Read Time 18 Minutes
Ten things I ’ ve learned from ten years of coach learning research
Dr Anna Stodter
The Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences
Anglia Ruskin University
What were you doing in 2010 , and how has your perception of coaching changed since ? Perhaps back then your Easter holiday plans were spoiled by ash from the volcanic eruption in Iceland . Maybe your hopes were dashed again as Fabio Capello ’ s England football team crashed out of the World Cup , losing 4-1 to Germany with a controversial disallowed goal that reinforced the need for goal-line technology . Back then , I was looking forward to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games , beginning my PhD studies at Loughborough University and considering coaching from an academic perspective for the first time . I was exploring a new body of books , articles , and authors and comparing what I read with how I learned to coach football and rugby , the experiences I ’ d had of being coached and of my qualification courses - and thinking back to floundering on the field when none of my practices worked as I ’ d hoped .
Understanding how coaches learn is a crucial part of helping them to develop more effectively , which can also enhance the quality of coaches and coaching as a profession . In line with this aspiration - and luckily for me in beginning to get my head around the topic - just over a decade ago UK Coaching ( then Sports Coach UK ) commissioned a review of all the available research on coach learning and development ( Cushion et al . 2010 ). The review systematically analysed existing literature on coach learning as well as related topics
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