Explore to learn, learn to explore: An ecological dynamics approach to coach development

<p> A key responsibility of any sports coach is to develop their capabilities to meet the dynamic needs of  the athletes they work with. Despite this responsibility, evidence suggests that many qualified coaches  fail to engage in ongoing learning and development. Current coach development approaches tend to  fixate on the acquisition of discrete skills or on information providing knowledge about coaching.  Recent attention to the coach developer role highlights the challenging nature of their work  exacerbated by a lack of theoretical underpinning of the coach learning process. The aim of the current  thesis was to explore the professional practice of a coach developer underpinned by an Ecological  Dynamics rationale of learning. Using an action research design in collaboration with a governing body  four research cycles of plan – act – observe – reflect – re-plan were completed concomitant with the  researcher’s professional coach developer role. Data collection included fieldwork observations,  reflexive voice notes and semi-structured interviews with eleven participant coaches and a governing  body coach development manager. Findings revealed: i) the constraints acting on coach learning  behaviour, ii) how the manipulation of a key individual constraint can be used to destabilise current  practice and initiate coach exploration, iii) how the manipulation of task constraints shape exploration  and discovery in representative coaching tasks; and iv) the significance of the coach developer  attentively dwelling alongside a coach in the environment. Adopting an ecological model of learning enabled the coach developer to navigate the line of correspondence that exists between a coach  developer, coach and the environment. This alternative theorising of the coach developer role as a  designer of coach learning tasks, moves beyond current approaches based upon transmitting best  practice knowledge about coaching (i.e. retrospective), to emphasise knowledge of the environment in a continual process of enskilment. For effective learning and development, the coach developer and  coach are required to be equally (co)responsive to each other and the emergent dynamics of the specific coaching environment. A model of coach development as ongoing correspondence offers  potential to impact how coach developers are recruited and trained, allied with sports’ aims to engage  coaches in continuous learning throughout their career. Future research needs to continue progress  made to understand the constraints on coach learning at higher system levels, such as strategical,  socio-cultural and historical factors, to attempt change in the coach development system. </p>