Coaching Knowledge and Noticing in Youth Sports: Challenging the Assumption of Expertise

Abstract

Sport is an integral part of the majority of children's lives. Participation in sport can provide children with many physical and psychological benefits. Tasked with coaching children are coaches who are often parents and volunteers. These coaches have a variety of different levels of experience and expertise. A question that must be answered is what are the range of kinds of knowledge that coaches rely upon? This study delves further and attempts to understand how coaches use this knowledge in the act of noticing. Alongside understanding the complexity of coaching this study attempts to demonstrate the individuality and diversity in coaching and how subjective perceptions of a coaching session can be. The participants in this qualitative study consisted of four novice, four intermediate, and four expert soccer coaches. A multi-layered interview served as the central data collection tool. Coaches watched a 10-minute video and then participated in an unstructured interview followed by a semi-structured interview. The semi-structured interview was guided by notes taken by the interviewer during the unstructured interview. An inductive content analysis was employed to allow identification of patterns or themes that emerge from the collected data. A three-phase analysis was used: (a) data reduction, (b) data display, and (c) conclusion drawing and verification (Miles & Huberman, 1994). A constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was utilized during the data analysis process to evaluate whether the coded sections of transcribed text were consistent and ensured they belong in their themes and subthemes. The findings of this study provide domains of knowledge that coaches noticing during a coaching session. Coaches within this noticed with varying degrees of complexity and depth. This study provided insight into nine new areas of knowledge that coaches notice during a coaching session. The complexities and subjective nature of coach noticing are demonstrated through the findings of this study.