Coaches’ learning and education: a case study of cultures in conflict

Despite being subject to criticism for failing to match the realities of everyday practice, there appears to be a lack of direct empirical evidence for the impact of formal education on coaches’ knowledge and practice. While a test of an evaluation strategy by Gilbert and Trudel (1999) stands out as one study which attempted to address this, research investigating coaches’ learning as an integrated whole, taking their existing biography and practice contexts into account, remains necessary. Employing an in-depth case study approach, this research used multiple methods to track two coaches over a year, encompassing their time before, during and after attending a coach education programme. Contrasts were apparent between the espoused and implicit philosophies of the course, and between course and club cultures. Coaches, therefore, displayed minimal changes in behaviour, relying on their existing biography to filter new ideas and integrating ‘what works’ into their practice context. Detailed longitudinal data such as these are necessary to elucidate and guide the processes of coach development.