coaching skills, such as providing feedback, planning,motivation, observation and analysis, were sought byaround two thirds of coaches.

However, these more experienced coaches also accessedinformation associated with learning from their ownpractice. Skills such as listening, self-reflection andevaluation were also in the top 10 knowledge/informationsources sought.

4 Supplementing CoachingKnowledge

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Knowledge/Information Sought Number %

Technical/tactical knowledge 308 77

Providing feedback 280 70

Planning sessions: structure, format, content 272 68

Listening 268 67

Motivating athletes 264 66

Observation and analysis 262 66

Self-reflection and critical thinking 257 64

Evaluating sessions/programmes 254 64

Knowledge of a wide range of coaching methods 249 62

Providing instruction 245 61

Understanding/evaluating athlete/player development 243 61

Questioning 241 60

Planning programmes (over a season, year, cycle) 228 57

Responsiveness/adaptability to situation/person 228 57

Organisation of sessions (eg facilities, equipment, health and safety) 218 55

Decision making 196 49

Managing the coaching environment 196 49

Facilitating 188 47

Table 2: Knowledge/information sources sought by coaches (Year Four)

As they gain experience, it appears coaches look to supplement their existing coaching knowledge with new types ofinformation. Figure 1 shows how usage of these different sources of knowledge (ie those outside the top 10 in Table 2) has increased since Year Two while more traditional knowledge, such as planning and organising sessions, has been soughtout less.


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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)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8-3 -2 -1

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 learningopportunities, there has been a decline in the importancethey 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 isthat this shift confirms a recurring trend of traditional

coaching knowledge being supplemented by interpersonaland reflection skills.

Table 3 shows that basic coaching skills around theplanning and organisation of a session are the most likelyto have decreased in importance for coaches, while thoseinformation sources that maintained their value in the eyesof coaches involved more interpersonal skills (such asmotivating, listening, providing feedback, andresponsiveness) and evaluation skills.


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Year Four(%)

Year Two (%)

Difference

Planning programmes (over a season, year, cycle) 88.7 97.6 -8.9

Organisation of sessions (eg facilities, equipment, health

and safety)89.9 97.4 -7.5

Decision making 92.2 98.9 -6.7

Facilitating 92.1 98.2 -6.1

Planning sessions: structure, format, content 93.6 98.9 -5.3

Providing instruction 94.7 100 -5.3

Managing the coaching environment 91.5 96.7 -5.2

Self-reflection and critical thinking 95.4 99.6 -4.2

Technical/tactical knowledge 95.4 99.4 -4

Questioning 95.5 99.2 -3.7

Knowledge of a wide range of coaching methods 95 97.9 -2.9

Evaluating sessions/programmes 96.2 99.1 -2.9

Understanding/evaluating athlete/player development 95.9 98.7 -2.8

Observation and analysis 97.3 100 -2.7

Responsiveness/adaptability to situation/person 97.4 99.5 -2.1

Listening 98.2 100 -1.8

Providing feedback 98.2 100 -1.8

Motivating athletes 97.6 98.5 -0.9

Table 3: The percentage of coaches who believed an informationsource was important, and the change from Year Two

All the evidence points to an understandable trend in theknowledge sought by coaches. Initially, the basic skillsneeded to run a coaching session were most important,but as coaches gain more experience, so they want toimprove their coaching by adding different skills and startto reflect on their own practice (a process that in itselfrequires new knowledge). Of course, this doesn’t meanthat coaches are no longer looking for tactical andtechnical knowledge – these are still the most commonlysought types – rather, it shows coaches are interested inincreasing their breadth of knowledge.

Coaches have also become more discerning about thequality of knowledge being offered. Common reactions

from coaches about the best learning sources in theprevious year demonstrate how they value newinformation to develop their sessions. Commentssuggested that new information gives me different aspectsand new ideas or helped by revitalising session by introducingnew ideas.

However, there is also a danger of coaches feeling they arelearning nothing new and therefore the value of thelearning source is reduced. As one coach commented:

It was interesting but of little real use as it didn’t introducemuch that was new to me beyond some tactical analyses.Otherwise, it was frustrating.

5 A Drift to Informal Learning


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he last four years have seen a change in how coaches acquire knowledge. They have moved away frommore organised, formal sources towards more informal learning.3 Table 4 shows that the primarysources used by coaches to develop their knowledge and skills tend to be informal sources of learning.

