Coach Tracking Study Year Three Headline Report

UK Coach Tracking Study Year Three Headline Report

February 2011

Contents Executive Summary............................................................................................... 3 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 5 2. Method ............................................................................................................ 6 3. The Sample ...................................................................................................... 8 4. Motivation for Coaching .................................................................................... 10 5. Coaching Roles................................................................................................ 13 6. Coach Development ......................................................................................... 16 7. Coaching Careers ............................................................................................ 27 8. Next 12 months .............................................................................................. 31 9. Exit from coaching ........................................................................................... 33 10.Commentary .................................................................................................. 37 References ......................................................................................................... 39

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Executive Summary The Research This report provides the headline findings from the third wave of data collection of the main quantitative survey of the UK Coach Tracking Study.

The Coach Tracking Study is a four-year project that tracks UK coaches‟ experiences and opinions in terms of their learning and development, deployment and employment, and use of support.

The Sample The third year sample includes 585 UK coaches (down from 851 in Year Two) which remains the largest ever single sample of coaches to be researched. Information is also presented for 36 coaches who reported giving up coaching.

The sample characteristics remain slightly different to that of the UK coaching population as a whole, and appear to reflect more closely the characteristics of the central group of coaches and head coaches as defined in the UK Coaching Workforce 2009-2016 document (North, 2009). This should be remembered when making any conclusions about coaches and coaching from this report.

The coaches in the sample were largely male (73%), white (96%), non-disabled (96%), and well qualified (52% had a degree level qualification or over).

Motivations for Coaching Coaches continued to coach for a combination of various reasons, however, evidence suggests that coaches rely primarily on intrinsic motives as they progress through coaching, such as “enjoying coaching and developing athletes” and “the interaction with athletes”. In comparison, extrinsic motives, such as pay and benefits, are not as strongly reported by the coaches.

Coach Development The coaches used a wide variety of learning sources/environments to inform their development, and though there were preferences at different stages, and to meet different learning objectives, evidence from Year Three strengthens the argument that this variety and balance of sources is critical to coaches‟ development.

As coaches progress through their careers and develop, they appear to place increased value in learning from informal and self-directed opportunities such as working closely with the athletes/players/participants, reading books and using online resources.

In a similar fashion, coaches seek a variety of knowledge and information from the learning opportunities they engage in. However, although they appear to seek more information on technical and tactical aspects of coaching, they attach greater importance to learning how to coach (e.g., listening, providing feedback, motivating).

Nine out of ten coaches (95%) held a recognised coaching qualification and valued them as important to their development (93%), particularly in terms of knowledge gains.

However, evidence suggests that as coaches progress through their careers and become qualified, they begin to place less value on the attainment of additional qualifications.

Furthermore, an increased number of coaches expressed a concern with the cost of qualifications and difficulties relating to the location in which courses took place.

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Support Services Evidence from Year Three suggests that coaches on the whole felt “unsupported” by the system. Year 3 continues the trend of coaches reporting less support from coaching organisations, particularly in terms of costs, opportunities and advice on development.

Coaching Careers Data from Year Three of the project provide some evidence that coaches are likely to specialise and invest in coaching one or a small number of sports as they progress through their careers, whereas during early stages they are likely to sample a greater number of sports.

There appears to be increasing evidence that women coaches are more likely to be paid than males.

Full-time coaches appear more able to undertake learning and development, whilst still committing a significant proportion of their time to delivery.

The proportion of paid coaching is increasing slightly but most of this is on a part-time basis.

The average annual salary for a full-time coach has increased from £21, 676 in Year One to £23,676 in Year Three.

Coaches reporting that they had given up coaching were an average of 41 years old, were predominantly male (53%), coached primarily on a voluntary basis (44%), and held a lower level coaching qualification (53% Level 2 or below). This age profile is significantly different to that reported in Year Two. Reasons for giving up coaching were principally attributed to personal factors such as increased work/family commitments. A secondary factor was a lack of support from organisations (e.g., club, Governing Body) and lack of career (paid) opportunities.

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1. Introduction This report provides the headline findings from the third wave of data collection from the main quantitative survey of the UK Coach Tracking Study.

The UK Coach Tracking Study is a four-year project that tracks UK coachesâ€&#x; development in terms of learning, deployment and employment, and use of support. The project collects quantitative data using a postal and web-based return from a large panel of UK coaches.

This report will be followed by a number of more detailed and specific reports and publications based on the UK Coach Tracking Study datasets.

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2.

Method

A full account of the method used in Year One of the UK Coach Tracking Study is provided in Timson-Katchis and North (2008). The following provides an update of the methodological issues in the last 12 months.

Participant retention A key issue for the project given its longitudinal design was to minimise attrition and maximise retention of participating coaches. Given that data collection occurs on an annual basis it was important to maintain regular contact with participants. As an incentive to maintain participation in the project all coaches were offered a free subscription to Coaching Edge, a magazine which presents information on coaching, coaching methods, development, leading practice and case studies. The magazine is a quarterly publication, which ensured that participants were receiving communication from the project team every three months.

As an additional incentive, all participating coaches were entered into an annual prize draw for the UK Coaching Awards, one of the most high profile events celebrating the best of coaching in the UK. Information and updates regarding the project, as well as the experience of the coaches attending the UK Coaching Awards were featured in Coaching Edge, thereby reinforcing to coaches the importance of the study and illustrating its impact.

Questionnaire The questionnaire used a mixture of closed and open response questions (see Appendix one). The questionnaire was divided into the following thematic sections: Section Section Section Section Section Section Section Section Section Section

A: Personal changes over the last 12 months B: Coaching changes over the last 12 months C: Coaching experience in the last 12 months D: Coach objectives E: Coach development experiences and knowledge in the last 12 months F: Coach qualifications G: Coaching careers H: Evaluating your own performance I: Support services J: The next 12 months

Data Collection The questionnaire was sent to the 851 coaches that had participated in Year Two of the project. Though the questionnaire length was reduced in comparison to Year One, participants were allowed six months to complete and return the questionnaire. For those participants who had not returned their questionnaire by post, regular reminders were sent via the coaching edge and by e-mail.

Participants were offered three options for completing the survey: Paper Submission: All participants were sent a paper-version of the questionnaire along with a prepaid envelope to return it in.

Online Submission: Participants with online access were sent a secure web link to an online version of the questionnaire. The link, unique to each coach, allowed participants to complete the questionnaire over time and submit once completed.

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Over the phone: Coaches were also able to complete the questionnaire over the phone with the principal researcher.

Response Of the 851 coaches that participated in Year One, 621 re-engaged in the project and returned the questionnaire for Year Three, a retention rate of 73%. 585 of these coaches were still active and 36 had stopped coaching.

Of the 230 coaches that withdrew from the study, 37 coaches (16%) relocated without advising project management of their new contact details and therefore the communication was returned undelivered. 21 coaches (9%) notified the research team of their withdrawal from the project, 13 of which did due to the fact they were no longer coaching while the other 8 coaches provided no reason. The majority of the coaches that did not re-engage (n=172) did not communicate the reasons for their withdrawal with the project team.

Analysis Given the longitudinal design of the project and its stated aim to track coachesâ€&#x; progress over four years, it was important to compare Year Three results with those in Year One. To facilitate this, Year One results were recalculated on the basis of the Year Three sample (585 coaches) to provide direct comparability.

