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Perspectives on Athlete-Centred Coaching

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Shane Pill at Flinders University
Shane Pill
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Abstract

Underpinned by a philosophy of empowerment, athlete-centred approaches to coaching are defined by a style that promotes learning through ownership, responsibility, initiative and awareness. Perspectives on Athlete-Centred Coaching offers an in-depth theoretical examination of player-focused coaching models, and provides professional guidance for practising coaches. Written by a cast of world-leading scholars and practitioners, and offering a breadth of approaches to, and critiques of, the application of athlete-centred coaching, the book covers topics including: • athlete-centred coaching and holistic development • coaching tactical creativity • athlete-centred coaching in disability sport • team culture and athlete-centred coaching • developing thinking players through Game Sense coaching • supporting athlete wellbeing • athlete-centred coaching and Teaching Games for Understanding • athlete-centred coaching in masters sport. Based on the latest research and offering the most comprehensive enquiry into this central area of coaching theory, Perspectives on Athlete-Centred Coaching is important reading for any students and lecturers of sports coaching or physical education, and practising coaches across any sport. Available from https://www.routledge.com/Perspectives-on-Athlete-Centred-Coaching/Pill/p/book/9781138103900
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Underpinned by a philosophy of empowerment, athlete-centred approaches to coaching are
defined by a style that promotes learning through ownership, responsibility, initiative and
awareness. Perspectives on Athlete-Centred Coaching offers an in-depth theoretical
examination of player-focused coaching models, and provides professional guidance for
practising coaches.
Written by a cast of world-leading scholars and practitioners, and offering a breadth of
approaches to, and critiques of, the application of athlete-centred coaching, the book covers
topics including:
• athlete-centred coaching and holistic development
• coaching tactical creativity
• athlete-centred coaching in disability sport
• team culture and athlete-centred coaching
• developing thinking players through Game Sense coaching
• supporting athlete wellbeing
• athlete-centred coaching and Teaching Games for Understanding
• athlete-centred coaching in masters sport.
Based on the latest research and offering the most comprehensive enquiry into this central
area of coaching theory, Perspectives on Athlete-Centred Coaching is important reading for
any students and lecturers of sports coaching or physical education, and practising coaches
across any sport.
Available from https://www.routledge.com/Perspectives-on-Athlete-Centred-
Coaching/Pill/p/book/9781138103900
... Unpacking this further, the roots of the ISCF were formed on the basis that athletes should be central to coaching practices. Based on studies in non-Asian contexts, it may be argued that the views of coaching are gradually transiting from coach-centred to athlete-centred (Pill, 2017). However, this approach may not be applicable to Asian athletes that still undergo coach-centred approaches (He et al., 2018;Tao et al., 2019). ...
... In view of these arguments, the term 'respect' is perhaps viewed very differently between Asian and other cultures. For example, in the context of sports, athletes in Asian cultures may show respect to their coaches by not questioning their coaches' instructions or approaches (Yu & Bairner, 2011) while athletes in non-Asian cultures may demonstrate respect to their coaches through increased communication and relationship-building (Pill, 2017). Hence, it should not be taken for granted that the current research in coach education and development is sufficient to understand what constitutes to effective coaching globally. ...
Coach Education and Development Systems in Asia
Chapter
  • Apr 2024
Sport coaching literature reveals that the design and delivery of coach education and development programs for Asian coaches should consider careful customisation to support their professional growth and learning. In particular, Asian coaches have unique ways of coaching and learning and hence, it is important to examine the factors that contribute to this uniqueness. There is also a trend in Asia for coaches to move beyond local shores to pursue coaching and development opportunities. In tandem with this, coach education and development programs in Asia have a great responsibility to support the professional growth and learning of Asian coaches. In this chapter, we aim to: a) provide a snapshot of sport and coach education and development in Asia; b) discuss some of the characteristics of Asian coaches and the factors that influence their learning; c) examine and discuss the coach education and development systems of two Asia countries (Singapore and Japan) in more detail; and d) provide some strategies for coach education and development systems to enhance the professional growth and learning of coaches that have relevance both within and outside of Asia. Consequently, we argue that coaches and coaching scholars throughout Asia have much to contribute to taking coach education and development to new heights internationally.
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... including coping with cultural diversity, issues relating to power, oppression, and social justice) (Callary et al., 2022). Coaches' enactment of psychosocial competencies has shown to develop athletes' performance and overall well-being (Kidman & Lombardo, 2010;Pill, 2018). However, in S&C organisations, which could be considered a neophyte coaching profession (Cassidy et al., 2020), coach education lags in developing coaches' psychosocial practices . ...
