By Doug Cooper
The coaching process of the sports coach has been debated for many years, this debate ranges from establishing what it is and how it fits together to who is the driving force behind it (coach, athlete, organization, culture or environment) and then how/if it can be modelled. Why do we spend so much time engaging in this debate and why is understanding the coaching process so important? A key reason is a genuine desire by the coaches to become better and continually improve. Unless we know how the process works, how can we possibly develop it in an optimal way and thus ensure quality coaching and valuable experiences for participants. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to learn from the coaches themselves by letting them explain their coaching process and from this create a ‘realistic picture’, thus supporting coaches and coach education with research that emanates from coaches for coaches.