The report is split into two main sections. The first presents results on the active coaches (585 coaches); the second on those coaches who had stopped in the last 12 months and returned their Year Three questionnaire (36 coaches).

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3. The Sample In order to understand and set in context the main findings of the report it is important to consider the sample of coaches in this wave of data collection. General demographic information is initially presented, in addition to data on the coachesâ€&#x; non-coaching education.

Gender, Disability and Ethnicity Sports Coaching in the UK 3 (sports coach UK, 2011) suggests male coaches account for 69% of the overall UK coaching workforce but in the case of qualified coaches (excluding assistant coaches) 82% are male. The sample in the current study falls in between these two figures, with a higher proportion of male coaches (73%) in comparison to the overall coaching population, but a lower proportion in comparison to the qualified subgroup (Table 3.1).

The Coaching Workforce 2009-2016 document suggests that 8% of the overall UK coaching population and 11% of qualified coaches have a disability (North, 2009). In the Coach Tracking Study sample there was an under-representation, with 4% of coaches stating that they have a disability (Table 3.1).

Table 3.1 Coaches by Gender, Disability and Ethnicity Year Three N=

%

Gender Male Female

425 160

73 27

Disability Disabled Non-Disabled

24 561

4 96

Ethnicity White Black and Ethnic Minorities Prefer not to say

564 17 4

96 3 1

Total

585

100

Base: All coaches

The 2001 Census of Population indicates that almost 8% of the UK Population is from minority ethnic groups. Data from Sports Coaching in the UK 3 (sports coach UK, 2011) suggests that minority ethnic groups are under-represented in the overall UK coaching population with just 3% reporting themselves as non-white. This under-representation is further increased in the case of qualified coaches (excluding assistant coaches) as only 1% of these are of an ethnic minority(sports coach UK, 2011). The ethnic breakdown of the sample in this study reflects this under-representation, with 3% of coaches reporting as non-white (Table 3.1).

Age and Parenthood Sports Coaching in the UK 3 (sports coach UK, 2011) indicates that 77% of coaches fit into three age bands (15-24, 35-44 and 45-54). The sample in this study depicts a 8

somewhat older profile, with the highest percentage of coaches in the 45-54 year age bands and only 9% of coaches in the 15-24 age band. The average age of a coach in this study is 44 years in Year Three, in comparison to 41.8 in Year One, in line with the progression of the survey.

With regards to parental status, there has been little change between Year One and Year Three, with 20 coaches becoming parents again. 3 out of 5 coaches in this study have children (62%) (Table 3.2).

Table 3.2 Coaches by Age and Parent Role Year One Year Three N= % N=

%

Age 15-24 years 25-34 years 35-44 years 45-54 years 55+ years Average Age

65 97 154 165 104 41.8

11 17 26 28 19

50 88 125 198 124 44

9 15 21 34 21

Parents Yes No

334 251

57 43

361 224

62 38

Total

585

100

585

100

Base: All Coaches Highest Qualification Held The coaches in the sample were well educated with 52% having a degree-level qualification and only 1% having no qualifications (Table 3.3). This complements other research that has noted relatively high qualification levels amongst coaches compared to the UK population (North, 2006).

Table 3.3 Coaches by Highest Qualification held (non-coaching) Year One Year Three N= % N= Degree or Equivalent Higher Education Qualifications GCE A-Level or Equivalent GCSE or Equivalent Other No qualifications Total

%

262

47

296

52

99

18

100

18

69

12

59

10

109

20

94

17

7

1

13

2

14

3

8

1

560

100

570

100

Base: All coaches

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4. Motivation for Coaching In Year Three, coaches were asked about their motivation to continue coaching. The most cited reasons related to the interaction of coaches with participants and the rewards associated with it. Nine out of ten coaches (92%) stated that the “enjoyment derived from seeing athletes develop their skills and improve” motivated them to continue coaching. Over three quarters of coaches (79%) indicated that they continued coaching because they “liked the interaction with participants” and 71% indicated that they “liked the buzz when participants did well, knowing that they had something to do with it” (Table 4.1).

Table 4.1 Coaches’ Motivation to Continue Coaching by Gender in Year Three All Coaches % Male % Female Coaches Coaches N= % I like seeing athletes develop their skills 532 92 92 93 and improve I like the interaction with athletes / 457 79 80 79 players / participants I like the buzz when athletes do well, 412 71 71 73 knowing I had something to do with it Maintain involvement in sport now that I 252 44 48 32 don‟t play I like the thrill of competition 176 31 33 23 To help my old club 157 27 27 27 To help my child 121 21 24 12 It‟s a good career in terms of pay and 68 12 11 14 benefits Base: 585 coaches who were still actively coaching Note: Coaches were able to tick all options that applied to them

Differences in motivation between male and female coaches revolve mainly around children and past participation. The data suggests that female coaches are less likely to continue coaching because of their child‟s own sporting participation (12% in comparison to 24% of male coaches) (Table 4.1). This finding corresponds with data from Year One and Two of the project, which suggest that male coaches are more likely to begin coaching in order to help their child in sport (Timson-Katchis & North, 2008).

The largest difference between male and female participation is around maintaining involvement in a sport the coach used to play. Given the lower levels of female participation generally (sports coach UK 2011) it is not surprising that 32% of female coaches are motivated by past participation compared to 48% of male coaches.

The results for Year Three back up previous findings from Year two that as coaches gain experience in coaching, their motivation to remain in coaching is derived primarily from their personal enjoyment and the sense of pride and achievement it offers them. This highlights the importance of intrinsic motivation for continuing coaching, but may also reflect the state of the wider UK sport system in which external benefits (e.g., pay) are rare.

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When motivations to continue coaching are examined by employment type a consistent pattern has emerged over the last three years. Volunteer coaches appear more motivated by family and community concerns (e.g. helping their child or their old club).

Paid coaches appear more motivated by the intrinsic qualities of coaching (e.g. developing athletes and the interaction with athletes and players). In comparison to volunteer and part-time coaches, full-time coaches are more motivated by extrinsic benefits such as career, pay and benefits. However, these extrinsic benefits are still less important than the intrinsic benefits they receive (e.g. interaction with athletes).

Figure 1: Coaches Motivation to Continue Coaching By Employment Type

I like seeing athletes develop their skills and improve

100

I like the interaction with athletes / players / participants

90 80 70

I like the buzz when athletes do well, knowing I had something to do with it To help my child

60 50 40 30 20 10

To help my old club

0 % Volunteer Coaches

% Part Time Coaches

% Full Time Coaches

Coaches had an opportunity to highlight other reasons that motivated them to continue coaching. Sixty coaches indicated an additional motivation and these are summarised in Table 4.2 below. Though some of the reasons offered are not entirely unexpected and reflect some of the reasons listed in Table 4.1 (e.g., improving participants life skills), it was interesting that the most popular additional reason revolved around personal development.

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This is demonstrated by comments on „other motivations‟ that included: „develop my knowledge and understanding of the coaching process‟; „enhance my own knowledge and consequently my performance‟; and „I can learn how to improve my own performance sometimes‟. This is consistent with the reasoning in Year Two (TimsonKatchis and North 2010) that as coaches facilitate participant development, they develop themselves.

