Coaching Insights
Coaching statistics and analysis 2015/16
<<Workshop Title>>  Slide 1
Key facts 2015/16
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There are about 1.3 million sports coaches in the UK, providing coaching to around seven million participants
In the last 10 years the percentage of participants who think that coaching improves their enjoyment of sport has
increased from 53% to 81%.
Coaching can contribute to new participants playing sport. 31% of people who do not play sport said a coach would
encourage them to start.
One coach will on average impact on 17 participants in a session. Therefore if a project worked with 100 coaches we would
expect the impact of that project to be made on 1,700 participants.
The proportion of coaches who are qualified has risen steadily over the past 10 years, and is now around 70%
44% of sport participants are female but current evidence suggests that only around 30% of coaches are female. The
percentage of coaches receiving a qualification each year who are female is only 17%.
Around 15% of sport participants are from BME backgrounds. While 16% of all volunteer coaches are from BME
backgrounds if you only consider those working within the coaching system this number drops to around 8%. However
qualifications data suggests that only 5% to 9% of qualified coaches are BME.
11% of sport participants are disabled while our research suggests that 6% of coaches are disabled. However only 2% of
those coaches who have gained a qualification since 2009 are disabled
80% of coaches contribute at least some of their time as volunteers.
On average volunteers coach four hours per week, part-time coaches five hours and full-time coaches 30 hours.
Full-time coaches account for 10% of all coaches but are responsible for 45% of all hours coached in a week.
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UK Coaches
Coaching is a predominantly male, white and non-disabled activity. This is a trend that has remained the same for the last
ten years that it has been measured.
A more positive way of looking at this data is to consider the untapped potential of those currently not coaching. For
example we estimate that increasing the proportion of female coaches to 40% would release an extra 300,000 much
needed coaches into sport. 30% of clubs currently report not having problems recruiting coaches.
Within community based settings the proportion of BME coaches is similar to figures for participation. It appears more
formal and qualification based coaching systems are less appealing to this group.
Coach
Gender
Disabled
Ethnicity
4%
6%
28%
94%
72%
Male
Female
No
Yes
<<Workshop Title>>  Slide 3
96%
White
Non-white
Sources
sports coach UK (2015) Coaching Panel
The role of volunteers in
coaching
80% of coaches will volunteer their time to coach and volunteers account for almost half of all coaching that happens every
week (48%). However full-time coaches who only account for 10% of all coaches still contribute 45% of total hours coached.
59% of volunteers
coach four hours
or less per week
25
20
20
17
16
15
12
11
10
10
Taking up the strain!
11% of volunteers are
coaching more than 10
hours per week.
6
5
5
2
1
0
less
than 1
1 to 2 2 to 3
3 to 4
4 to 5
5 to 6
6 to 7
7 to 8
0
8 to 9 9 to 10
Title>>  Slide
4
Hours<<Workshop
per week coached
by volunteers
(%)
10+
Sources
sports coach UK (2015) Coaching Panel
Coaching Age
There is a surge of interest in becoming a coach among people under 24 but this drops away dramatically at 25 before
rebounding in the mid 30’s. We believe this drop out is caused by young people having less time due to major life changes
such as marriage or children. The rebound is the mid-30s is mainly caused by parents coming into coaching to help their
children and participants retiring from sport and moving into coaching to stay involved. If you do not have this rebound with
the mid-30s we have found it increases the number of older coaches who are forced to stay on rather than retire.
45
The proportion of under 25’s
entering coaching has dropped
from 50% in 2008 to 40% in 2015
40
35
Almost three quarters of
coaches are aged over 35
with the most common age
group being 45-54.
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
under 24
25-34
35-44
Aged started coaching
45-54
55-64
65+
Current Age
<<Workshop Title>>  Slide 5
Sources
sports coach UK (2015) Coaching Panel
The benefits of coaching

Eight out of ten adults who receive coaching believe it improves their enjoyment of sport. In the last 10 years the
percentage of participants who think that coaching improves their enjoyment of sport has increased from 53% to
81%.


Adults who are coached are less likely to stop playing sport than those who are not coached.
Young people who are coached display a stronger connection to sport - they are more likely to make up the time
they miss playing by doing other sporting activities, and even more likely to do whatever they can to avoid missing
playing.
Women are more likely to believe that the benefits of coaching are improving fitness and enhancing fun. For
example, 77% of female participants believe that coaching improves their fitness.
By contrast, male participants are far more likely to suggest that coaching benefits their sporting performance (54%
compared to 28% of women) or develops their sporting skills (51% compared to 25% of women).