Source of Learning %

Coaching practice 86.5

Reading coaching books, magazines and journals 83.8

Reflecting on past coaching 81.0

Working with athletes/players/participants 78.3

Working with/observing coaches from your sport 73.0

Experiences as an athlete/player/participant 63.8

Watching DVDs, videos, CD-ROMs 63.3

Advice from family/friends 53.0

Online learning 54.5

Workshops 57.8

Governing body coaching qualification 44.8

Coaching conferences 48.0

Working with/observing coaches from other sports 43.3

Non-coaching-related education 41.0

Experience at work outside coaching 44.3

Table 4: Percentage of coaches using different learning sources

3 For the purpose of this study, formal learning is regarded as an organised and structured presentation of knowledge/information to coaches (egqualifications, workshops and, to a lesser degree, conferences). Informal learning takes place outside of these formal situations (eg learning fromexperience, talking with other coaches) or is self-directed (eg reading a book or searching the Internet). For a more detailed explanation of formaland informal learning, see the sports coach UK website: www.sportscoachuk.org/resource/coach-learning-and-development-review-literature

Formal sources of learning

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This drift towards informal learning is best demonstratedby comparing learning sources used in Year Four to Year One. While coaching practice remained the number one learning source, formal sources have dropped down the rankings. The biggest drop has been for governing body qualifications, which have gone from third most popular in Year One to 11th in Year Four. Other sources dropping down the rankings have been

workshops (seventh to 10th) and conferences (10th to 12th).

The other source that dropped down the rankings was‘experiences as an athlete’. This is perhaps not surprising ascoaches are now relying more on their experiences as acoach than as an athlete. This is demonstrated by the riseup the table for both ‘reflecting on past coaching’ and‘working with athletes/players/participants’.

Source of LearningYear FourRanking

Change fromYear One

Coaching practice 1 0

Reading coaching books, magazines and journals 2 2

Reflecting on past coaching 3 3

Working with athletes/players/participants 4 4

Working with/observing coaches from your sport 5 0

Experiences as an athlete/player/participant 6 4

Watching DVDs, videos, CD-ROMs 7 2

Advice from family/friends 8 4

Online learning 9 5

Workshops 10 3

Governing body coaching qualification 11 8

Coaching conferences 12 2

Working with/observing coaches from other sports 13 2

Non-coaching-related education 14 4

Experience at work outside coaching 15 2

Table 5: Ranking of learning sources used by coaches in Year Four and changes from Year One



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A clue to why this is the case may be the importance placed on each source. Top-ranked sources in Year Four havechanged little in importance, but outside this, there are significant decreases in the importance given to a learning source.Keeping the results in context, it must be remembered that even those sources declining in importance are still valued byaround three quarters of coaches.

Source of Learning

Percentage ofCoaches StatingLearning Sourcewas Important

Change inImportance(Percentage

Points)

Coaching practice 98.7 -1

Reading coaching books, magazines and journals 92.4 -1

Reflecting on past coaching 96.1 -4

Working with athletes/players/participants 98.3 -1

Working with/observing coaches from your sport 94.2 -5

Experiences as an athlete/player/participant 84.4 -6

Watching DVDs, videos, CD-ROMs 68.7 -30

Advice from family/friends 72.2 -22

Online learning 80.1 -16

Workshops 85.2 -14

Governing body coaching qualification 74.6 -24

Coaching conferences 75.9 -23

Working with/observing coaches from other sports 76 -23

Non-coaching-related education 70.6 -26

Experience at work outside coaching 64.7 -32

Table 6: The importance of learning sources to coaches in Year Four and the change since Year One



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Another reason for a drift to informal learning is thatformal learning may create practical issues that informallearning avoids. Just under one third of coachesundertaking a governing body qualification identifiedproblems of costs, location and timing.

The comment below from one coach aptly sums up the feelings of coaches who are drifting towards informal learning:

I feel that I am now at a stage where I will only learn more byspeaking to more qualified coaches or initiating my ownstudies via the Internet. I do not see myself having the time totake additional courses, not that I could afford a Level 3course anyway.

While there has been a drift towards more informallearning, this should not be taken as a criticism of formal

learning. Rather, it is the case that the skills coaches arenow seeking are different and more likely to be accessedoutside formal environments. Importantly, there is noevidence that the quality of formal learning has impactedon this change.

When coaches were asked what the most influentiallearning source used in the previous year was, opinionswere split. 58% suggested informal learning sources, with42% suggesting formal. Considering the drift towardsinformal learning in the last four years, you would haveexpected a similar increase in the percentage of informalsources being considered the most influential. Instead, the results have remained consistent. Why these informalsources have not increased in influence in line with their usage is a question that needs to be addressed infuture research.

