Applied Coaching Research Journal Research Journal 2 | Page 19

APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2018, Vol. 2
one of The FA’s leading national coaches, Pete
Sturgess, renowned for his work in what The FA
terms the Foundation Phase (children from
5–11 years).
The social nature of learning means that we often
develop through our interactions with others,
gaining insight from their experiences. This article
brings together reflections on my conversation
with Pete Sturgess and follows his progression from
his early coaching days to his current position as
a leading national coach, discussing his learning
journey alongside coach development research.
Applicable coach development research
To help make sense of Pete’s learning, some coach
development models are briefly described here so
that they can be applied to aspects of his
learning path.
Werthner and Trudel (2006) define three main
types of learning that coaches engage with:
mediated learning (formal qualifications and
courses), unmediated learning (independently
driven, where the coach chooses the type of
information to consult), and internal learning (time
spent in reflection) 1 . Drawing on Moon’s (2004)
work, the former can be understood by a ‘building
a brick wall’ metaphor, during which the learner
assimilates knowledge through an approved
programme of content and is later assessed on
the knowledge acquired 2 . This seemingly linear
pathway towards expertise has been criticised for
failing to prepare coaches for real-life contexts 3 .
In contrast to a linear path, Moon (2004) promotes
the idea of a network in which learning is flexible,
unmediated and continuous, based on a learner’s
ever-changing cognitive structure (ie their
knowledge and emotions) 2 . This view supports
models of experienced-based learning, such as
Kolb’s (1984) Experiential Learning Cycle (Figure
1), which advocates a cyclical process in which the
learner continuously reassesses their knowledge
through experience, observation, conceptualisation
and experimentation. 4 The success of experiential
learning centres on the learner’s ability to invest
time in ‘reflective practice’ in order to help convert
experience into expertise 5 . As Gilbert and Trudel
(2006) suggest, “10 years of coaching without
reflection is simply one year of coaching repeated
10 times” 6 . Studies have shown that appropriate
reflective practice has a positive impact on
coaching development, equipping practitioners to
build their knowledge, initiate change, link theory
to practice and prepare for the ambiguity of the
coaching environment 7 .
Concrete
Experience
(doing/having an
experience)
Active
Experimentation
(planning/trying out
what you have learned)
Reflective
Observation
(reviewing/reflecting on
the experience)
Abstract
Conceptualisation
(concluding/learning
from the experience)
Figure 1 Kolb’s (1984) Experiential Learning Cycle
Sturgess’ early coaching career
As a talented young footballer, Pete Sturgess quickly
rose through his local clubs, playing county standard
for Staffordshire, then Football Combination league
for Oxford, before joining several non-league teams
such as Halesowen Town and twice playing in the
first round of the FA Cup. At the age of 35 he began
to transition into coaching at Rushall FC, recalling
that “whilst still playing, I wanted to put on the kind
of sessions that I wanted as a player, even though I
was the coach”. This suggests that his experience as
a participant influenced the decisions he made later
in his coaching style and strategy. When reflecting
on his strengths as a coach, Sturgess admits that,
“if I’ve got a choice between technical detail and
enjoyment, I still choose enjoyment”, suggesting
that his overriding focus is on player engagement to
underpin learning.
Despite having played to a high level, Pete
recognised that he was still a novice in his
coaching pedagogy, demonstrating that the key
element to coaching effectiveness is an openness
to learning and a recognition that past experience
as a participant does not qualify the coach as an
expert in the game 8 . His use of reflective practice
demonstrates that practitioners need to access their
tacit knowledge (the type of knowledge, often from
experience, that is difficult to verbalise). This helps
develop a deeper understanding of their practice 5 .
Pete’s experience of being told that his coaching
session was boring, by Nathan, was a pivotal
moment in his development. Instead of reacting
negatively, he used the episode to stimulate deep
reflection to reassess and adapt his approach to
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