... In stark contrast are discourses on athlete-centred coaching that are widely popular and understood as important (International Council for Coaching Excellence, 2013). Athlete-centred coaching focuses on empowering athletes and promotes holistic development, including social and psychological wellbeing (Kidman & Lombardo, 2010;Pill, 2018); whereas coach-centred practice focuses on the coach's success in enhancing athlete performance . However, judging coaches' effectiveness is predominantly based on athlete performance (Gearity, 2010). ...
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... Effective communication skills and the ability to establish a productive coach-athlete relationship are important (Moen et al., 2015). Extending the coach-athlete relationship to their wellbeing as a player and as a person is a characteristic of athlete-centred coaching (Pill, 2018). Horn (2008) provided a model of coach effectiveness containing coach expectancies, values, beliefs, and goals as factors influencing coaching behaviour. ...
... Coaches are now expected to develop more than just athletes -they are expected to play a significant role in the development of characteristics associated with being a good person which requires coaches to have skills outside of their coaching qualifications. This type of coaching is referred to as athlete-centred coaching for positive youth development (e.g., Pill, 2018). Positive youth development can be facilitated through providing training and support to coaches (Smoll et al., 2003); the importance of this concept is supported by the following participant comment: 'doesn't matter how many resources available if the quality of coaching and understanding of the player is not there' (Assistant coach U18 female). ...
Coaches' perceptions of their work in an elite youth sport setting
Article
  • Feb 2023
This study explored coaches' experience of working in a high-performance youth sport pathway program and their beliefs about coaching. This was a qualitative study utilising semi-structured interviews with 9 members of the coaching setup. The data was analysed through an inductive thematic approach. Although research has suggested that the coach plays a critical role in skill development at the youth high-performance level, the coaches believed that their role extends beyond this to provide a positive overall experience that supports player retention. They believed that a crucial factor in whether youth athletes continue their sport participation is the coach-athlete relationship, and these coaches saw their work 'holistically' to develop good people as well as good players. While skill development and wellbeing of players was widely recognised and acknowledged by the coaches as part of their role, it was also established that there is little attention paid to the coaches' development and wellbeing in undertaking that role.
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... Similar insights were generated into the pedagogic positionality of the coach in relation to their athletes, considering the extent to which the coaching process was driven more by the coach or athlete. This has often been seen in in the literature as the difference between coach and athlete centered coaching (Pill, 2018). While this in itself is not a novel discovery (e.g., Mosston, 1966), the key insight relates to the complexity of sensemaking required by coaches to make decisions about their approach. ...
High performance coach cognition in the wild: using applied cognitive task analysis for practical insights–cognitive challenges and curriculum knowledge
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2023
Despite significant empirical work in the sport coaching domain, there remains a paucity of evidence to inform practice in high-performance sport coaching. As a result, there are gaps in our understanding regarding coaching expertise at different levels of athlete performance. A significantly underutilized approach in coaching research is Cognitive Task Analysis and it’s knowledge elicitation tools. Addressing these concerns, here we utilize applied Cognitive Task Analysis and a semi-structured interview protocol to elicit the cognitive challenges and use of knowledge by a group of N = 7 high-performance endurance sport coaches from a single national governing body. Analysis suggested prominent and ongoing challenges in day-to-day practice which, in turn require significant adaptive skill. In addition, results show how coaches used knowledge flexibly and conditionally to meet the demands of their role. A novel finding being the identification of the use of curriculum knowledge to mentally project the needs of athletes. The findings suggest opportunities for utilizing Cognitive Task Analysis to investigate the cognitive challenges of sport coaching and enhance coach development practice.
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... Although participants saw the advantages of supporting greater player ownership and accountability through a player-centred approach, the apparent socio-cultural constraints of high-performance football seemed to make this difficult to implement on a consistent basis. These sentiments are consistent with the literature, which suggest that coaches who work in high-pressure contexts are more likely to regress to controlling, directive, and prescriptive coaching [57][58][59]. If FA are to progress with a player-centric approach, then it is vital that they more clearly show how this can be achieved within the socio-cultural constraints of high-performance football. ...
