In completing this thesis I am interested in two broad questions; what is coaching and how do we develop it? Surprisingly after nearly forty years of coaching research there is no agreed answer to these questions in the literature. This is perhaps not that surprising since other more established roles such as teaching are still struggling with answering this sort of ontological question after many more years of research. Despite this struggle, I focus my attention on applying the theory of Professional Judgement and Decision Making (PJDM) to understanding what coaching is and what the implications are for coach development. In taking this approach and seeking answers to the broad questions I present five substantive chapters, two of which are critical desk top studies, the other three being empirical studies. These are wrapped in introduction (Chapter 1) and conclusion (Chapter 7) chapters. Chapter 2 presents what PJDM is and how it can work as a parsimonious theory to draw in current coaching literature to understand what coaching is and how it can work. Chapter 3 presents data from long jump coaches that suggests that coaches are capable of engaging and do engage in PJDM but only when pressured to do so. Prior to this, the coaches preferred to take more of a folk, experiential, gut feeling approach to solving a contextualised coaching problem. Building from Chapter 3, Chapter 4 identifies how individual differences in how coaches view knowledge and learning can explain their willingness to engage in PJDM and aligned formal coach development activities. More specifically, that coaches with a dualistic view on learning and knowledge will shy away from or even disrupt coach development that confuses their view on the world. Alternatively, coaches with a more relativistic view will actively seek out new knowledge to improve their understanding of coaching and athlete development. Drawing on the findings of the thesis to this point Chapter 5 identifies that to improve coaches’ willingness and capacity to engage in PJDM the biggest impact must come from formal coach education. As such Chapter 5 offers a summary of a broad range of empirical and theoretical research and how an aligned application of this research can lead to more impactful formal coach development. Chapter 6, builds from Chapter 5 by noting that more impactful formal coach development will require more professional coach developers. As such, in this chapter I define what a high performing coach developer should know and be capable of. This definition was subsequently used to develop of Postgraduate Certificate in Coach Education for The Football Association. To conclude therefore, I deliver answers to the two broad questions set at the beginning of the thesis. Firstly and briefly, coaching is a PJDM process that draws on formal, theoretical knowledge to solve coaching problems and make decisions leading to the achievement of goals. Secondly, that to develop coaches capable of PJDM, coach development must practice what it preaches and engage in creating development programmes that are supported by theoretical and empirical research relating to programme development, adult learning, curriculum building and individual differences.

Community youth sport coaching is identified as a coaching domain tasked with delivering complex social outcomes. When coaching in this context, individuals can be expected to operate in multiple settings, as well as engage with, and support numerous participant types. To meet participant needs coaches are required to have a wide range of skills and competencies. Current research suggests how coaching roles emerge and competencies develop are not always clear. Therefore, to understand coach identity fully; there is a requirement to explore the meanings, values and importance placed upon coach roles. Past research illustrates that the manner in which coaches’ frame their role is instrumental to how they prioritise and organise critical moments of practice that warrant further reflection; thus allowing individuals to “construct the reality in which they function". This thesis intends to extend current knowledge on how sport coaches’ define, shape and “frame” their role in community youth sport settings. The research objectives are to: (a) examine the environmental conditions and personal views coaches’ hold with regard to community youth sport in the UK and, (b) evaluate elements that influence their role and individual approach towards coaching. In essence, (c) evaluate how community youth sport coaches’ shape and frame their role.

The purpose of this project of research was to investigate the perceptions of female coaches and their gendered identities using quantitative and qualitative data. A mixed-methods approach was taken using questionnaires and interviews. Videos depicting a coach interacting with athlete/athletes were shown to participants prior to completing the questionnaires. This method was used in order to investigate if there was a difference in how male and female coaches are perceived because of their gender and investigate if the masculinity/femininity of a female coach would influence others’ perceptions of their ability and the coach-athlete relationship. Semi-structured interviews were used to investigate how the influence of gender on perceptions of coaches may have influenced the experiences of female sport coaches. An unstructured interview was conducted to investigate the effect of gender across a coach’s career. This thesis has contributed to the body of knowledge concerning how female coaches are perceived and female coaches’ experiences in sport. It has advanced the literature on Social Role Theory to the context of sport. The main findings of this research are: (a) female coaches are rated higher than male coaches for relationship quality and empathy when in an emotional scenario, (b) female coaches perceived to be masculine are rated consistently higher within relationship quality and competency in a coaching scenario, (c) female coaches’ experiences are affected by their traditional social role associated with gender and by society’s gendered perceptions of sport, and (d) there are more factors which discourage rather than encourage the progression of female coaches.