Table 4.2 Other Motivations for Continuing to coach

Times mentioned Personal Development Help the local community by addressing a gap in the local coaching provision Give something back to sport Help young participants in particular develop life skills and stay out of trouble Love sport I coach as part of my job (e.g., sport development, PE teacher) Want to pursue coaching as a career so gradually moving towards that Coaching is a good social alternative

Base: All coaches that offered an additional motivation for continuing to coach

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12 6 5 5 3 3 2 2

5. Coaching Roles In this section the report presents evidence on the specific roles the coaches were undertaking in Year Three in comparison to Year One. Information is initially presented on the sports the coaches worked across, followed by data on the age of the participants they coached, and the participantsâ€&#x; competitive level.

Number of Sports Coached In Year One of the project the majority of coaches (66%) coached only one sport. A third of coaches (22%) coached two or three sports, with a very small minority coaching four or more (4%) (Table 5.1). In Year Three there was a significant change with a greater concentration on one sport (84% now only coached one sport). Figures for Year Three suggest the shift from sampling to specialising in coaching as suggested by TimsonKatchis and North (2010) may have peaked in Year Two (when the figure was also 84%). It will be interesting to see if there are any changes reported in Year Four.

1 2 3 4 5 6 Average

N= 368 124 45 10 4 3 1.5

Table 5.1 Number of Sports Coached Year One % 66 22 8 2 1 1

Year Three N= 488 62 18 5 5

% 84 11 3 1 1

1.2

Total 554 100 578 100 Base: All coaches Note: Year One data include all sports coached since start of coaching career up to date of Year One data collection; Year Three data include sports coached in the last 12 months

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In terms of the sports coached there has been little or no change noted from Year One to Year Three (Table 5.2). Football remains the sport most coached with 22% of coaches (albeit down from 27% in Year One) followed by Hockey (10%), Rugby Union (9%) Cricket (7%), and Athletics (7%). These results are consistent with data presented in Sports Coaching in the UK 3 (sports coach UK 2011).

N= 158 61 57 55

Table 5.2 Coaches by Sport Year One % 27 10 10 9 8 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1

Year Three

% Football 22 Hockey 10 Rugby Union 9 Cricket 7 Athletics 7 49 Swimming 37 5 Netball 30 4 Cycling 29 5 Tennis 28 4 Equestrian 24 4 Basketball 21 3 Squash 23 3 Gymnastics 16 2 Orienteering 16 2 Badminton 14 2 Judo 13 2 Running/jogging 12 1 Triathlon 11 2 Canoeing 11 1 Rowing 9 1 Bowls 8 2 Rugby League 8 1 Table Tennis 8 1 Golf 7 1 Archery 7 <1 Volleyball 6 1 Weight Training 6 <1 Climbing 5 <1 Windsurfing 4 <1 Skiing 4 <1 Sailing 4 -Keep fit / Yoga 3 1 Movement/Dance 3 <1 Karate 3 <1 Rounders 2 1 Shooting 1 <1 Mountaineering 1 <1 Ice Skating 1 -Ten Pin Bowling 1 -Base: All coaches Note: Data are based on number of coaches coaching any given sport, so coaches coaching 2 or more sports have been counted for all the sports they coach.

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N= 131 56 50 43 41 29 23 28 26 21 16 20 13 14 10 9 6 9 6 8 9 5 5 6 4 5 5 1 2 1 -5 2 4 7 2 1 ---

Age and Level of Participant Groups Coached In terms of the age groups coached, it is important to note that accurate comparisons cannot be drawn due to changes in the data collection methodology between Years One and Three, though allowing for this, some similarities remain. The majority of coaching roles were primarily with the young people aged four to twenty, with nearly eight out of ten roles being with these groups (Table 5.3). In comparison, only two out of ten coaching roles were with adult groups in Year Three. The results are consistent with data from Sports Coaching in the UK 3 (sports coach UK 2011) which reports that over three quarters of coaches were working with children.

Table 5.3 Age of participant groups coached Year One N= % N= Younger Children 4-11 years Older Children 12-16 years Young People 1720 years Adults 21+ Mixed Total

Year Three %

169

12

384

29

197

14

445

33

75

5

222

16

100 884 1425

7 62 100

295 --1346

22 --100

Base: All coaching roles Note: The figures above are based on all coaching roles rather than all coaches, so if a coach has 2 or more coaching roles, they have been counted 2 or more times In Year One data regarding all coaching roles since coached started coaching were gathered, whereas in Year Three only data on coaching roles in the last 12 months were collected.

In terms of the level of participants a similar trend is observed as per the age of participants coached. Most coaching roles focused at the “Club” level (28%) with “Improver” (20%) and “Beginner” (20%) levels closely following (Table 5.4). This trend could be attributed to the high numbers of coaching roles with younger age groups. As expected, far fewer coaching roles appear to be with higher-level participants, for example, only 4% being at the international level.

Beginner Improver Club County Regional National International Recreational Mixed Total

Table 5.4 Level of participant groups coached Year One Year Three N= % N= 311 22 258 179 12 257 345 24 371 97 7 124 75 5 120 58 4 97 69 5 51 10 1 31 284 20 --1428 100 1309

% 20 20 28 9 9 7 4 2 --100

Base: All coaching roles Note: The figures above are based on all coaching roles rather than all coaches, so if a coach has 2 or more coaching roles, they have been counted 2 or more times.

In Year One data regarding all coaching roles since coaches started coaching were gathered, whereas in Year Three only data on coaching roles in the last 12 months were collected.

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6. Coach Development A key aim of the project was to explore coaches‟ development in terms of their experiences, education and qualifications. In this section, the report explores coach development in further detail by extending the analysis to coaches‟ knowledge.

Learning Sources/Environments An important aspect of the research design was to consider the most important sources or environments from where coach learning takes place.

Learning Source/Environment Usage In Year One, the results suggested that coaches used a wide variety of learning sources/environments to enhance their learning and development, and data from Year Three reinforced this claim. Learning sources, which are immediate to the act of coaching, remain the most used by coaches, such as „coaching practice‟ (84%), „reflective practice‟ (75%), „working with athletes/players/participants‟ (72%), and „working with/observing coaches from your sport „(71%) (Table 6.1).

In the Year Two report it was suggested that the slight decrease in the numbers of coaches citing „coaching practice‟ as a source of learning and development may be attributed to coaches becoming more proficient in the day-to-day tasks of coaching, therefore placing less importance on the utilisation of coaching practice as a learning source. Year Three results support this idea as the decrease in those citing „coaching practice‟ as a source of learning and development has increased from 4% to 7% as the coaches gain more experience.

Interestingly, „non-coaching related education‟ was used by 14% more coaches in Year Three in comparison to Year One, which would suggest that coaches are drawing learning from outside the coaching field.

Sources of learning that were increasingly utilised in Year Three were „reading books, journals, magazines‟ (+2%) and „online learning‟ (+3%) which illustrates that coaches are using a wide variety of media to enhance their learning. These types of resources have been highlighted by previous research (Gilbert & Trudel, 2001) in which coaches reportedly used them to generate strategies and solve specific coaching concerns.

There was a notable decrease (-27%) in the numbers of coaches citing formal coaching qualifications as a source of learning and development. However this is likely to be a reflection of the sample, as 95% of coaches are qualified, and only 22% of coaches gained a new coaching qualification in the last 12 months with only 13% working towards a new one (see Table 6.5) Data further suggests that as coaches progress and develop they do not rely as much on their own sporting experiences – „experiences as an athlete/player/participant‟ and „observing my own coach when I was player‟ were both cited by 6% less, a finding echoed by the wider coach development literature (Gilbert, Côté, & Mallett, 2006; Erickson, Côté, & Fraser-Thomas, 2007).

