Pragmatic research in sport: coaching philosophies in action - a values chain to inform practice

Abstract

Sports coaching philosophy is an area with numerous studies conducted into its origins, development and operation. One under researched concept however, is how a coach’s own values can impact upon their professional practice. This paper presents qualitative data from eight high level performance sport coaches, all from different disciplines, which demonstrate how personal values have influenced and continue to influence their coaching. A Values Chain is then presented to illustrate a Values Based Coaching Approach. This highlights two coaching archetypes and offers a framework for practicing coaches to reflect upon their own values and how these directly and indirectly affect their own and their players’ performance. The study demonstrates how qualitative data can be used to construct tangible models, provide support for practical coaching and continued coach development.