Applied Coaching Research Journal Research Journal 3 | Page 20

APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2019, Vol. 3
Method
From May 2018 to February 2019, four managers
and eight coaches from five different community
groups were interviewed. Nine young participants
(age range 15–22 years) took part in an interview
(n = 4) or focus group (n = 5) to offer their account
of community sport sessions they attend led
by coaches who received the EC4DS training.
Interviews and focus groups were audio recorded
and each lasted between 30 and 60 minutes,
and were transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were
subject to interpretative phenomenological analysis,
an analytical approach that seeks to interpret
the individual experience of each interviewee
while looking for commonalities within similar
demographic groups (Smith and Osborn, 2004).
Results
Following analysis of the data, managers and
coaches who attended the EC4DS workshop stated
that they found ways to embed empowering
strategies into their current coaching practices. In
some cases, the training facilitated coaches’ ability
to recognise and enhance existing ‘good’ practices
and change behaviours which might be less than
optimal for creating more empowering climates.
Also, via the EC4DS workshop, coaches had the
opportunity to develop new strategies which
would be more likely to optimise young people’s
experiences of doorstep sport. Each manager
and coach developed their own idiosyncratic
‘empowering’ strategies to best fit individual
coaching styles, and are captured within three
overarching themes of giving young people ‘voice
and choice’, equal inclusion, and communication
for growth. See Figure 2.
supports
Giving young
people voice
and choice Autonomy
Equal inclusion Belonging
Communication
for growth Competence
Enjoyment
and
contributes to
Young
people's
quality
motivation
Continued
participation
Figure 2. Strategy themes coaches adopted following the EC4DS workshop
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Well-being