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Table 6.1 Learning Sources / Environments Utilised by Coaches in the Last 12 months Year One Year Three N= % N= % Coaching Practice 530 91 490 84 Reading Coaching books, magazines 463 79 81 476 and journals Working with / observing coaches from 442 76 415 71 your sport Reflecting on past coaching 437 75 441 75 Working with athletes / players / 432 74 424 72 participants Coaching qualifications – Governing 379 65 222 38 Body or UKCC Experiences as an athlete / player / 377 64 338 58 participant Watching DVDs, Videos, CD ROMs 354 61 326 56 Advice from family / friends 294 50 291 50 Online Learning 410 49 303 52 Coaching Conferences 282 48 258 44 Workshops 269 46 303 52 Working with a coach mentor 239 41 300 37 Experience of being a parent 238 41 208 36 Working with / observing coaches from 236 40 237 41 other sports Experience at work outside coaching 229 39 217 37 Working with / observing my own coach 172 29 136 23 when I was player Non-coaching related education 148 25 230 39 1:1 training needs analysis with a coach 95 16 51 9 developer Base: All coaches Note: Coaches were able to indicate more than one learning source therefore figures do not total

Learning Source/Environment Importance In terms of the importance of learning sources/environments, many of those that are used the most frequently, are also seen as being the most important. Furthermore despite the noted reduced levels of usage of learning sources, the perceived importance of the sources has generally increased across the board since Year One (Table 6.2).

As per Year One, and in line with a great deal of other research on coach development (Abraham et al, 2006; Salmela, 1996; Wright et al, 2007), learning by doing involving „coaching practice‟, remains one of the most important (97%) learning sources.

Other important learning sources identified were those that involve working with others (coaches, athletes and mentors). This reinforces the argument put forward in the Year Two report that coaches appear to attach great importance to networking with other coaches, and being able to establish and engage in communities of practice.

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Table 6.2 Rating of Learning Sources / Environments Utilised by Coaches in the Last 12 months Year One Year Three % Important % Important Coaching Practice 99 97 Working with athletes / players / 97 97 participants Working with / observing coaches from 95 98 your sport Working with a coach mentor 95 97 Workshops / training events / courses 94 94 Coaching qualifications â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Governing 93 93 Body or UKCC Coaching Conferences 93 94 Reflecting on past coaching 92 96 Experiences as an athlete / player / 89 93 participant 1:1 training needs analysis with a coach 87 96 developer Working with / observing coaches from 87 95 other sports Reading Coaching books, magazines 86 95 and journals Watching DVDs, Videos, CD ROMs 86 92 Experience of being a parent 85 95 Working with / observing my own coach 84 93 when I was player Non-coaching related education 78 95 Advice from family / friends 78 93 Experience at work outside coaching 76 94 Online Learning 77 93

Base: All coaches who indicated that they used the named source All the learning sources are rated as important to learning and development by over 90% of coaches. Therefore, it would be reasonable to conclude that coaches value learning and it is most effective when it combines many different types of learning situations. Given the highly dynamic and complex nature of coaching (Cushion et al, 2003) coaches need to develop a wide range of skills and knowledge. Data presented here, suggests that in an attempt to achieve this, coaches engage in a wide variety of learning situations, each having its own unique role to play in a coachâ&#x20AC;&#x;s development and indeed it is the blending of these that is significant.

Time spent on Learning and Development Activities The coaches were asked to indicate how much time they spent on development opportunities in the past year1. Overall there was little change from Year One with the exception of the amount of time spent on development activities. Part and full time coaches increased by 42 minutes and 1 hour respectively whereas volunteer coaches reduced this figure by 12 minutes. This is understandable given that volunteer coaches are likely to have jobs outside coaching with less time to spare on tasks such as development. In contrast, full time coaches may be more likely to see development opportunities as a central component of their working lives and contribute time accordingly.

1

For the purposes of this analysis the following learning and development opportunities were not included, as these would not provide an accurate representation: (a) coaching practice, (b) experience at work, (c) experience of being a parent, (d) experiences as a participant, (e) working with participants and (f) working with my own coach when I was a player.

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Table 6.3 Average estimated weekly time spent on development activities (hours) Year One Year Three All Coaches 4.6 4.7 Employment Status Voluntary Paid Part Time Paid Full Time

3.9 4.4 6.0

3.7 5.1 7.0

Parenthood Yes No

4.2 5.1

4.8 4.7

Base: All coaches Coaches who were parents devoted an hour less in Year One when compared to coaches with no children (Table 6.3). However, in Year 3, parents and non-parents seem to be devoting similar amounts of time to developmental activities. Analysis was conducted against variables such as age, gender, length of coaching experience, level of coaching qualification and level of participants coached and no differences were found.

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Knowledge and Information Sought by Coaches In Year Two and Year Three of the project, the research was expanded to collect information on the types of knowledge and information the coaches sought in furthering their practice.

Coaches were asked to state what types of knowledge and information they sought from engaging in various developmental activities. The results indicate that although the coaches favoured some types of knowledge such as on technique and tactics (74% of coaches), they were also interested in interpersonal skills such as “providing participants with feedback” (65%), “motivating participants” (62%), and “listening skills” (60%) (Table 6.4). This may reflect the importance given to learning sources that involve working with others (Table 6.2). It is further evidenced by the fact that seven out of ten coaches rated skills such as “listening” (81%), “responsiveness” (71%), “providing feedback” (70%) and “motivating” (67%) as being very important to their development.

Table 6.4 Knowledge / information sought by coaches and perceived rating of importance Year Three Sought Importance Rating % Very % % N= % Important Important Unimportant Technical / Tactical 433 74 63 37 1 Knowledge Providing Feedback 380 65 70 30 -Motivating 364 62 67 32 1 Observation and Analysis 360 62 65 34 1

Planning Sessions (i.e. content structure)

359

61

64

35

1

Listening 349 60 81 19 -Providing Instruction 338 58 61 37 1 Self reflection 338 58 65 34 1 Evaluating Sessions 328 56 57 42 1 Knowledge of wide range 328 56 53 46 1 of methods Understanding Player 321 55 61 39 1 development Questioning 313 54 65 35 -Responsiveness 308 53 71 28 1 Organisation of sessions (i.e. health & safety, 294 50 58 41 1 equipment) Planning Programmes (i.e.

288 49 52 47 1 over a season / year) Decision Making 254 43 58 40 1 Managing the 254 43 58 41 1 environment Facilitating 223 40 56 43 1 Base: All coaches Note: Coaches were able to indicate more than one type of knowledge therefore figures do not total Types of knowledge / information were only rated by coaches who had indicated they had sought it

On the whole, the data illustrates that coaches recognise the multi-dimensional nature of coaching practice, and the need for learning and development to reflect this. It is interesting however that although coaches have had access to/sought information on the “what” of coaching (e.g. technique/tactics), they appear to place greater importance on the “how” of coaching (e.g. listening, motivating etc.).

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Coach Qualifications Of the 585 coaches that took part in the survey, 555 (95%) held a recognised coaching qualification in Year One (Table 6.5). A further 5 coaches gained their first recognised coaching qualification in Year Three. In total 126 coaches (22%) gained a new recognised coaching qualification in Year Three.

