Applied Coaching Research Journal Volume 1 | Page 43
APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2018, Vol. 1
However, these benefits are not well known,
either within coaching research or among coaches
themselves. More work is needed to promote
this as a benefit of being a coach, along with the
more common intrinsic motivations of people
development and giving back to the community.
The results of this research add to existing research
on motivations to coach. It shows that being a coach
is likely to lead to an increase, or maintenance, in
physical activity, which in turn improves health. A
motivation and benefit that has not been considered
in previous research.
References
1
https://www.sportengland.org/media/10629/sport-
england-towards-an-active-nation.pdf
http://www.ukcoaching.org/sites/default/files/
Yougov_coach%20survey_FINAL_0.pdf
2
The research shows that people are motivated by
different things at different times and therefore
the more motivations that can be “tapped into”
the greater the opportunities for recruiting new
coaches. If more people can be recruited into
coaching based on a desire to get active, the
evidence suggests their motives will be fulfilled and
they will stay in coaching longer.
The data provided in this paper can be used in
future marketing and recruitment campaigns to
show the positive health benefits of being a coach:
• Being a coach can help you stay physically active
– 67% of coaches agreed that being a coach keeps
them physically active.
• Being a coach can help keep you healthy – 40%
of coaches rated their overall physical health as
excellent or good compared to 26% of those who
do not coach.
https://www.joininuk.org/hidden-diamonds-true-
value-of-sport-volunteers/
3
4 K Coaching commissioned YouGov PLC UK to con-
U
duct the survey. It was conducted using an online
survey written by UK Coaching and administered
to members of the YouGov panel of 800,000+ indi-
viduals who have agreed to take part in surveys.
5 usser, J.A. and Carruthers, C.P. (2010) ‘Youth sport
B
volunteer coach motivation’, Managing Leisure, 15
(1): 128-139.
6 lary, E., Snyder, M., Ridge, R., Copeland, J., Stukas,
C
A., Haugen, J. and Meine, P. (1998) ‘Understanding
and assessing the motivations of volunteers: A
functional approach’, Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 74 (6): 1516–1530.
7 naan, R. and Goldberg-Glen, R. (1991) ‘Measuring
C
motivation to volunteer in human services’, Journal
of Applied Behavioral Science, 27: 269–284.
8 ndrew, R., Richards, K. and Padaruth, S.
A
(2017) ‘Motivations for Pursuing a Career
in Physical Education: The Rise of a Fitness
Orientation’, Journal of Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance, 88 (4): 40-46.
Contact
John McIlroy has since left UK Coaching. Should you
have any questions regarding this article,
please email
[email protected]
43