Competence—One Term, Various Definitions: A Scoping Review for Sports Coach Education and Research

Abstract

The competence of sports coaches is a key factor in athletes’ sporting success. Mindful of this, sports coach education and research have placed considerable emphasis on competence in recent years. A lack of shared understanding around the concept complicates the endeavour, raising the following question: How is the term “competence” in relation to coaches defined in coach education and research? I sought to answer this research question via a scoping review. In database and internet searches, I obtained n = 1,912 hits and identified n = 14 sports coaching frameworks. Following title and abstract screening and full-text assessment, I conducted content analysis on n = 47 publications. The results indicate frequent use of the term, with few attempts to define it. Where definitions occur, they usually fall into one of two types: Type A, found in empirical studies written in English, describes the term in relation to their athletes’ sporting success. Type B, found in all types of publications (theoretical, empirical and practical), defines it in terms of the knowledge and skills a coach requires in order to succeed in coaching situations. This paper concludes with a recommendation for a shared multi-faceted definition of “competence” in relation to coaches.