Data from Sports Coaching in the UK 3 (sports coach UK, 2011) indicates that half (53%) of the UK coaching population holds a recognised coaching qualification. Whilst it is encouraging to note that 95% of participating coaches were qualified, this is likely to be a sampling issue, as many of the coaches participating in the project were recruited through 1st4Sport qualifications and through links within the coaching system (e.g., Governing Bodies of Sport, local authorities and county sport partnerships).

The percentage of male and female coaches with up to date qualifications are similar (95% and 97% respectively) (Table 6.5). This result is in stark contrast to the findings of the Sports Coaching in the UK 3 report (sports coach UK, 2011) which indicates a significant imbalance between male and female qualified coaches in the general coaching population.

Table 6.5 Coach Qualification Breakdown Year Three % Male Coaches Have a qualification N= % Yes 555 95 95 No 28 5 5

% Female Coaches 97 3

Gained a new qualification Yes No

126 459

22 78

19 81

28 72

Highest Level Qualification Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

96 181 165 77 23

18 33 30 14 4

18 32 34 13 3

17 37 22 17 7

Currently studying for another qualification Yes No

76 509

13 87

14 86

13 87

100

100

100

Total Base: All coaches

While level 2 qualifications remain the most common, it is encouraging to note that there has been an increase (albeit slight) in the attainment of Level 3 to 5 qualifications. For example, only 11% held a Level 4 qualification in Year One, which rose to 12% in Year Two, and which has risen to 14% in Year 3. Furthermore, while 25% of coaches had a level 3 qualification in Year One, this rose to 27% in Year Two and further increased to 30% in Year 3. In comparison with the sub-group of qualified coaches identified in the Coaching Workforce 2009-2016 document (North, 2009), most of which were qualified to Levels 1 and 2, results show that the majority of Coach Tracking Study coaches are qualified to a higher level (levels 2 and 3).

21

Given the high incidence of qualified coaches within the sample it is perhaps unsurprising that only 13% of coaches were currently working towards another qualification (much lower than the 42% noted in Year One) and suggests that a significant majority of coaches are increasingly focusing their development on informal and non-formal learning.

Table 6.6 Highest Level Qualification held by coaches working with children in Year Three Coaches working with Coaches working with All Coaches children under 16 years participants over 17 old years old N= % N= % N= % Level 1 96 18 84 20 12 9 Level 2 181 33 147 35 34 28 Level 3 165 30 120 29 45 37 Level 4 77 14 54 13 23 19 Level 5 23 4 15 4 8 6 Total 542 Base: All qualified coaches

100

420

100

122

100

There was evidence that coaches working with children under 16 years old were less well qualified than those working with participants 17 years and older (Table 6.6). For example, only 17% of coaches working with children had a Level 4 or 5 qualification, compared to 25% of coaches working with older teenagers and adults. There are two possible explanations for this finding. Firstly, coaches working with young children may feel that a basic level qualification (e.g., Level 1) will be adequate for the group they work with. Secondly, coaches working with adults are more likely to deal with elite athletes or participants attempting to acquire a high level of expertise, and thus may require a high level of qualification (e.g., Level 4 or above) to work effectively with these individuals.

Benefits of Coaching Qualifications Comments on the benefits of taking-up a formal coaching qualification (Table 6.7) demonstrate the shift in coach thinking as they gain experience. In Year One the most cited benefits were linked to improving knowledge and practice. By Year Three the most important benefits highlighted were “provides new information/keeps you up to date” (48%), “networking and sharing of ideas with other coaches” (47%) and “takes your coaching to the next level” (47%). Qualification content may be more important earlier in a coaches‟ career, whereas being provided with new information, networking and advancing coaching skills to a new level may be more useful for coaches who have acquired the basic knowledge bases in earlier qualification uptake.

As may be expected, there was a notable decrease of 22% between Year One and Year Three in terms of the influence of coaching qualifications on the basic skills to start coaching. As the majority of coaches (95%) in the current sample are qualified and have significant coaching experience, basic coaching skills have already been acquired and are therefore unlikely to be influenced by the undertaking on any new qualifications.

22

Table 6.7 Perceived Benefits of undertaking a new coaching qualification Year One Year Three N= % N= % Improves Coaching Knowledge 180 52 49 39 Improves Coaching Practice 180 52 51 40 Builds Up Confidence 164 47 52 41 Networking and sharing of ideas 163 47 59 47 Takes your coaching to the next level 159 46 59 47 Improves knowledge of sport 152 44 53 42 Provides new information / keeps you up to 141 41 61 48 date Provides a focus for coach development 140 40 45 36 Improves practice of sport 134 39 42 33 Builds up your CV 131 38 42 33 Provides you with credibility 125 36 43 34 Provides access to new coaching 107 31 29 23 opportunities Provides you with the skills to coach wider 96 28 30 24 audiences Gives you the basic skills to start coaching 93 27 6 5 Base: All coaches studying for a new coaching qualification Note: Coaches could indicate more than one problem therefore figures do not total

On the whole, despite the current coach development literature presenting formal coach qualifications in an unfavourable light (e.g., Abraham et al, 2006; Nelson & Cushion, 2006) results illustrate that qualifications are seen as beneficial. In many respects coaching qualifications should be seen as being complementary to other methods of coach development rather than central.

Problems with Coaching Qualifications Financial and logistical concerns such as cost, location and timing consistently rank as the three biggest problems to taking up qualifications in Years One to Three. In Year Three these problems remain most cited, and in fact were highlighted by a greater majority of coaches (25%, 25% and 25% respectively). However, other problems raised in Year One, concerning awareness and information provision, were cited by fewer coaches in Year Three. These results indicate that although cost is indeed a growing concern for coaches, a greater number of them are aware of possible funding options.

An increased percentage of coaches (from 12% in Year One to 21% in Year Three) cited that courses take too long to complete. This might be a particularly important issue for coaches of a volunteer status who combine coaching with a full-time job and family duties. As a result, combining day-to-day duties with the time required to complete coaching courses is likely to place them under significant pressure.

In terms of the content and quality of the qualifications, little change was noted.

Problems with the accuracy of assessment methods (7%) and an overemphasis on coaching theory (7%) reduced slightly in importance in Year Three although concerns with the language used in coach education rose slightly to 6%. In addition, issues regarding the lack of practice (8%) and benefit of qualifications at early stages of development (3%) were cited by a smaller percentage of coaches in Year Three. As coaches acquire more hands-on coaching experience they may attach less importance to whether or not coach education can provide them with practice opportunities.

Furthermore, these results suggest that despite the perceived improvement in assessment methods, coaches still feel that qualifications do not have a significant practical dimension. On a positive note, problems relating to tutor quality have

23

decreased by 3% which could be a reflection of changes in tutor training as part of the UKCC. Table 6.8 Perceived Problems of undertaking a new coaching qualification Year One Year Three N= % N= % Not enough information on funding 84 24 23 18 available for coach education Courses are difficult to access in terms of 81 23 31 25 their timing Courses are too expensive 79 23 31 25 Courses are difficult to access in terms of 70 20 31 25 their location Assessment methods do not reflect 50 14 9 7 coaching knowledge and practice Overemphasis on coaching theory rather 49 14 9 7 than its application in the real world Not enough information on the next logical 45 13 7 6 step in coach education Not enough information on how to access 44 13 11 9 coach education Courses take too much time to complete 43 12 26 21 Qualification does not include enough actual 36 10 10 8 practice Tutors delivering the courses are not of a 25 7 5 4 high enough quality Qualifications are only appropriate at early 15 4 4 3 stages of development Qualification is not at an appropriate level 13 4 4 3 The language/terminology used in coach 13 4 7 6 education and CPD is difficult to understand There is no need to coach education and qualifications as coaching experience is 5 1 0 0 enough Base: All coaches studying for a new coaching qualification Note: Coaches could indicate more than one â&#x20AC;&#x17E;problemâ&#x20AC;&#x; therefore figures do not total

24

Rating of Support Services The coaches were asked to comment on the support they received from Governing Bodies of Sport and other agencies such as sports coach UK. Results in Year One, presented a mixed picture with about 30% of coaches indicating that they felt supported, with the remaining 70% indicating that they had received little or no support (Table 6.9). It is disappointing that by Year Three the number of coaches feeling supported has dropped.

