wider connection with other interested parties ( e . g . parents ). Coaching , and its challenges , are almost infinitely variable to context . However , there are many recognisable stabilities and patterns that provide coaching with a structured quality . Contrary to those who have investigated the complexity of coaching , I argue that most coaching is very recognisable and that many of the stabilities and patterns coaches encounter on a regular basis are , or can be , where coaching issues and problems are realised . Coaching is always complex , but sometimes it can also be problematic and difficult ! The stabilities and patterns in coaching activities and problems enable us to share ideas about coaching such that others can learn from them . What is shared is sharpened further when it is recognised that coaching can be clustered , for example into sports , domains , or activity types . For instance , football coaches share common problems to other football coaches and indeed team-based invasion sports ; but less so with gymnastics coaches who often deal with individuals in closed , controlled environmental conditions , and with different cultural traditions . The coaches of young children share common problems ; but less so with coaches of high performers or adults . Volunteer coaches experience different problems to full-time paid coaches , and so on .
We can talk with a reasonable degree of confidence , for example , about some of the main problems of youth football coaching : meeting the needs of young people rather than adults ; the perception of a pressure to win games , modelling the elite game rather than a focus on engaging and developing youngsters ; structuring practice and using coach behaviours that are engaging as well as appropriate to long term skill and other development ; and the more everyday such as finding a suitable space to , for example , train and play , and finding supportive volunteers . These problems will often be very different to high performance gymnastics ( although there will be some similarities , for example , managing relationships ). Organisations such as The Football Association or British Gymnastics focus in on this stabilities and patterns and share ideas to help coaches negotiate these issues ( The Football Association , 2022 ). It is also worth considering – who is articulating the issue or problem ? Historically , coaching stakeholders , notably sport and coaching agencies , sport governing bodies , educationalists , and academics , have claimed to talk on behalf of coaches , or told them what their problems are . The narrative presented by these stakeholders often takes the form of ‘ coaches are not good enough because of this and because of that ’. As I will imply later , some coaches are better informed and more effective practitioners than others ; some need considerable developmental support , and some probably shouldn ’ t be coaching ! But to introduce a common theme in this article – it serves nobody well to lump all coaches and all practices together .
Our research with UK Coaching focused on the coaches ’ ‘ voice ’ ( North et al ., 2020 ). The main results showed how down to earth coaches ’ issues can be : facilities , player-coach interaction , problems with knowledge and skills , lack of time to coach , problems with
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