Applied Coaching Research Journal Research Journal 5 | Page 19

APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2020, Vol. 5
Specifically, the study aimed to understand: i)
coaches’ beliefs on how decision-making should
be developed; ii) how coaches shape learning
environments through proposed activities and
behaviours in practice; and iii) whether the
coaching practice aligns to theoretical principles.
This paper presents a summary of the research
findings presented at the 2020 UK Coaching
Applied Research Conference. It includes a case
study of one research participant and presents the
implications for coaching, drawn from the wider
literature.
Results
For the purpose of this paper, a case study of one
research participant is shared. The participant was
an academy Head Coach of an under-18 age group.
The participant took part in a semi-structured
interview, which explored their beliefs and intended
strategies when developing player decision-making.
The results presented here are a series of verbatim
quotes, which help to demonstrate the differences
and confluences between a coach’s beliefs (thinking
and intentions) and their practice (the reality of
how they implemented their ideas) in relation to
developing player decision-making.
Method
The research involved a Cognitive Task Analysis 1
with six, Rugby Football Union (RFU) Premiership
Academy coaches, where they were audio and
visually recorded over a duration of three to five
training sessions. Meaningful moments from those
recordings were captured, clipped and played back
to the coaches during a qualitative interview which
was audio recorded (approximately 90 minutes
long). The clips were presented back to the coach as
a video stimulus to encourage the verbalisation of
their coaching practice.
1
For further information about Cognitive Task Analysis see Abraham et al, 2006; Johnston and Morrison, 2016.
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