Table 6.9 Rating of Support Received From Coaching Organisations ‘Development Support’ (e.g., GBs of Sport, sports coach UK) Not at all Not relevant Supported Supported supported (support not Total a little needed) % % % % % N=

Identifying developme nt opportuniti es

Year One

34

34

29

3

100

566

Year Three

29

30

35

6

100

562

Help with the cost of development opportunities

Year One

25

21

50

5

100

568

Year Three

22

21

49

8

100

569

Year One

34

34

29

3

100

571

Year Three

26

34

34

6

100

574

Identifying your development needs

Base: All coaches

Regarding the specific results only three out of ten coaches felt that they were supported, both in terms of identifying generic development opportunities (29%), but also identifying their own specific development needs (26%), in comparison to over a third of coaches in Year One (34% and 34% respectively). Nearly half of the coaches (49%) felt that they were not receiving any support with regards to the cost of their development, a finding in line with comments made by coaches about the cost of coach qualifications (see Table 6.8). The results support findings from Year One that two primary barriers to coaches‟ further development are knowing what opportunities are available and appropriate and the cost of such opportunities.

25

Table 6.10 Rating of Support Received From Coaching Organisations ‘Career Development’ (e.g., GBs of Sport, sports coach UK) Not at all Not relevant Supported Supported supported (support not Total a little needed) % % % % % N=

Help with finding appropriate opportuniti es to coach

Year One

25

24

36

14

100

567

Year Three

21

22

40

17

100

571

Knowing the next steps for your coaching

Year One

35

35

25

5

100

565

Year Three

28

32

33

8

100

572

Year One

17

20

41

21

100

567

Year Three

13

18

44

25

100

572

Help with career opportunities

Base: All coaches The coaches reported receiving lower levels of support for developing their careers in Year Three in comparison to Year One (Table 6.10). Only 28% of coaches indicated that they received support on „knowing the next steps for your coaching career’, a drop of 7% from Year One (Table 6.10). In terms of getting help to progress their careers most coaches indicated that they did not feel supported in Year One and this has increased in Year Three. Four out of ten coaches in Year Three indicated that they received no support with finding opportunities to coach (40%), in comparison to just over a third (36%) in Year One. This could be a reflection of the decrease in the number of coaches coming into contact with coach development officers (see Timson-Katchis & North, 2010).

26

7. Coaching Careers One of the main aims of the research was to identify the changing profile of the coaches‟ careers. This section reports on the coaches‟ employment status (i.e. whether they are voluntary, part-time and full-time coaches), the impact of coaches‟ employment status on the frequency and time distribution of coaching-related activities, and finally coaches‟ pay levels.

Employment Status From Year One to Year Three of the project, no change is noted in terms of coaches working in a voluntary capacity. However, there has been a 9% increase in the number of paid part time coaches with a similar decrease in the number of paid full time coaches (see Table 7.1). A greater proportion of female coaches in Year Three appear to be coaching on a paid basis (both part time and full time) (71% female compared to 58% of males in Year One and 70% female compared to 50% male in Year Three).

Table 7.1 Coaches by Employment Type Year One

Year Three

% Female Coaches Year Year One Three 29 30

44

Year One 52

Year Three 50

254

44

39

39

44

56

21

71

12

19

11

27

14

100

580

100

100

100

100

100

N=

%

N=

%

Voluntary

250

44

255

Paid Part Time Paid Full Time

199

35

120

Total 569 Base: All coaches

% Male Coaches

Time Spent Coaching In examining coaches‟ use of time, and their frequency of coaching, there was little change between Years One and Three, with most coaches (91%) coaching at least once a week or more (Table 7.2).

Almost every day At least once a week At least once a month At least once every 6 months At least once a year Total

N= 221

Table 7.2 Frequency of Coaching Year One % 39

Year Three N= 223

% 39

293

51

303

52

39

7

45

8

14

2

7

1

3

1

1

<1

570

100

579

100

Base: All coaches

27

The Year Three data continued to support the notion that full time coaches were coaching on a daily basis, whereas part time and volunteer coaches were most likely to coach on a weekly basis (Table 7.3).

Table 7.3 Frequency of Coaching by employment type Volunteer Part Time Full Time Year One Year Year One Year Year One Year Three Three Three Almost every day At least once a week At least once a month At least once every 6 months At least once a year Total Base: All coaches

13

12

39

48

92

100

72

73

52

47

6

---

10

12

6

5

2

---

4

2

3

<1

---

---

1

<1

---

---

---

---

100

100

100

100

100

100

Information was also collected regarding the coaches‟ allocation of time to various coaching related tasks on a weekly basis (Table 7.4). Interestingly, less than half of the coaches‟ time was actually spent on delivering coaching, a figure which was similar for Years One and Three (43% and 40% respectively). This is consistent with data for the UK coaching population (sports coach UK 2011). However in other areas this sample is different from the general coaching population with more time spent on administration and less on preparation and review. Surprisingly, only 21% of time was spent preparing and reviewing coaching activities, the latter of which is regarded as good practice and can enhance learning and development.

Coaching Activity Preparation Delivery Review Coach Related Administration Other Travel CPD

Table 7.4 Weekly breakdown of coaching related hours Year One Year Three Time (hrs) % Of Time Time (hrs) % Of Time 2.9 14 2.8 12 8.9 43 9.3 40 1.8 9 2.1 9 3.3

16

3.2

14

3.9 -----

19 -----

--3.5 2.3

--15 11

Total coaching 20.8 100 23.2 hours Base: All coaches Note: “Other” option expanded in Years Two and Three into “Travel” and “CPD”

100

Similar to Year One, results from Year Three support the link between coaches‟ allocation of time and their employment status, with full time coaches delivering nearly 26 hours of coaching, in comparison to 4 hours with volunteer coaches and 10 hours with part time coaches (Table 7.5). Full time coaches, as expected, spent more time across all coaching related activities in comparison to their volunteer and part time coaching counterparts.

In terms of delivery time, part time and full time coaches appear to have increased the 28

amount of time they spend on a weekly basis coaching, by just over two hours in the case of part time coaches and almost 4 hours in the case of full time coaches. With regards to preparation, a slight decrease in the amount of time allocated was noted across volunteers and full time coaches though part time coaches increased their preparation time from Year One to Year Three. Both volunteer and part time coaches increased the time dedicated to reviewing their coaching while full time coaches have decreased reviewing time from Year One to Year Three.

