UNDERSTANDING SPORTS COACHING Successful sports coaching is as dependent on utilizing good teaching and social practices as it is about expertise in sport skills and tactics. Understanding Sports Coaching offers an innovative introduction to the theory and practice of sports coaching, highlighting the social, cultural and pedagogical concepts underpinning good coaching practice. Now in a fully revised and updated new edition, the book explores the complex interplay between coach, athlete, coaching programme and social context, and encourages coaches to develop an open and reflective approach to their own coaching practice. It addresses key issues such as: I power and the coach–athlete relationship I viewing the athlete as a learner I instructional methods and reflection I how our view of ability informs assessment I coaching philosophy and ethics. Understanding Sports Coaching also includes a full range of practical exercises and case studies designed to encourage coaches to reflect critically upon their own coaching strategies, their interpersonal skills and upon important issues in contemporary sports coaching. This book is essential reading for all students of sports coaching and for any professional coach looking to develop his or her coaching expertise. Tania Cassidy is Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy, University of Otago, New Zealand. Robyn Jones is Professor, Cardiff School of Sport, UWIC, Wales. Paul Potrac is Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching, Unitec, New Zealand. UNDERSTANDING SPORTS COACHING THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND PEDAGOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF COACHING PRACTICE Tania Cassidy, Robyn Jones and Paul Potrac First published 2004 by Routledge This edition published 2009 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2004, © 2009 Tania Cassidy, Robyn Jones and Paul Potrac All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cassidy, Tania, 1964- Understanding sports coaching : the social, cultural and pedagogical foundations of coaching practice / Tania Cassidy, Robyn Jones and Paul Potrac. – 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Coaching (Athletics) 2. Coaching (Athletics)–Philosophy. 3. Coaches (Athletics)– Training of. I. Jones, Robyn L. II. Potrac, Paul, 1974- III. Title. GV711.C34 2008 796.07’7–dc22 2008004726 ISBN 0-203-89292-5 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0–415–44271–0 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–415–44272–9 (pbk) ISBN10: 0–203–89292–5 (ebk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–44271–8 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–44272–5 (pbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–89292–3 (ebk) In memory of Frederick and Marie O’Neill M CONTENTS Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1 How it all started 2 How it moved on 4 Aims of the book 5 Why is the book needed? 7 Who is the book for? 8 How is the book organized? 9 The traditional model of multidisciplinary coaching and coach education 10 Coaching holistically – or at least with social, cultural and pedagogical considerations in mind 11 Postscript 13 Suggested readings 14 PART ONE: THE COACH 15 Chapter 1 Reflection 17 Introduction 17 What is reflection? 18 Becoming a reflective coach: Issues to consider 21 Concluding thoughts 28 Suggested readings 28 End-of-chapter tasks 29 Chapter 2 Instructional methods and pedagogical strategies 30 Introduction 30 The relationship between coaching and teaching 31 An overview of methods 33 viiCONTENTS Taking a circumspect view of methods 38 One pedagogical strategy in action; why the different outcome? 43 Concluding thoughts 44 Suggested readings 45 End-of-chapter tasks 45 Chapter 3 Quality in coaching 46 Introduction 46 A good coach 47 An effective coach 47 Why quality? 48 Conceptualizing and evaluating quality 50 Concluding thoughts 53 Suggested readings 54 End-of-chapter tasks 54 Chapter 4 Developing a coaching philosophy 55 Introduction 55 What is a coaching philosophy? And why does a coach need to develop one? 57 Problematizing coaching philosophies 58 Developing functional, flexible philosophies 61 Concluding thoughts 64 Suggested readings 64 End-of-chapter tasks 64 PART TWO: THE ATHLETES 65 Chapter 5 Learning and development 67 Introduction 67 Behaviourist orientations to learning 68 Cognitive orientations to learning 73 Cognitive orientations to development 77 Concluding thoughts 82 Suggested readings 83 End-of-chapter tasks 83 Chapter 6 ‘Developing’ athletes 85 Introduction 85 Developmentalism – what is it? 85 viiiCONTENTS What does development do? 87 Doing development differently 90 Concluding thoughts 91 Suggested readings 92 End-of-chapter tasks 92 Chapter 7 Understanding athletes’ identities 93 Introduction 93 What is identity? 