Applied Coaching Research Journal Research Journal 1 | Page 7

APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2018, Vol. 1
transform lives, whether that be the coach, the
participant, the local community or wider society.
It is hoped that this journal will present research
that will enable partner organisations to evidence
impact against the five government outcomes,
to secure future investment in coaching. It will
also publish evaluative reports and research that
identify good practice and share lessons learnt
from coaching interventions, supporting others
to develop and implement similar programmes.
Linked to the first government outcome, John
McIlroy’s article Promoting the Health Benefits
of Being a Coach discusses the dual impact of
coaching. Whereas previous research has focused
on the health benefits of sport on the participant,
this study focuses on the benefits of sport and
physical activity on the coach. It is estimated that
there are three million active coaches in the UK
and 14 million inactive coaches. Coaching benefits
a substantial proportion of the UK population and
has the potential to benefit many more, thereby
contributing to the government outcomes.
With the launch of the Coaching Plan for England,
the development of new professional standards,
and the review of the United Kingdom Coaching
Certificate (UKCC), many national governing
bodies of sport and other training providers are
looking at new ways to improve coach education
and engage new audiences. Katy Dray and her
colleagues at Canterbury Christ Church University
discuss three different approaches to learning
in their article Adventures in Coach Learning
and consider how they might be used in coach
education. It is hoped that by transforming coach
learning, it will make learning more attractive and
inspire lifelong learning habits, thereby improving
the quality of coaching practice and benefiting
individual participants and their communities.
In 2017, the Learning team at UK Coaching
developed and tested a new learning needs
analysis tool to support the development of
new learning programmes and a new learning
and development strategy. The article, Testing a
Customised Learning Needs Analysis Tool for Coach
Development presents the key findings from the
project, which will be further developed at a later
date to provide a holistic picture of coach learning
needs across the sector. It is hoped this tool will
also be used to support other organisations with
the same ambition to transform coach learning.
workforce. The article presents five key success
factors that may help other organisations develop
similar programmes and highlights the importance
of person-centred learning. Those participating in
the programme reported positive benefits, including
increased physical activity and confidence, which
links back to the government outcomes and John
McIlroy’s article on the dual benefits of coaching.
Coaching Changes Lives: Evidence from a
Social Return on Investment Study by Michael
Hopkinson summarises an evaluation of a Level
2 multi-skills qualification using a robust social
return on investment methodology, endorsed
by Social Value UK. The article demonstrates
the benefits of the coach qualification on all
government outcomes, including benefits on
the coach and the participant. It concludes that
the training activities delivered a £3 return
for every £1 invested, thereby demonstrating
the financial value of coach education.
In the final article, Personal Reflections of Coaching
Behind Bars, Clare McGregor discusses her own
personal journey of mind coaching in prison
settings. This is an inspiring story that demonstrates
the impact of coaching on some of the most
vulnerable members of society. She considers the
similarities with sport and physical activity coaches
and highlights the importance of softer skills that
will play a big part in the future of coach learning.
The journal attempts to make coaching research
more accessible. It serves to bridge the gap
between academic research and coaching
practice, presenting good, solid research that is
of equal value to the practitioner, the system
manager, the researcher and the policymaker.
We hope that the journal will provide a platform
where researchers working across the sector
(in national governing bodies, county sports
partnerships [CSPs] and national partner
organisations, who might not ordinarily publish
their work) will share and celebrate their research.
We also hope it will be a useful resource for
students and academics.
Finally, as editors of this first issue, we would like
to thank all of the authors who have shared their
research with us.
Beth Thompson, UK Coaching
Pete Forster’s A Person Like Me article presents
the key findings from an evaluation of a project to
engage and upskill a new, more diverse coaching
7