Table 7.5 Weekly breakdown of coaching related hours by Employment Type Volunteer Part Time Full Time Coaching Year Year Year Year One Year One Year One Activity Three Three Three Preparation 1.7 1.5 2.7 3.5 5.6 4.9 Delivery 3.9 4.0 7.6 9.7 21.8 25.7 Review 1.2 1.3 1.5 2.6 3.6 3.0 Coach Related 1.8 1.7 2.6 3.8 7.4 5.6 Administration Other 2.3 --3.4 --8.2 --Travel --1.8 --3.8 --7.4 CPD --1.4 --2.9 --2.9 Total hours 10.9 11.7 17.8 26.3 46.6 49.5 Base: All coaches Note: The question options differed from Year One to Year Three. The “Other” option was only posed in Year One, whereas the options for “Travel” and “CPD” were posed in Year Two and Year Three.

Coaching Pay The study also provides information on coaches‟ pay. The results suggest that the average coaching salary for paid coaches (both part time and full-time combined) is currently £20,087 per year, indicating a significant increase of 12% from Year One (Table 7.6). Part time coaches‟ annual salary reflects this overall increase, with salaries rising to just under £7,000 per annum, whereas full time coaches have had a 9% increase to £23,676. This supports other evidence2, which suggests that the majority of paid coaching positions are currently between £17,000 and £28,000 per annum (depending on location, qualifications, and other specific job requirements).

Table 7.6 Coaching Pay in Year Three Part Time Full Time Year One Year Three Year One Year Three Paid Sessions 4.4 per week Average pay per £21.77 session Average annual £5,562 salary Base: All paid coaches

4.9

18.3

23.7

£23.17

£24.46

£27.33

£6,902

£21,621

£23,676

When considering pay on a sessional basis, results suggest that the average pay per session has increased by 6% from Year One, rising from £22.43 to £23.94 per session.

This increase is reflected in the 6% rise in pay per session for part time coaches rising to 2

- http://ww2.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/sports_coach_instructor_salary.jsp

29

over £23, and the 11% increase in pay per session for full time coaches rising to over £27.

Although coaches working with young people and adults (17+) receive payment for fewer sessions per week than coaches working with under 16‟s (8.3 versus 8.7), they receive higher average pay per session (£30.85 versus £22.28) and a higher average annual salary (£21,282 versus £18,373). This could reflect the higher level of qualifications among coaches working with adults (Table 6.6).

Table 7.7 Coaching Pay in Year Three by Age Group Coached Coaches working with Coaches working with All Paid Coaches children under 16 young people and years old adults (17+) Paid Sessions per week Average pay per session Average annual salary

8.9

8.7

8.3

£23.94

£22.28

£30.85

£20,087

£18,373

£21,282

Base: All paid coaches Further investigation into coaching pay, in relation to participant groups coached, reveals that coaches working with high performance participants (international) command a higher rate of pay both on a sessional (£37.57) and an annual basis (£26,718) although those working on a national level are paid for the most sessions per week (13.8).

Table 7.8 Coaching Pay in Year Three by Highest Participant Level Coached Paid sessions per Average Pay per Average Annual Salary week Session All Coaches 8.9 £23.94 £20,087 Beginners 7.1 £33.50 £15,138 Improvers 8.3 £17.03 £17,051 Club 6.9 £20.95 £14,411 County 9.4 £22.65 £20,488 Regional 7.2 £25.42 £15,655 National 13.8 £23.83 £20,198 International 11.5 £37.57 £26,718

Base: All paid coaches

30

8. Next 12 months Of those coaches who remained active in the sample, the majority appeared to have made accurate predictions regarding the amount of coaching they expected to do in Year Three (Table 8.1). On average, coaches in Year Two who expected their coaching to increase ended up coaching one hour a week more in Year Three. Similarly, coaches who in Year Two expected their coaching to decrease were, in Year Three, coaching on average three hours a week less.

However, coaches who did not expect a change in the amount of coaching they were doing actually experienced a decrease in 1.3 hours a week of coaching delivery. This compares with the previous year when those expecting no change witnessed an increase of 42 minutes.

Table 8.1 Expectations of amount of coaching in the next 12 months Weekly average number of hours delivering coaching Year Two expectations for coaching in the next 12 months Year Two Year Three More 9.2 10.4 Same 10.2 8.9 Less 8.5 5.4 Base: All coaches

Looking forward to Year Four, the majority of coaches (65%) expected their levels of coaching to remain the same. However, there was a notable decrease in the amount of coaches expecting an increase in their level of coaching in the forthcoming 12 months (Table 8.2). At the end of the project it will be interesting to investigate how much coach expectations of the following year can be viewed as a barometer of future activity.

Table 8.2 Expectations of Amount of Coaching in the Next 12 Months

Percentage Year Three More Same

Less

Total

Year Two

Year Three

Year Two

Year Three

Year Two

Year Three

Men

35

28

60

66

5

6

100

Women

37

24

56

63

7

13

100

Voluntary

35

29

60

61

5

10

100

Paid Part time

39

26

53

68

7

6

100

Paid Full time

30

24

69

67

1

8

100

Total

36

27

59

65

5

8

100

Gender

Employment Type

When asked to indicate whether they intended to stop coaching within the next year, 4% of coaches indicated that they intended to do so (Table 8.3), a figure up by 2% from Year Two. Notably, there was a 5% increase in the number of female coaches indicating an intention to stop coaching. In comparison, there was only a 1% increase in the number of male coaches who expressed the same intention. With regards to employment type Year Three results show an increase of 1% of voluntary and part time coaches intending to stop coaching whereas there is an increase of 3% in the number of full time coaches who intend to stop coaching.

31

Table 8.3

Gender

Men

Intention to stop coaching in the next 12 months Percentage Yes No Year Year Two Year Two Year Three Three 2 3 98 97

Total

100

1

6

99

94

100

Voluntary

2

3

98

97

100

Paid Part time

3

4

97

96

100

Paid Full time

1

4

99

96

100

Total

2

4

98

96

100

Women Employment Type

Those coaches who indicated an intention to stop coaching over the next 12-months were asked to provide information on their reasons (Table 8.4). The most cited reasons referred to changes in personal circumstances along with structural issues within their sport, such as a lack of support from the organisations in which they coached and limited career development opportunities.

Table 8.4 Reasons for intending to stop coaching Reasons given Times mentioned Lack of support from organisation (e.g., club, GB, CSP)

8 7

Lack of available paid opportunities to coach

6

To pursue a full time career in sport but not coaching

1

Personal reasons (e.g., maternity, travel, health)

32

9. Exit from coaching Due to the longitudinal nature of the research design, it was anticipated that a certain level of attrition would occur in the sample from year to year. As part of the project, we encouraged coaches, who have stopped coaching, to let us know the motivation behind their decision to do so. Of the 585 coaches that returned their questionnaire in Year Three, a total of 36 (6%) stated that they had given up coaching since they last took part in this project.

Interestingly, of those that stopped coaching, only 14% had originally said they intended to do so (Table 9.1). In other words, eight out of ten coaches who stopped coaching did not intend to do so. In comparison to coaches that remained active only 2% indicated in Year Two that they intended to stop, but actually continued to coach in Year 3. Taken together, these results suggest that though stopping coaching may often be a short-term decision, coaches with an expressed commitment to it are far less likely to stop.

Therefore it is crucial that further investigations seek to understand what drives a coach to stop, including the contributing factors and, indeed, the interplay between them.

