A qualitative model for sports coach education and development framework

The process of sports coach education and development (SCED) is complex and dynamic. The purpose of this investigation was to develop a model for SCED framework. For this purpose, an emergent (emerging) grounded theory approach was used to explore what aspects and factors are important in SCED, and how the education, evaluation and development of sports coaching should be. Themes on SCED were derived by a qualitative study. Data collection was performed through semi-structured and in-depth interviews with experienced experts involved in coach education (N = 18 expert interviewees) who selected by using a purposeful sampling procedure. The transcripts of interviews were read and then coding was done. Synthesizing the main themes led to the development of a model, consisting important aspects of SCED. The most important elements of the model include: recruitment and admission; educational administration; the process of coaches’ development and promotion; long-term coach education; continuous feedback; trained advanced coach; as well as barriers. The model can be used in sports coach education and development and provide roadmaps for future research on sports coaching.