94 Disability and identity 96 Gendered identity 99 Sexualized identity 104 Ethnic and religious identity 107 Two case studies: Anne and Hussain 108 Concluding thoughts 111 Suggested readings 112 End-of-chapter tasks 112 PART THREE: COACHING CONTENT 113 Chapter 8 The discourses of coaching 115 Introduction 115 What is discourse? 116 Why study discourse in the coaching context? 117 The dominant discourse of ‘coaching science’: Performance, rationality and a hierarchical coach–athlete relationship 118 The effect on athletes of a power-dominated discourse 120 An alternative coaching discourse 123 Concluding thoughts 124 Suggested readings 125 End-of-chapter tasks 125 Chapter 9 Examining coaches’ content knowledge 126 Introduction 126 Content knowledge 127 Vignette: Utilizing content knowledge 129 Limitations of the framework 130 (Re)thinking coaches’ knowledge 133 Concluding thoughts 134 Suggested readings 134 End-of-chapter tasks 134 CONTENTSix Chapter 10 Assessment and ability in coaching 135 Introduction 135 Assessment for educational purposes 137 Assessment and ability 141 Vignette: Coaching the professionals 141 Reconceptualizing ability 142 Concluding thoughts 145 Suggested readings 145 End-of-chapter tasks 146 PART FOUR: COACHING CONTEXT 147 Chapter 11 Coaching ethics 149 Introduction 149 Ethical codes and ethical issues in coaching 151 Problematizing ethics: Moving towards virtues-based conduct 153 Personalizing coaches’ ethical behaviour 157 Concluding thoughts 160 Suggested readings 160 End-of-chapter tasks 160 Chapter 12 Theory, practice and professionalism in coaching 161 Introduction 161 Theory, practice and professionalism 162 Coach education and the development of professionalism in coaching practice 165 Concluding thoughts 173 Suggested readings 173 End-of-chapter tasks 174 Chapter 13 Power and the coach–athlete relationship 175 Introduction 175 Power and the coach–athlete relationship 176 Concluding thoughts 191 Suggested readings 191 End-of-chapter tasks 192 Bibliography 193 Index 214 xCONTENTS M ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have knowingly, or not, contributed to the ideas presented in this book. We acknowledge the hundreds of undergraduate students who, over the years, have enrolled, willingly or not, in PHSE 201 and now PHSE 101. They have been the catalysts for the book, as well as the ‘guinea pigs’ for the ideas in some of the chapters. We thank the representative coaches of the Otago Rugby Football Union who participated in the CoDe programme and, as a result, trialled some of the ideas discussed in this book. Their enthusiasm was infectious and feedback on the ideas invaluable. TC: To my extended family and friends, thank you for keeping me sane, for your love and for making me smile. A special thank-you to Georgia, Jake, Toby and Zach for giving me a reason to play. RJ: To Theresa, Savanna, Seren and Sian PP: To Mum, Dad, Lisa and Susana ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSxi INTRODUCTION I How it all started 2 I How it moved on 4 I Aims of the book 5 I Why is the book needed? 7 I Who is the book for? 8 I How is the book organized? 9 I The traditional model of multidisciplinary coaching and coach education 10 I Coaching holistically – or at least with social, cultural and pedagogical considerations in mind 11 I Postscript 13 I Suggested readings 14 Welcome to the second edition of Understanding Sports Coaching, which expands on the first in many ways. It contains fresh material in terms of updating and building upon concepts previously mentioned, while also including some new ones. The details of these changes are contained and explained throughout this opening chapter. In relation to the chapter’s structure, there follow two vignettes. The first is entitled ‘How it all started’, and describes how we came to write the book. The second, entitled ‘How it moved on’, brings the story of the project up to date. Then, the aims of the book, why we believe it is needed, for whom it is principally written and how it is organized are articulated. The traditional model of coaching is then outlined, before the case is made for greater consideration to be given to social, cultural and pedagogical factors if coaching is to be more holistically understood and practised. Indeed, building on the earlier discussion, this section provides a detailed rationale for the book. Finally, a personal postscript ties the complex experiences we had as joint authors to the subject of coaching as a whole, where numerous agendas must be somewhat fused and directed towards a joint goal. HOW IT ALL STARTED Tania For some years I had been lecturing at the School of Physical Education at the University of Otago, New Zealand (which could equally be described as a department of human movement, exercise science or kinesiology), where I taught a compulsory pedagogy course to approximately 220 undergraduates.