Table 9.1 Intention to stop coaching in the next 12 months Comparison between active and lapsed coaches Active Coaches

Lapsed Coaches Number

%

Number

%

Yes

5

14

11

2

No

31

86

560

98

571 100 Total 36 100 Base: Lapsed coaches: all coaches who have stopped coaching since Year Two compared against all coaches who continued to coach Active coaches: all coached still coaching

In order to gain a better understanding of the motivation driving lapsed coachesâ&#x20AC;&#x; decision to stop coaching, a profile of them is presented below. It appears that males (53%) and females (47%) were similarly likely to stop coaching. The data suggests that older coaches were more likely to give up coaching, with almost half of the coaches (47%) being 45 years or older. This contrasts with figures for Year Two were younger coaches (15-24) were more likely to give up. This is an area that will require further investigation in Year Four and at the end of the project.

33

Table 9.2 Coaches who have stopped coaching

By Gender, Age and Parental Role N=

%

Male

19

53

Female

17

47

15-24 years

5

14

25-34 years

9

25

35-44 years

5

14

45-54 years

15

42

2

5

Gender

Age

55+ Average age

41

Parents Yes

16

46

No

19

54

Total 36 100 Base: All coaches who have stopped coaching since Year Two and returned the Year Three questionnaire

Coaches with lower qualification levels were more likely to have exited coaching (Table 9.3). Half of all coaches exiting the profession were Level 2 or lower (53%). This continues a trend first shown in Year Two suggesting higher levels of qualification may play a significant role in coach retention.

Level Level Level Level Level

1 2 3 4 5

Table 9.3 Highest Level Coaching Qualification held Comparison between active and lapsed coaches Lapsed Coaches Active Coaches N= % N= % 5 15 96 18 13 38 181 33 12 35 165 30 4 12 77 14 --23 4

Total 34 100 542 100 Base: Lapsed coaches: all coaches who have stopped coaching since Year Two compared against all coaches who continued to coach Active coaches: all coached still coaching

Earlier in the report, issues with a lack of support from coaching organisations was highlighted with regards to coaches‟ personal and career development in coaching (see section 6 on Coach Development). Data collected with regards to coaches giving up coaching however, indicates that „support‟ was not a contributing factor in them stopping. In fact Table 9.4 suggests that coaches still engaged in coaching received very similar levels of support from coaching organisations, in comparison to coaches that had stopped.

34

Table 9.4 Rating of Overall Support Received From Coaching Organisations Comparison between active and lapsed coaches Not at all Not relevant Supported Supported Total (support not supported a little needed)

%

%

%

% N= % Lapsed 27 36 33 3 33 100 Coaches Active 25 41 29 5 558 100 Coaches Base: Lapsed coaches: all coaches who have stopped coaching since Year Two compared against all coaches who continued to coach Active Coaches: all coaches still coaching

A comparison between active and lapsed coaches in terms of their employment type further strengthens the claim that a commitment to coaching is less likely to result in giving up. Nearly half of all coaches that gave up coaching were volunteers, whereas only one out of seven lapsed coaches was full time.

Table 9.5 Comparison of Lapsed and Active Coaches by Employment Type Lapsed Coaches

Active Coaches

Number

%

Voluntary

16

44

Paid Part time Paid Full time

15 5

42 14

Number 255

% 44

254

44

71

12

580 100 Total 36 100 Base: Lapsed coaches: all coaches who have stopped coaching since Year Two compared against all coaches who continued to coach Active coaches: all coached still coaching

Coaches that stopped coaching in the last 12 months were asked to provide additional information on why they stopped coaching, and though further research is needed, the data provide an insight into the factors at play. The results suggest that 69% of the reasons cited for giving up coaching are related to personal circumstances (Table 9.6), with the most frequently cited reason being changes in work (33%). Coaches explained that redundancy or increased demands from work infringed on their capacity to continue coaching. Changes to their education provision, such as the coaching element of university modules, and exams, was also an important factor for giving up coaching.

Changes in family situation, such as having a baby, or changes in childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x;s participation in sport were also highlighted as important (20%).

Table 9.6 Reasons given for stopping coaching Number of raw data Work 13 Education 3 Personalrelated Family 8 69% Lack of time 1 Health 2 Lack of Support 7 SystemLack of Opportunities 5 related 34% Confrontation with parent 1 Total 40 Base: All Lapsed Coaches

35

% Total raw data 33 8 20 3 5 18 13 3 100

Although the majority of coachesâ&#x20AC;&#x; gave up coaching for personal reasons, one third (34%) gave up due to issues surrounding the coaching system, such as lack of support and lack of opportunities (Table 9.6). It is therefore crucial that these issues are explored further, and addressed as a matter of importance, as it is primarily over those issues that coaching organisations can have the greatest impact.

36

10.0 Commentary In the Year Two report (Timson-Katchis and North, 2010) a number of emerging trends were identified and in general, these have been supported by the Year Three evidence.

These are updated below along with some additional points to emerge in Year Three.

Key Trends Reasons for staying in coaching appear more intrinsically motivated (e.g. enjoying working with athletes) than reasons for beginning coaching (which are more related to pay and career).

There is some evidence that coaches engage in sports coach „sampling‟ early in their coaching careers before specialising and investing in one or a small number of sports.

As coaches develop there is evidence that their learning and development profile changes. For example, there was more evidence of coaches using books/magazines and on-line approaches and less use of formal opportunities such as qualifications; although there use of workshops actually increased.

Coaches value a wide range of knowledge and information types in facilitating their development. Although they are most likely to seek information on technical and tactical aspects of coaching, they also value information of pedagogical aspects such as listening skills, responsiveness and motivation.

Perceived benefits of undertaking a new coaching qualification include networking, sharing ideas and taking your coaching to the next level. Unfortunately there has been a decrease in coaches‟ belief that new qualifications will improve coaching practice and less than a quarter believe qualifications will provide them with greater access to new coaching opportunities.

Problems associated with undertaking a new coaching qualification include the prohibitive cost of courses and the difficulty in accessing courses because of their location. A new issue to emerge in Year Three was that coaches felt new qualifications took too long to complete.

There is evidence that formal intensive support to coaches has decreased since the Year One survey. Generally, it would seem that coaches feel „unsupported‟ by the system and that this feeling has increased further into Year Three.

The proportion of paid coaching has remained very similar across the three years.

The increase in part-time coaches has been counter-balanced by the decrease in the number of paid full-time coaches.

There are mixed signals with regards to coaches‟ pay – on balance the evidence suggests that pay may have increased slightly between Year Two and Year Three.

The margins of error are too large to say whether the changes are above/below wage inflation.

There appears to be a turnover of at least 10% per year in the coaching population with national figures suggesting a greater number are coming into coaching, than leaving. This suggests a large proportion of coaches with a low level of coaching experience are undertaking coaching sessions.

37

Additional points to emerge in Year Three Although cost is a recurring problem associated with coaching qualifications by Year Three a greater number of coaches appear aware of possible funding options.

There has been a notable decrease in the number of coaches expecting to do more coaching in Year Four. It will be interesting to see if this is reflected in the Year Four data.

Older coaches were more likely to give up coaching in Year Three compared to the Year Two data when those aged 15-24 were most likely to stop coaching. This will need more analysis in Year Four to discern if any trend exists.

38

References Abraham, A., Collins, D. & Martindale, R. (2006). The coaching schematic: validation through expert coach consensus, Journal of Sports Sciences, 24(6), 549-564.

Cassidy, T., Jones, R. & Potrac, P. (2004). Understanding sports coaching: the social, cultural and pedagogical foundations of coaching practice (Abingdon: Routledge).

Côté, J., & Hay, J. (2002). Children‟s involvement in sport: A developmental perspective.

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