Teachable moments (TMs) is a term that is used across various domains to refer to situations, occurrences, and/or events that present a potential opportunity to learn (Seals, 2018). TMs are recognized as important for educating others, as well as playing a role in professional and personal development. In sport contexts, TMs are a pathway for coaches to develop athletes (Hedlund, 1996). However, we do not fully understand what comprises TMs due to inconsistent usage of the term, and the paucity of sport-based, scholarly research on TMs. Much of our current understanding of TMs is based on studies from domains external to sport. This exploratory study aimed to (a) develop a broader conceptual understanding of how TMs occur between coaches and their athletes, and (b) explore university sports coaches’ perceptions of TMs with their athletes. In this study, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and a virtual TM recall document, whereby coaches logged events they perceived to be TMs with their athletes. Seven (7) university sports coaches completed an initial interview, while 5 of the 7 coaches completed between 4-8 recalls, as well as a second interview. A reflexive thematic analysis in combination with focused coding was applied, thus allowing us to develop a preliminary model of TMs in university sport contexts. In the first manuscript, titled ‘Teachable moments in university coaching: Exploring a coaching catchphrase,’we present our model, and outline the main qualities and conditions that support the occurrence of TMs. In the second manuscript, titled ‘Teachable moments: Practical examples from university sport,’ we elaborate on different forms of TMs that were developed in the findings, and provide concrete examples of TMs that coaches encountered in their day-to-day coaching practices. Throughout both manuscripts, we build our understanding of what comprises TMs in sport and discuss the implications for coaching practices and athlete development.

This research enquiry is a positional paper that locates the context in which sports coaching research is undertaken. Embracing a physical cultural studies sensibility, the research enquiry raises critical questions about the explanatory framework guiding sports coaching research and presents a new conceptualisation for research in the ‘field’. Deploying the theory and method of articulation (Hall, 1996) and Foucault’s (1969) genealogical method, this research enquiry maps out the critical history of the sports coaching present through consideration of the social forces that comprise our conjunctural moment (Grossberg, 2006). By doing so, the impact of the liberal capitalist order prevalent in higher education in the United Kingdom – termed the ‘proto-fascist / pernicious present’ (Giroux, 2005a; Silk and Andrews, in press) – is unpacked. Within this context, the research enquiry explicates how these various social forces congeal at, meet at, and frame the practice of sports coaching research. Through mapping sports coaching research within a corporatised higher education, the dominant or legitimate forms of sports coaching knowledge are problematised.

The purpose of this research was to answer longstanding calls to explore the learning and development of coaches in disability sport (DePauw, 1986; Reid & Prupas, 1998). We know very little about coaches in disability sport and although there exists a growing body of work that has explored coach learning, there is an absence of in-depth sociological research on disability coaching and coach education. In order to address this gap in the literature, this research sought to examine the nature of coach learning through analyses of coach education and coaching practice. Drawing upon a critical sociological framework, the research was conducted on the premise that understanding social practice can generate critical insights into the nature of coach learning. The research begins to answer some of the criticisms levelled at previous research by operationalising the sociological framework of Pierre Bourdieu in conjunction with disability studies, to analyse data generated through a two-year case study evaluation of an impairment-specific mode of coach education, and ethnographic data generated from eighteen-months of fieldwork in a specific disability coaching context. Altogether, data were collected through in-depth observations, interviews, focus groups and qualitative surveys to generate data that had both breadth, gathering data from large numbers of participants, and depth, by understanding in detail a particular coaching culture (Polkinghorne, 2005). The findings reveal how knowledge about disability was often marginalised in coach education, with engagement in the field functioning as principle source of knowledge about coaching in disability sport. As a result, disability-specific coach education contributed marginally to coach learning and functioned as a platform for the transmission of medical model discourses about disability, in terms of the pedagogy adopted and its effects on coaches knowledge. In the ethnographic study, analyses revealed how disability was assimilated into a high-performance coaching logic that structured coaches learning according to high-performance ideals. The process of learning was revealed to follow the logic of reproduction as alluded to by Bourdieu (1977, 1990a), and reinforced in social practice through the continual (re)adjustment of class habitus to structural conditions. The mechanisms underlying this process revealed learning to have a symbolic nature, mediated by power, resulting in the uncritical reproduction of ideology related to coaching disabled people. Thus, the research extends an understanding of coach learning, taking into consideration social structure and agency, as a basis for further critical inquiry into coaching in disability sport.

