APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2020 , Vol . 6 the pathway , and consistent messaging amongst all stakeholders , whereby everyone involved is aware of – and signed up to – a common vision about what was being sought to be achieved , or the ultimate end goal .
“ There is a lack of coherence in the pathway , in relation to what happens above and below where you ’ re working and a lack of understanding between key stakeholders - parents , players , coaches , governance .”
There is a need for this alignment across all stages of the pathway – from entry level through to high performance – and clarity of understanding of how each stage of the pathway connects and contributes to other stages . Understanding a learners ’ trajectory and their ( non-linear ) journey along that pathway is key , but also awareness of what to do to prepare learners at each stage of the pathway .
“ For me it ’ s around having a clear [ shared ] mission and purpose , and real clear understanding of what is typical at this stage of development and what do we need to embed here so that they can then progress to the next stage .”
“ If you want to have someone that ’ s going to be capable of managing that super resource-intensive system , then we can ’ t just wait for them at 17 to enter the high-performance system without having exposure to those kinds of resources throughout the pathway .”
Improved alignment , coherence and consistent messaging will help prepare people through transitions , both in terms of training load and managing expectations . However , some commentators were wary of placing too much emphasis on transition , emphasising that it was just a natural part of any stage in life , and as long as people were sufficiently prepared , it might not be such a difficult process .
8 . A focus on long-term development
There was a great deal of discussion about the importance of ensuring a focus on long-term development . There was recognition of the shortterm ( largely financial ) pressures that exist within some environments , and the competing demands of developing and nurturing learners over the long term , versus the need to focus on the technical and tactical skills to perform in the next game or at the next competition .
“ A focus on long term development ( rather than short term development , that places a focus on winning ), where the focus is on development , and inclusion along the pathway .”
“ Having a long-term philosophy is just that they ’ re trying to make that person or whatever the goals are , become a professional sports person , be a good person , whatever it might be .”
Research participants acknowledged the challenge of adopting a long-term philosophy , recognising that people tend to operate within their own environment and therefore find it difficult to build in an appreciation of deferred rewards , or longer-term aims .
“ Quite often the focus is to get their athletes selected and to win as many games as they can at under 15 ’ s and 16 ’ s and 18 ’ s , not thinking about performance later , thinking about performance now as opposed to development . That ’ s a real challenge .”
Some of the ways this could be achieved is through closer , more collaborative working between different environments and through redefining the measure of success . Rather than measuring success on winning or losing , success is defined over a longer period in terms of maintaining participation in the sport , and enabling learners to maximise their potential and ‘ be the best that they can be ’.
Summary
The aim of this paper was to develop and inform our understanding of high-quality learning and development environments . Recognising that no two contexts are the same , the interviews and focus groups have provided a rich source of data and identified eight common themes that characterise high quality learning and improvement environments : a culture of learning and improvement ; a balance of challenge and support ; a person-centred approach ; a focus on holistic development ; open , accessible and inclusive ; adaptive to individual needs ; alignment and coherence across the pathway ; and a focus on longterm development .
While the data from this research is still being interrogated , the findings resonate with existing research in this field . At the broadest , systemic level , the issue of a complete , coherent development pathway was key . In many of the conversations ,
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