Exploring football coaches’ views on coach education, role, and practice design: An Australian perspective
Article
Full-text available
Despite the importance placed on the design and delivery of formal coach education programs by Football Australia, there remains a lack of research relating to how formal coach education strategies support Australian football (i.e., soccer) coaches and their coaching practices. Through a series of semi-structured interviews, 20 highly qualified and experienced Australian senior football coaches shared their perspectives on: (i) coach education, (ii) their role as coach, and (iii) practice design. Findings revealed that formal coach education in Australia was largely ineffective in preparing senior coaches for the realities of senior football. Coaches attributed this to a number of factors, including the content’s quality, structure and delivery, which they viewed as rudimentary, outdated, repetitive and lacking in relevance and depth. Coaches also revealed there was an expectation of conformity to the content and practices endorsed by the National Football Curriculum, limiting the value and impact of formal coach education in supporting the development of coaches’ theoretical and practical dispositions. These findings point towards a number of broad and systemic issues relating to the conceptual, theoretical and practical foundations of the National Football Curriculum and subsequent courses. If Football Australia are to reach their goal in designing and delivering effective and meaningful coach education programs that support the highly complex and multifaceted role of senior coaching, formal coach education may need to adapt and evolve in a manner that better supports the multi-dimensional and context-specific needs of Australian senior football coaches.
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Sustaining and Disrupting Psychologically Abusive Coaching Practices: An Archival Case Examination of National Hockey League Coach Mike Babcock
Article
  • Jan 2025
The athlete maltreatment crisis and associated cover-ups in sport have received considerable public attention. Calls have been made to critically reflect on broader social norms or features of the sport domain that may enable and sustain such behaviors. To demonstrate the systemic nature of maltreatment, we provide a critical analysis of the case of Mike Babcock, a highly regarded coach in the National Hockey League who reportedly engaged in psychologically abusive conduct throughout his career. Utilizing Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, we discuss macrosystem-, exosystem-, mesosystem-, and microsystem-level factors that enabled Babcock to allegedly engage in psychologically abusive behaviors with adult male athletes in professional ice hockey without consequences. We also highlight several reasons as to why, after so many years (chronosystem), Babcock’s coaching methods received appropriate criticism. To advance the field of kinesiology, we suggest the importance of embedding maltreatment prevention and intervention education in kinesiology programs.
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The Crisis of Toxic Cultures in Competitive Sport
Chapter
  • Oct 2024
The barrage of stories from athletes about their experiences of maltreatment in sport has led some to conclude that sport is “in crisis”. Across sport types and levels, men’s and women’s sports, and countries, stories of athletes’ experiences of maltreatment are remarkably similar, pointing to the central role played by sport cultures and norms. The characteristics of sport cultures that increase vulnerability to maltreatment experiences bear resemblance to the characteristics of toxic cultures, including being authoritarian and fear-based, and devoid of values and diversity. In this chapter, the powerful role of social norms will be emphasized to understand sport as a toxic culture and to suggest ways of de-toxifying this culture. Recommendations are made to revise the predominant social norms in sport through changes in environmental cues and the engagement and empowerment of all stakeholders to affect cultural change.
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Play with Purpose: Teaching Games and Sport for Understanding as Explicit Teaching
Chapter
  • Mar 2023
We propose that to be effective as a context for game learning aimed at developing ‘thinking players’ (den Duyn, 1997a), the GSA must retain its fidelity as explicit and deliberate teaching through strong teacher (or coach) guided participation, also called play with purpose (Pill, 2007). The teacher/coach needs to clearly articulate learning intentions and the associated forms of ‘doing’ promoting purposeful shaping and focusing of players’ game play as a form of ‘practice’. In other words, the play is always intentional as the teaching is focused on an explicit learning outcome and is therefore deliberate. It is strongly guided preferentially through questions to shape player behaviour and focus player cognition.
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Davids and Goliaths: Kinanthropometry and Grouping Strategies in Youth Rugby
Chapter
  • Nov 2022
Youth rugby players are often organised into (bi)annual-age groups to create equal competition and development opportunities for all players. However, the variability in kinanthropometry (i.e., the size, shape, proportion, composition and maturation) that exists between players of a similar chronological age can affect injury risk, physical performance, and talent identification. This chapter aims to review the research on the kinanthropometry of youth rugby players and presents a range of practical implications for coaches, sport scientists and practitioners working with young rugby players to consider in relation to kinanthropometry and grouping strategies within youth rugby development programmes. These practical implications include understanding and assessing growth and maturity, considerations for training and competition, talent identification and development strategies, and stakeholder communication.
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