“Everything Plays a Part Doesn’t It?’’: A Contemporary Model of Lifelong Coach Development in Elite Sport
Coach development is typically considered to consist of a complex mix of experiences, including formal, informal and non-formal. Elements of the early research in this area led to the production of a model of long-term coach development (LTCD) over a decade ago, consisting of three core categories o...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| author | Pete Holmes Richard L. Light Andrew C. Sparkes |
| author_facet | Pete Holmes Richard L. Light Andrew C. Sparkes |
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| description | Coach development is typically considered to consist of a complex mix of experiences, including formal, informal and non-formal. Elements of the early research in this area led to the production of a model of long-term coach development (LTCD) over a decade ago, consisting of three core categories of experience: <i>athletic</i>, <i>coaching</i> and <i>education</i>, later published in a number of significant coaching documents. Whilst this model has clearly been of benefit in providing a framework to consider long-term coach development, it can also be considered to have its limitations in focusing on a somewhat narrow coaching context (typically Olympic sports in North America) and lacking currency. This study therefore attempted to consider and update this model to a professional team sport context away from North America by investigating the life stories of head coaches in English rugby league. Data collection consisted of a novel life story approach, whilst analysis utilised elements of constructivist grounded theory. Though supporting elements of the original LTCD model, results here provide an additional category of experience occurring prior to athletic experience, <i>childhood</i>, consisting of a number of sub-themes, alongside several other novel elements with implications for both research and practice. This work points towards a need to further understand coaches’ lifelong developmental journeys across a range of sports and contexts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-35bfc3cc00cb47d484b93dd20a6b0cd3 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-35bfc3cc00cb47d484b93dd20a6b0cd32025-08-20T03:07:54ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022025-07-0115793210.3390/educsci15070932“Everything Plays a Part Doesn’t It?’’: A Contemporary Model of Lifelong Coach Development in Elite SportPete Holmes0Richard L. Light1Andrew C. Sparkes2School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG11 8NS, UKSchool of Health Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New ZealandCarnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, Headingley Campus, Leeds LS6 3QT, UKCoach development is typically considered to consist of a complex mix of experiences, including formal, informal and non-formal. Elements of the early research in this area led to the production of a model of long-term coach development (LTCD) over a decade ago, consisting of three core categories of experience: <i>athletic</i>, <i>coaching</i> and <i>education</i>, later published in a number of significant coaching documents. Whilst this model has clearly been of benefit in providing a framework to consider long-term coach development, it can also be considered to have its limitations in focusing on a somewhat narrow coaching context (typically Olympic sports in North America) and lacking currency. This study therefore attempted to consider and update this model to a professional team sport context away from North America by investigating the life stories of head coaches in English rugby league. Data collection consisted of a novel life story approach, whilst analysis utilised elements of constructivist grounded theory. Though supporting elements of the original LTCD model, results here provide an additional category of experience occurring prior to athletic experience, <i>childhood</i>, consisting of a number of sub-themes, alongside several other novel elements with implications for both research and practice. This work points towards a need to further understand coaches’ lifelong developmental journeys across a range of sports and contexts.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/7/932sport coachinglearning and developmentlifelong learningcoach educationcoach learninginformal learning |
| spellingShingle | Pete Holmes Richard L. Light Andrew C. Sparkes “Everything Plays a Part Doesn’t It?’’: A Contemporary Model of Lifelong Coach Development in Elite Sport Education Sciences sport coaching learning and development lifelong learning coach education coach learning informal learning |
| title | “Everything Plays a Part Doesn’t It?’’: A Contemporary Model of Lifelong Coach Development in Elite Sport |
| title_full | “Everything Plays a Part Doesn’t It?’’: A Contemporary Model of Lifelong Coach Development in Elite Sport |
| title_fullStr | “Everything Plays a Part Doesn’t It?’’: A Contemporary Model of Lifelong Coach Development in Elite Sport |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Everything Plays a Part Doesn’t It?’’: A Contemporary Model of Lifelong Coach Development in Elite Sport |
| title_short | “Everything Plays a Part Doesn’t It?’’: A Contemporary Model of Lifelong Coach Development in Elite Sport |
| title_sort | everything plays a part doesn t it a contemporary model of lifelong coach development in elite sport |
| topic | sport coaching learning and development lifelong learning coach education coach learning informal learning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/7/932 |
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