Developmental Profiles of Successful High School Coaches

The purpose of this exploratory study was to compare the developmental profiles of successful high-school sport coaches, and to determine if elements of a coach’s developmental profile were associated with coaching success. Sixteen high-school coaches in the United States – nine who coach basketball and seven cross-country running – participated in structured retrospective quantitative interviews. All coaches had accumulated extensive experience as an athlete (M = 19.6 seasons; 2,428.8 hours) and were better than average athletes in relation to their peers. Positive significant relationships were found between time (seasons and hours) spent as an athlete in the sport that the participants now coach and five measures of coaching success. The results are discussed in relation to the ongoing dialogue about coach development, coaching effectiveness, and coach education.

Developmental Paths and Activities of Successful Sport Coaches

The purpose of this research report is to present an overview of an ongoing, international project designed to chart the developmental paths and activities of sport coaches. This brief report includes three sections: (a) conceptual framework used to guide the project, (b) project design and methodology, and (c) results from pilot studies with a sample of 15 successful coaches working in different sport contexts in the United States Unlike the findings for athletic profiles, where several trends across coaching contexts were evident, only one trend was found in how these diverse groups of coaches invested their time in coach developmental activities. In relation to other coaching activities very little time was devoted to formal coach education on an annual basis. The results reinforce the need to consider the coaching context when examining coach development and when designing coach development initiatives.