Applied Coaching Research Journal Research Journal 2 | Page 18

APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2018, Vol. 2
Reflections on a Conversation
with a National Coach:
The Learning Path from
Novice to Expert
Pete Vallance
England Futsal, The Football Association
Abstract
This article explores how a national coach engaged
effectively with their professional development and
implemented learning opportunities into a coaching
context. It evaluates the effects of formal, informal
and experiential learning on their progression from
novice to national coach and their contribution
to creative approaches to coaching. The learning
journey of Pete Sturgess, The Football Association’s
(FA) National Lead Coach for The FA Foundation
Phase (children from 5–11 years), is used as a case
study and reviewed in relation to applicable coach
development research. As well as a recognised
expert in The FA’s Foundation Phase, Pete is a
renowned England and FIFA Futsal Instructor, a
Coach Educator and has been heavily involved
in developing the England DNA resources (which
outline the playing and coaching philosophy of
England football teams).
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Introduction
“I still remember his name now – Nathan. He was
in my son’s U11s grassroots team and I was doing
some work, coaching them. He turned around to me
one night and said ‘Pete, this is boring!’ And I just
thought – you know what, you’re right.”
There are many learning opportunities in the
pathway to becoming an expert coach. But can
we always identify them? Or do we value some
forms of learning more than others? I, and others,
subscribe to the view that learning isn’t linear.
It is diverse, messy and often unexpected. Yet
many of our formal coaching courses are based
on progressing sequentially from the lowest
qualification to the highest. In a quest to explore
the effects of different types of learning on a
development pathway, I interviewed, in 2016,