Applied Coaching Research Journal Volume 1 | Page 41

APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2018, Vol. 1
52%
I feel proud to tell others I am a coach
68%
I look forward to coaching
67%
Coaching keeps me physically active
I feel that my coaching makes a
difference to my participants
78%
Figure 1: Percentage of coaches who agreed with each statement
about their experience of being a coach
Coaching provides physical health benefits to
coaches
The physical activity benefits that a coach receives
from being involved in coaching are comparable
with other benefits examined in the survey. When
asked, around two thirds of coaches (67%) agreed
that coaching keeps them physically active. While
this was less than the popular altruistic benefit
of “making a difference” (78%), it was comparable
with the percentage of coaches who said they look
forward to coaching (68%) and greater than those
who feel proud to tell others they are a coach (52%).
Although the original idea of a fitness orientation
motivation came from young people entering
physical education courses, it was interesting to
note that increases in physical activity for those
Not
Coached
Coached
who coach were consistent across gender, social
class, ethnicity and age. The one exception being
coaches over 65 when the percentage who agreed
dropped to 59%. However, this is still a significant
figure considering that only 38% of this age group
had taken part in physical activity in the last 12
months.
Coaches also rated their overall health better than
the general public. Of those who had coached in the
last 12 months, 40% rated their health as excellent
or good compared to 25% of people who do not
coach.
Similarly, only 5% of coaches rated their overall
physical health as poor compared to 9% of those
who do not coach.
25%
40%
Figure 2: Percentage of coaches and those who do not coach
who rated their overall physical health as good or excellent
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