Despite widespread acknowledgement of the complex, holistic and context-specific nature of the coaching process, research has rarely focused upon coaching practice as a comprehensive, integrated and situated endeavour. This thesis examined the coaching process of the head coach of a national women's rugby union team using data collected throughout a competitive international season. A methodological bricolage consisting of ethnographic participant observation, systematic practice observations, audio-visual recordings, semi-structured interviews and stimulated recall interviews was adopted to investigate both the broad parameters and detailed properties of the coach's work. Analysis of the data led to the development of a grounded theory of the coaching process, which was found to be constituted by the interactions of the coach, a variety of associates, and the coaching context. Numerous and interrelated personal, social and contextual factors were identified that functioned to create opportunities and challenges that the coach responded to through their practice. The findings contribute to a fuller understanding of the complexity and holism of the coaching process in top-level women's rugby union, as well as a valuable conceptual framework and methodology to guide and conduct future research in different contexts.

Sport participation is continually rising nationally and internationally emphasizing the need for effective coaches. Literature regarding coaching in sport is also increasing yearly leading to an ample amount of studies available. Despite the available results, there is still a lot more to understand concerning the complex nature of coaching. Although the majority of the studies focused on coaching behaviours, only limited results exist measuring the perceptions of coaches and players to determine whether the behaviours are effective. More scientific research in the area of coaching effectiveness is therefore needed, especially in South Africa. The objectives of this study were firstly to determine the difference between players‟ perceptions of coaching effectiveness between larger and smaller secondary schools and secondly, to determine the difference between the players and the coaches‟ perceptions of coaching effectiveness at university/club level. Twenty high schools (n = 20) and four hundred and seventy-six (n = 476) male rugby union players (15-19 years) participated in the first part of the study. Players were asked to fill in the adapted version of the Coaching Efficacy Scale (CES). To determine the validity of the sample size a power calculation was done followed by Chronbach alpha values to determine the reliability of the questionnaire on the specific group. Discriptive statistics, followed by independant t-test were done to measure statistically differences between large and small schools with regard to the 4 constructs measured. Cohen‟s effect sizes were then used to determine practical significantly differences. The sample size was found to be valid (> 0.9) together with high Cronbach alpha values (> 0.7) indicating that the questionnaire is reliable for the specific sample. It was found that no practically significant differences exist between coaches from large schools compared to coaches from smaller schools. It was therefore concluded that the players from high schools that participated in the study perceive their coaches‟ effectiveness with regard to the constructs measured similarly, irrespective of the size (number of learners) of the school. One hundred and forty-two (n =142) male rugby union players (age: 18-15) and thirteen (n = 13) coaches (age: 23-55) from the Puk Rugby Institute (PRI) participated in the second part of this study. All the players completed the adapted version of the CES and the coaches completed the CES. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was done to determine the factor structure of the adapted version of the CES. The CFA of the CES was not done due to the small number (13) of coaches that participated in the study. Regression estimates were set at p<0.05. Cronbach alpha values were measured to determine the reliability of the questionnaires. To adapt for inter-dependency, mixed models (set at 5%) were used to measure perception differences between coaches and players. All the regression estimates were found to be significant (p < 0.05). High Cronbach alpha values were found (>0.70). Statistically significant differences between coaches and players‟ perceptions were found with regard to the four constructs measured where coaches‟ perception values were higher than those of the players. Although it is not important to practice, the findings should not be ignored. For total coaching effectiveness values, the majority of the coaches (8 out of 13) rated their own coaching effectiveness more positive than did their respective players. It was therefore concluded that researchers should be aware of the perception differences that exist when measuring coaching effectiveness. These results complement the existing literature with regard to sport coaching and the complexity thereof. / MA (Sport Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Sport participation is continually rising