Coach learning and development

Chapter 9 evaluates the ways in which coaches can learn and develop within formal and non-formal processes. Coaches need to be both consumers and creators of knowledge, using judgement and critical thinking to sift all the available information to make it relevant within their own context. Critical thinking is the process of applying reasoned and disciplined thinking to a subject, in this case sport. These skills are essential for development, and, like other skills, they improve with practice. Coaches should also take advantage of opportunities to self-improve, and this chapter examines a number of self-development tools. At various points in their career, coaches require leadership and management skills, not often included within coach education. Online learning for coaches due to Covid has become ‘normalised’; however, this chapter also discusses pedagogy as a competitive advantage, coaches as ‘agents of change’, coaches as ‘risk-takers’, and coaches viewing ‘interruptions’ as opportunities to learn.