‘I feel that I am now at a stage where I will onlylearn more by speaking to more qualified coaches orinitiating my own studies via the Internet.’

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6 A Manifesto to ImproveSupport to Coaches


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irstly, it needs to be stated that overtwo thirds of coaches feel supportedoverall by their governing body of sport

and other partners. But this figure has beenin decline over the last four years (down from75% to 67%), and if this trend is allowed tocontinue, less than half of coaches will feelsupported at the end of what was supposedto be a decade of sport! These coaches have already been identified as thebackbone of coaching and their sport, but increasingly, theyfeel the support system is a remote, bewilderingbureaucracy with structures and processes that make itdifficult for coaches to understand. In particular, they feellet down by support with identifying the opportunities thatare available and what their next steps in coaching are.(Around one third of coaches feel ‘not supported at all’ inthese areas.)

Embracing these experienced, qualified and dedicatedcoaches offers considerable benefits to any sport lookingto develop and grow its participants. As part of theresearch, the coaches were asked to put forward theirsuggestions for improving support to coaches. Here, themost common suggestions are consolidated into theirmanifesto for improving support.

Five key areas to this manifesto are:

1 better communication

2 increased access to funding

3 more mentors

4 more individual support

5 better use of technology.

Better communicationCoaches want better communication from the top down.In particular, they want a greater focus on raisingawareness of opportunities for coaches. However, theyalso see communication as a two-way process and feelthey have a lot to contribute if people will only listen.Comments on communication included:

• More lines of communicating, far too easy to be left out ofthe loop after coaching qualification has completed.

• If I didn’t phone, I wouldn’t hear from them unless theywanted me to do something for them (eg fill in a form!).

• If you don’t find it on the website, then you don’t know it exists.

• Governing bodies to listen when you want to give feedback. Talk.

• They could invite coaches for meetings to discuss how they could help more. I read a lot and have almost 20 years’ experience.

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Increased access to fundingAs well as awareness of opportunities, coaches wantsupport with funding to take advantage of them when they arise. Coaches’ issues and suggestions concerningfunding included:

• As always, I think it comes down to funding. Courses are stillprohibitively expensive for some people.

• I will not be coaching for the forseeable future as I can nolonger afford the cost. Unless something is done about thisissue, I am sure many other coaches in various sports willbe forced into taking similar drastic action.

• Making grants available to upskill (eg psychology, strengthand conditioning).

More mentorsA regular comment from coaches is that they want to takeadvantage of more mentors. Working with an experiencedcoach is regarded as a key developmental opportunityclosely linked with taking the next step in their owncoaching career. It also addresses a desire for moreindividualised support.

• (More) assigned mentors for coaches who are qualified andaspire to reach the highest coaching level they can.

• Grass-roots coaches should have more opportunities tosee/watch/work with high level performance coaches tomaintain motivation and see new ways of working.

• To have a mentor who understands governing body ofsport/LA/school to impact and have the opportunity tomove forward.

More individual supportThere is a feeling that support needs to be based aroundthe needs of individual coaches. Coaches suggested thiswas best achieved through a more localised network,development officers and mentors.

• Work closely with coaches to establish their strengths andweaknesses to help develop in all areas. Not just set upgeneric courses but establish specific workshops that caterfor the individuals’ needs.

• Lip service is paid to individual coach development.Conferences encompass beginners to expert at the samecourses. I would ask coaches what their needs are on anindividual basis instead of coming up with the samecourses with different names.

• Having a coach network, where you can ring to obtainadvice on any sport, more drills to be made available forcoaches to aid their development, perhaps a local rep foreach area who could be used as a sounding board.

• The development of regional training managers has beenan excellent addition to an already good system.

• Better linked in development officers from governing bodiesof sport.

Better use of technologyTo a lesser degree, coaches also suggested IS solutionswould improve their access to information and training resources.

• More free advice available through courses or informationon the web.

• Online support, provision of computer-basedlearning/experience that can be accessed at a timeconvenient to the coach. Conferences/workshops etc,although very useful, require time to attend.

• There needs to be a concerted forum/resource across thevarious sports to provide the latest ideas/documents/models/concepts in coaching with free access for all levelsof coach on which to share best practice.

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ight out of 10 people who stopcoaching did not intend to do so. Overthe course of this four-year study, 130

coaches who stopped coaching providedinformation on why. Of these, only 18% hadstated the previous year that they intendedto stop coaching.

