Read Time 25 Minutes
A little less talk , a little more
( collaborative ) action
Understanding some of the factors that limit the impact of coaching research on coaching practice
Professor Chris Cushion
Loughborough University
Introduction
In line with coaching increasingly being perceived as a legitimate profession around the world , and the growth of interest from higher and tertiary education , research interest in sport coaching continues to grow significantly – these factors have resulted in an increase in the volume and scope of scholarly activity related to it ( Lyle & Cushion , 2017 ). From this work , there is now a considerable landscape of coaching research with a bewildering range of theoretical and empirical perspectives and insights into coaching ( Lyle & Cushion , 2010 ,
2017 ). At face value , this growth in research and an apparent depth of empirical work , alongside a seemingly abundant availability of coaching resources and materials seems positive , and on many levels it is . However , closer scrutiny suggests that despite this growth in activity and resources there remains a lack of an in-depth understanding of coaching . As a result , a conceptual underpinning with which to inform coaches ’ practice and coach education remains elusive . While our research efforts have resulted in a degree of ‘ clustering ’ of ideas around areas such as ‘ coach effectiveness ’,
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