reflect on their coaching contexts , try to gather new information and insight , and actively attempt to intervene to make things better .
• At the other extreme , a third either don ’ t think or are very content to just do what they do ( possibly in quite a self-serving way ).
• Then there is a third in the middle who are not as active as the first third , not as passive / content as the final third , but probably should know and do better .
I maintain it is a crude distinction , but it is illustrative of the idea that not all coaches are the same . It is interesting to ask yourself : which third are you perhaps in , and what might you do about it ?
Is there any clear answer to how coaches might respond to the issues they face ?
To successfully address their issues and problems a coach will , based on North ( 2017 ):
• closely monitor situations , intentions , and activities
• see / notice what is going well and not so well
• think through , reason , and reflect their way to what they believe is the most appropriate proactive or reactive strategy
• then commit to particular actions which again lead to outcomes ( both positive and negative )
• which are again checked against intentions to initiate new reflection , strategies , and new actions , with the cycle starting again .
This cycle of intention , perceiving , thinking , doing and reflection is dependent on the individual coaches ’ resources ( experiences , knowledge , skills , motivations , and attitudes ) and wider social systems . Those with more resources will generally be more effective and successful than those with less and this partly represents the basis of the novice to expert coaching continuum , or access to greater social resource .
As we have noted , some coaches , perhaps those who are more committed to becoming expert ( one of my crude thirds ), are very open to challenging and building on their resources . The research suggests that they use a range of sources : other coaches in their environment ; their athletes / participants / players ; family and friends ; internet and social media , and of course , national governing body and wider educational and research provision ( North et al ., 2020 ). However , other coaches , those less committed to becoming an expert , might not look to enhance their resources , or might draw from sources , ideas and practices that simply confirm what they already think and do ( this is sometimes called confirmation bias ). So , returning again to the question of what ( expert ) coaches might do to solve their problems , it suggests particular characteristics / resources , mindsets , motivations and behaviours : interested , thoughtful , reflective and creative coaches exploring their practice in
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