The most common reasons for stopping coaching werepersonal (71% of all responses). These included changes inwork, education, family circumstances or health. As theseare often unexpected events, it is not surprising that thecoaches did not expect to stop coaching. Only 15% ofcoaches are full-time, and it is not surprising that their lifeoutside coaching has as big an influence on their coachingcareers as what happens in the sporting arena.

System-related reasons accounted for under a third ofcoaches stopping coaching. These were mainly a lack ofsupport and opportunities. This is consistent with otherresults in that coaches are satisfied overall with the supportthey receive, but there is a small percentage who aredissatisfied. Dealing with the reasons behind thisdissatisfaction will likely improve coach retention, ratherthan trying to deal with personal issues outside the controlof a governing body.

The previous section of this report is a perfect startingpoint for addressing system-related reasons for the exitfrom coaching.

7 Tales of the Unexpected – the Exit from Coaching

E Work

Education

Family

Health

Appendix 1: A Profile ofCoaches in this Study


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he coaches in this study represent adistinct group of experienced andqualified coaches. While this research

project originally set out to sample a widerange of coaches, by Year Four, the samplehad contracted into this group.

Demographically, the coaches are similar to the typicalcoach profile4, but the key differences for the coaches inthis sample are:

• 94% have a qualification, compared to 53% of theoverall coaching population

• they are more likely to hold a higher level qualification

• they are less likely to be working as a volunteer (45% compared to 76% nationally)

• they are more likely to be working with higher levelparticipants and in a club setting.

QualificationsThe most striking difference between the coaches in thisstudy and the general coaching population concernsqualifications. In this study, 94% of coaches have aqualification compared to the national average of 53%. Inaddition, these qualifications tend to be at a higher levelthan average.

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Highest Level QualificationCoach Tracking

Study (%)All Coaches (%)

No qualification 6 47

Level 1 14 18

Level 2 27 19

Level 3 34 10

Level 4/5 19 6

Table 7: Qualifications of coaches in this study compared to theaverage for all coaches

4 Figures for the national average for all coaches are taken from sports coach UK (2010) Sports Coaching in the UK 3,available to download from the sports coach UK website: www.sportscoachuk.org/resource/sports-coaching-uk-3


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Employment status Another key difference to bear in mind is that the coaches in this study are more likely to be paid (in some capacity) fortheir coaching. Only 45% are volunteers compared to the national average of 76%.

Coach TrackingStudy (%)

All Coaches (%)

Full-time 15 3

Part-time 40 21

Volunteer 45 76

Table 8: Employment status of coaches in this study compared to theaverage of all coaches

Demographics The demographics of this group show they are primarily male, non-disabled and white, although, in truth, this varies littlefrom the current coaching population.

Coach Tracking Study All Coaches

Number % %

Gender

Male 311 75 69

Female 106 25 31

Disability

Disabled 15 4 8

Non-disabled 393 96 92

Ethnicity

White 389 96 97

Black and ethnic minorities 9 2 3

Prefer not to say 7 2 0

Total 417

Table 9: Coaches in this study by gender, disability and ethnicitycompared to the average of all coaches


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Age The average age of these coaches was 45, and 83% of coaches were aged over 35. The average age at which thesecoaches started was 28 so they are also an experienced group of coaches.

Number %

15–24 years 15 4

25–34 years 58 14

35–44 years 71 17

45–55 years 156 38

55+ years 115 28

Table 10: Average age of coaches in the Coach Tracking Study

Groups coached and coaching setting The coaches in this study are more likely to be found coaching at club or representative level (eg regional, national). Aroundone third work with participants described as beginners or improvers (compared with the national coaching average of 57%),and 7% work in recreational settings. This has increased slightly since Year Two, which would be consistent with evidencediscussed earlier that these coaches are helping to meet the needs of new participants coming into the sport.

Year Four Year Two

Number % Number %

Beginner 124 31 121 29

Improver 145 36 139 33

Club 215 54 204 49

County 99 25 78 19

Regional 71 18 74 18

National 61 15 45 11

International 34 9 24 6

Recreational 27 7 22 5

Mixed 14 4 n/a n/a

Table 11: Level of participant groups coached in Year Four compared to Year Two


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Half of all coaching carried out by these coaches takes place in clubs, and 17% takes place in schools. The remaining sessions(which account for one third of all coaching) are evenly spread between private, community and education settings. Directcomparisons with the national average are not possible as the settings used in other surveys are different. However, it is fair tosay that the coaches in this sample are more likely to coach in clubs and less likely to coach in schools.