nationally and internationally emphasizing the need for effective coaches. Literature regarding coaching in sport is also increasing yearly leading to an ample amount of studies available. Despite the available results, there is still a lot more to understand concerning the complex nature of coaching. Although the majority of the studies focused on coaching behaviours, only limited results exist measuring the perceptions of coaches and players to determine whether the behaviours are effective. More scientific research in the area of coaching effectiveness is therefore needed, especially in South Africa. The objectives of this study were firstly to determine the difference between players‟ perceptions of coaching effectiveness between larger and smaller secondary schools and secondly, to determine the difference between the players and the coaches‟ perceptions of coaching effectiveness at university/club level. Twenty high schools (n = 20) and four hundred and seventy-six (n = 476) male rugby union players (15-19 years) participated in the first part of the study. Players were asked to fill in the adapted version of the Coaching Efficacy Scale (CES). To determine the validity of the sample size a power calculation was done followed by Chronbach alpha values to determine the reliability of the questionnaire on the specific group. Discriptive statistics, followed by independant t-test were done to measure statistically differences between large and small schools with regard to the 4 constructs measured. Cohen‟s effect sizes were then used to determine practical significantly differences. The sample size was found to be valid (> 0.9) together with high Cronbach alpha values (> 0.7) indicating that the questionnaire is reliable for the specific sample. It was found that no practically significant differences exist between coaches from large schools compared to coaches from smaller schools. It was therefore concluded that the players from high schools that participated in the study perceive their coaches‟ effectiveness with regard to the constructs measured similarly, irrespective of the size (number of learners) of the school. One hundred and forty-two (n =142) male rugby union players (age: 18-15) and thirteen (n = 13) coaches (age: 23-55) from the Puk Rugby Institute (PRI) participated in the second part of this study. All the players completed the adapted version of the CES and the coaches completed the CES. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was done to determine the factor structure of the adapted version of the CES. The CFA of the CES was not done due to the small number (13) of coaches that participated in the study. Regression estimates were set at p<0.05. Cronbach alpha values were measured to determine the reliability of the questionnaires. To adapt for inter-dependency, mixed models (set at 5%) were used to measure perception differences between coaches and players. All the regression estimates were found to be significant (p < 0.05). High Cronbach alpha values were found (>0.70). Statistically significant differences between coaches and players‟ perceptions were found with regard to the four constructs measured where coaches‟ perception values were higher than those of the players. Although it is not important to practice, the findings should not be ignored. For total coaching effectiveness values, the majority of the coaches (8 out of 13) rated their own coaching effectiveness more positive than did their respective players. It was therefore concluded that researchers should be aware of the perception differences that exist when measuring coaching effectiveness. These results complement the existing literature with regard to sport coaching and the complexity thereof. / MA (Sport Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) assess cycling coaches' trauma-related competencies, as measured by trauma knowledge (i.e., trauma-specific education, familiarity with post-traumatic stress [PTS]), stigma of persons with PTS (i.e., fear/dangerousness, help/interact, forcing treatment, negative emotions), and interpersonal skills (i.e., self-reported emotional intelligence, perceived quality of coach-athlete relationships); and (b) examine the influence that trauma knowledge and stigma of persons with PTS has on coaching efficacy specific to coaching trauma-impacted athletes (i.e., trauma-informed coaching efficacy), after controlling for general coaching experience. Descriptive statistics indicated the majority of coaches had no trauma-specific education, a high degree of familiarity with PTS, and a low level of stigma via four attribution variables. Moreover, participants highly appraised their own emotional intelligence, the quality of their coach-athlete relationships, and their trauma-informed coaching efficacy. A hierarchical regression analyses indicated that familiarity with PTS helped to explain additional variance in trauma-informed coaching efficacy over and above demographic and general coach experience variables. The study establishes trauma-informed coaching as a distinct area of research and highlights the need for improved continuing education opportunities for coaches related to psychological trauma and PTS.