Applied Coaching Research Journal Research Journal 2 | Page 21

APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2018, Vol. 2
From coach to developing people
In 2008, Pete was approached by The FA to take on
the role of Head Coach of the England Men’s Futsal
Senior Squad. In the same year he also became Lead
National Coach [developer] for the
Foundation Phase.
In the role of Head Futsal Coach he spent time
cultivating the athlete/coach relationship through
developing his interpersonal knowledge of the
players. He soon established a reputation of being
an effective and approachable communicator.
This supports evidence that “athletes experience
positive psychological outcomes such as increased
competence and motivation when coaches exhibit
behaviours that are instructive, encouraging and
supportive” 10 . This can arguably be seen in the uplift
that Pete achieved with the team, who at the time
of his arrival had played 45 games, of which they
had lost 44. His first goal when he took the role
was to “get the players to believe they could win a
match”. Under his leadership, the team achieved a
spectacular jump up the FIFA world rankings, from
106 to 56 in one calendar year, suggesting that
coaching focused on relationships and rapport can
play a vital role in team performance.
Mentoring is also a particularly effective tool in
coach development through consistent guidance and
encouragement 11 . Whilst Pete didn’t have an official
mentor, he sourced his own support: Mico Martic,
a renowned international Futsal Coach. When Pete
took over the England team management, he asked
Mico to work alongside him in the role of guest
coach, thereby embarking on an ‘apprenticeship of
observation’, which added depth to his learning,
through observing a more experienced coach 7 .
The success of Pete’s eight seasons with the team
demonstrates the importance of learning with
others and the significance of evolving from an
independent mindset to an interdependent one 9 . A
key take-away message being that Pete sought out
the right person to help him at the right time.
Pete has clearly shown a preference for actively
seeking out opportunities for his development
pathway. For example, he attended a UEFA Futsal
symposium in Santiago, which was delivered in
significant learning experience in Pete’s coaching
career, as it drew his attention to an emerging game
(in England) that was beyond his current level of
competence and forced him to adapt his coaching
approach and communication style to deaf players.
Pete relates that “it gave me a chance to be really
out of my comfort zone. I was learning how to coach
players who can’t hear, but also teaching them a
game I was pretty new to”. His willingness to try
new coaching situations and expand his skill set
supports findings that expert coaches are prepared
to step out of their comfort zone and investigate
new and different ways of coaching. 9
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