Coaching Setting Number %

Club 357 51

School 122 17

Governing body 64 9

Private 46 7

Leisure centre 23 3

Local authority 23 3

Community project 20 3

University 19 3

College/further education 18 3

Youth club 6 1

Sports institute 2 0

Table 12: Setting in which coaching sessions take place


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Appendix 2: Methodology ver the course of this project, coacheswere asked to complete a detailedquestionnaire once a year. The

questionnaire used a mixture of closed andopen response questions and, as much aspossible, tried to ask the same questionsfrom year to year. The participants wereallowed six months to complete and returnthe questionnaire. For those participantswho had not returned their questionnaire bypost, regular reminders were sent viaCoaching Edge and by email.

The questionnaire was divided into the following thematic sections:

• Section A: Personal changes over the last 12 months

• Section B: Coaching changes over the last 12 months

• Section C: Coaching experience in the last 12 months

• Section D: Coach objectives

• Section E: Coach development experiences andknowledge in the last 12 months

• Section F: Coach qualifications

• Section G: Coaching careers

• Section H: Evaluating your own performance

• Section I: Support services

• Section J: The next 12 months.

Participants were offered three options for completing the survey:

• Paper submission: All participants were sent a paperversion of the questionnaire along with a prepaidenvelope to return it in.

• Online submission: Participants with Internet accesswere sent a secure web link to an online version of thequestionnaire. The link, unique to each coach, allowedparticipants to complete the questionnaire over timeand submit once completed.

• Over the phone: Coaches were also able to complete the questionnaire over the phone with theprincipal researcher.

A key issue for the project, given its longitudinal design, wasto minimise attrition and maximise retention ofparticipating coaches. Given that data collection occurs onan annual basis, it was important to maintain regularcontact with participants. As an incentive to maintainparticipation in the project, all coaches were offered a freesubscription to Coaching Edge, a magazine that presentsinformation on coaching, coaching methods, development,leading practice and case studies. The magazine is aquarterly publication, which ensured that participants werereceiving communication from the project team everythree months.

As an additional incentive, all participating coaches wereentered into an annual prize draw for the UK CoachingAwards, one of the most high profile events celebrating thebest of coaching in the UK. Information and updatesregarding the project, as well as the experience of thecoaches attending the UK Coaching Awards, were featuredin Coaching Edge, thereby reinforcing to coaches theimportance of the study and illustrating its impact.

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ResponseThe project sought to recruit as wide a sample of coachesas possible using the following methods:

• Contact was made with governing bodies of sportdevelopment officers to raise interest in the study andestablish contact with clubs and coaches.

• Information regarding the study was posted on thesports coach UK website.

• Interested participants were urged to register theirdetails through a dedicated web page or contact theprincipal researcher by phone or email. Information wasalso posted on the coaching pages of a number ofgoverning body websites.

• A press release was sent to local press nationwide.

• Details of the study were included in sports coach UK’squarterly magazine, Coaching Edge, which, at the time,had a circulation of 2000+ coaches.

• sports coach UK’s minimum operating standardsworkshops saw 15,000 flyers distributed through sportscoach UK’s coach development network and regionalcoaching conferences.

• More than 7000 coaches, including 1000 communitysports coaches, were directly invited to take part in thestudy via a postal mail-out.

Of the 1264 coaches who participated in Year One, onethird remained in the programme and returned thequestionnaire each year. The majority of coaches who didnot re-engage with the study did not communicate reasonsfor their withdrawal, but 130 coaches did indicate that theyhad stopped coaching and provided reasons for doing so.This information is included in the report.

As has already been stated, the sample of coaches becameconcentrated on experienced and qualified coaches. It issuggested that these are the most interested in coachingand therefore the most likely to spend time completing theannual surveys. This raises some interesting methodologicalissues for research with other groups who may be harderto engage with.

AnalysisGiven the longitudinal design of the project and its statedaim of tracking coaches’ progress over four years, it wasimportant to compare Year Four results with those in YearOne. To facilitate this, Year One results were recalculatedon the basis of the Year Four sample (417 coaches) toprovide direct comparability.


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Year Respondents

One 1264

Two 851

Three 585

Four 417

Table 13: Response rates for the four years


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Acknowledgements The Research Team at sports coach UK would like to thank all the coaches who took time out of their busy schedules totake part in this research.

We would also like to thank Melina Timson-Katchis and Julian North who no longer work at sports coach UK but wereinstrumental in developing and running this project.

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coach tracking study final report

Documents

qualified coaches

importance of coaches

profile of coaches

coaching practice

coaching toover

coaching gaps

national coaching population

national coaching foundation