Exploring the Everyday Realities of Coach Education: A Case Study of a FA Level 2 Coach Education Course Mr Ashley Allanson Dr Lee Nelson and Dr Paul Potrac University of Hull Department of Sport, Health & Exercise Science

 Coaches play an important role in maximising athletic learning, development and experience. (Cassidy et al., 2004)  Increasing importance attached to coach education. (Cassidy et al., 2006; Cushion et al., 2003)  Significant investment into and re-development of the FA coach education programme. (Football Development Department Discussion Document for Coaching )  Paucity of published research into FA coach education programmes. (Chesterfield et al., 2010) Introduction

 Empirical coaching studies have provided a ‘snapshot’ of football coaches’ perceptions of coach education programmes. Chesterfield et al. (2010) Hope Powell in Jones et al. (2004) Coach Perceptions Steve Harrison in Jones et al. (2004)

 Gold standard: One size ‘fits all’. (Abraham & Collins, 1998)  “Straightforward, bio-scientific, unproblematic process”. (Cushion & Jones, 2006; Potrac et al., 2002, p. 188) HUMAN COMPLEXITY  ‘Clean’ and ‘rationalistic’ programmes that fail to consider the HUMAN COMPLEXITY involved within coaching. (Cassidy et al., 2004; Jones et al., 2004) Academic Critique

 Coaching scholars have offered a range of theoretically informed alternative pedagogical approaches. ‘Knowledge-for-Action’ (Jones & Wallace, 2005) ‘Solutions’ Problem-based (Jones & Turner, 2006) Issue-based (Trudel & Gilbert, 2006) Mentoring (Cushion, 2006) Reflection (Knowles et al., 2006) Communities of Practice (Culver & Trudel, 2006)

“ Offer a more secure foundation on which knowledge-for action projects could build to yield more realistic practical guidance and, ultimately, greater sporting success ” (Jones & Wallace, 2005, p. 123) ‘Knowledge-for-Understanding’ (Jones & Wallace, 2005)

Social Complexity Surrounding Coaching

Messy Realities of a Level 2 Course?

The Coach Educators’ Perspective (?) IMPACT  What do they do?  How do they do it?  Why do they do the things in the way that they do?  How do they experience their role?

The Coach Learners’ Perspective (?) Academy Coach Community Coach IMPACT  How do they experience the content, delivery and assessment?  Why do they respond in the ways that they do?  How does it impact upon their understanding practice?

Summary  Increased recognition towards the importance of coach education.  Criticisms of coach education have driven ‘knowledge-for-action’.  Need for ‘knowledge-for-understanding’ of coach education: -Describe the contextual realities of coach education courses. -Consider how ‘life histories’ shape coach educators’ and coach learners’ experiences, perceptions, engagement and practices.

Any Questions???

 Abrahams, A., & Collins, D. (1998). Examining and extending research in coach development. Quest, 50,  Cassidy, T., Jones, R., & Potrac, P. (2004). Understanding Sports Coaching: The Social, Cultural and Pedagogical Foundations of Coaching Practice. New York, NY: Routledge.  Cassidy, T., Potrac, P., & McKenzie, A. (2006). Evaluating and reflecting upon a coach education initiative: The CoDe of rugby. The Sport Psychologist, 20,  Chesterfield, G., Potrac, P., & Jones, R. (2010). Studentship and impression management in an advanced soccer coach education award. Sport, Education and Society, 15 (3),  Culver, D., & Trudel, P. (2006). Cultivating coaches’ communities of practice: Developing the potential for learning through interactions. In R.L. Jones (Ed.), The Sports Coach as Educator: Re-Conceptualising Sports Coaching (p ). London, UK: Routledge.  Cushion (2006). Mentoring. In R.L. Jones (Ed.), The Sports Coach as Educator: Re-conceptualising Sports Coaching (p ). New York, NY: Routledge.  Cushion, C., Armour, K., & Jones, R. (2003). Coach education and continuing professional development: Experience and learning to coach. Quest, 55,  Cushion, C., & Jones, R.L. (2006). Power, Discourse, and Symbolic Violence in Professional Youth Soccer: The Case of Albion Football Club. Sociology of Sport Journal, 23, References

 Demers, G., Woodburn, A.J., & Savard, C. (2006). The development of an undergraduate competency-based coach education program. The Sport Psychologist, 20,  Jones, R.L., Armour, K.M., & Potrac, P. (2004). Sports Coaching Cultures: From Practice to Theory. London, UK: Routledge.  Jones, R.L., & Turner, P. (2006). Teaching coaches to coach holistically: The case for a problem-based learning (PBL) approach. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 11(2),  Jones, R.L., & Wallace, M. (2005). Another bad day at the training ground: Coping with ambiguity in the coaching context. Sport, Education and Society, 10 (1),  Knowles, Z., Tyler, G., Gilbourne, D., & Eubank, M. (2006). Reflecting on reflection: Exploring the practice of sports coaching graduates. Reflective Practice, 7 (2),  Potrac, P., Jones, R., & Armour, K.M. (2002). It’s all about getting respect: the coaching behaviours of an expert English soccer coach. Sport, Education, and Society, 7 (2),  TheFA.com (2011). Developing World-Class Coaches and Players: Football Development Discussion Document for Coaching Retrieved June 5 th, 2011, from  Trudel, P., & Gilbert, W.D. (2006). Coaching and Coach Education. In D. Kirk, M. O’Sullivan & D. McDonald (Eds.), Handbook of Physical Education, (p ) Sage, London. References