The aim of this research was to analyze the sources of professional knowledge of handball coaches. The present study was based on the Learning Situations theory (WERTHNER; , has a qualitative approach and is characterized as a descriptive and exploratory research. Two complementary studies (theoretical and empirical) were part of this dissertation. Study I is a literature review on the sources of learning of sports coaches, where it was possible to verify through 33 scientific articles which are the sources of knowledge and how this process of professional development of coaches occurs. Study II started from a cross-sectional approach, through semi-structured interviews with 19 handball coaches from two of the largest leagues in the State of São Paulo (13 men and 6 women -with a minimum experience of 1 year and a maximum of 24 years). The research instrument used was developed by the researcher responsible for the study. The objective of these interviews was to understand and discuss the sources of knowledge of these professionals and the academic disciplines considered to be the most relevant. The classification of learning was organized according to the theory of learning situations (mediated, direct and internal). The collected information was analyzed through thematic analysis after categorizing the data using the Nvivo software. The results showed seven themes: "role of higher education", "courses outside the university context", "previous experiences", "specific materials for improvement", "games and training", "attitudes and decisions of the coach" and "reflections". It was identified that among the situations of mediated, direct and internal learning, most of the identified contents are direct situations. The mediated situations received criticism from the professionals, mainly for being out of context of the professional practices of the coaches. On the other hand, internal situations were present in all speeches, being crucial for the profession. Therefore, based on the information obtained in the two studies that guided this research, it is suggested that the current education system needs further reflection, mainly about a theoretical-practical approach. In this context, future investigations must be carried out in order to investigate other teaching strategies for the professional development of sports coaches.