Sources
sports coach UK (2015) Impact of coaching on participants
sports coach UK (2011) Sports Coaching in the UK 3
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The value of a coach
Research with 2,000 members of the general public found that coaches were
regarded as:






Competent
Honest
Friendly yet tough
Respected
Good communicators
Passionate
Of those who play sport:
• One in four (26%) people who play sport but are not currently coached say they
would like to receive coaching
• Over a third (38%) say a coach would encourage them to play sport more often
• Within the non-coached group, the potential for a coach to increase participation is
strongest amongst women – 43% said a coach would encourage them to play
more often, compared with 32% of men
Of those who do not play sport
• One in five (19%) say they would like to receive coaching
• And almost a third (31%) say a coach would encourage them to play sport more
often, in other words encourage them to start playing sport
<<Workshop Title>>  Slide 7
Sources
Know Research (2015) Perceptions of coaches and coaching
Recruiting coaches
The most popular reasons for people to start coaching are ex-participants wanting to give something back to the sport/club (52%)
and young people wanting to start a career in coaching. The percentage of people starting coaching as a career option has
increased from 5% in 2008 to 20% in 2015.
Past sporting experience and age are key indicators of likelihood to coach in the future.
How interested are you in coaching in the future?
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
31%
People who are
coached are
significantly
more likely to be
interested in
coaching in the
future
75+
5%
65-74
18-24 and 35-44
are key ages for
recruiting
coaches
4%
55-64
3%
45-54
7%
35-44
10%
6%
14%
6%
5%
25-34
0%
Coached participants
Non-coached
participants
Currently play no
sport at all
<<Workshop Title>>  Slide 8
9%
18-24
19%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Sources
sports coach UK (2015) Perceptions Research
Developing coaches
(qualifications)
Each year around 55,000 coaches gain a new qualification.
In the last five years the number of level 1 qualifications has decreased by 9% while the number of level 2 qualifications has
increased by 23%
Level 2
9%
The increase in level 2
qualifications is a key indicator
as it represents a move towards
greater engagement as a coach.
Level 2 coaches on average do
23%
Level 1
• TWICE as much coaching as
level 1 coaches
• TWICE as much personal
development as level 1
coaches
<<Workshop Title>>  Slide 9
Sources
1st4sport qualifications data (2010-2015)
Developing coaches
(CPD)
84% of coaches have undertaken some form of continuing personal development it the last 12 months. While informal
methods tend to be the most popular, formal learning through qualifications is consistently rated the most useful. It is
likely that qualifications provide the raw material that coaches mould to their own coaching through practice, discussion
and reflection.
The 6 most popular sources
of coach learning*
The 6 most useful sources
of coach learning**
The 6 most interesting
topics for coach learning*
1. Talking to other coaches
(82%)
2. Observing/working with
other coaches (78%)
3. Reflecting on coaching
sessions (70%)
4. Searching/using the
Internet (69%)
5. Watching videos on the
Internet (66%)
6. Feedback from athletes
or players (60%)
1. Coaching qualifications
(78%)
2. Observing/working with
other coaches (66%)
3. FE/HE Qualifications
(64%)
4. Talking to other coaches
(61%)
5. Mentoring (59%)
6. Reflecting on coaching
sessions (58%)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
* Measured by % of coaches using them
** Measured by rating of impact on coaching
<<Workshop Title>>  Slide 10
Technical knowledge (80%)
Planning sessions (77%)
Listening (72%)
Providing feedback (71%)
Providing instruction (66%)
Motivating athletes (61%)
Sources
sports coach UK (2015) Coaching Panel
Technology
The key growth areas for technology in coaching have been the internet, watching videos and using wireless technology such as
smartphones and tablets.
However growth in usage is tempered by diverging opinions among coaches over the impact of technology on their development.
Compared to observing other coaches or qualifications where a strong impact is obvious, coaches using technology appear to be
having different experiences.
It is likely that technology fills a gap in coach development rather than providing a strong foundation from which coaches can develop.
We believe this is why coaches are more likely to rate the impact as short term or a little.
Observing/working with other coaches
12%
Coaching qualifications
9%
22%
12%
Social Media (Twitter, Facebook linkedin)
33%
Online learning courses
30%
Searching/using the Internet
39%
10%
20%
24%
40%
26%
39%
27%
0%
A little
78%
29%
Watching videos on the Internet (YouTube etc)
Not at all
66%
31%
40%
30%
It made a short term impact
40%
50%
32%
60%
70%
80%
90% 100%
It made a significant impact
<<Workshop Title>>  Slide 11
Sources
sports coach UK (2015) Coaching Panel
Support for coaches
Overall 83% of coaches feel supported by their governing
body or other agencies such as sports coach UK and
Home Country Sports Councils.
This is a slight increase on the previous year when the
figure was 79%.
10%
36%
The most common response from coaches was that they
felt supported a little (40%)
40%
More coaches feel not supported than very well supported.
14%
Two important trends to be aware of:
• The higher the qualification held by the coach the less likely they are to feel supported.
• Coaches who feel ‘supported a little’ are twice as likely to be thinking about quitting coaching than those who feel supported.
<<Workshop Title>>  Slide 12
Sources
sports coach UK (2015) Coaching Panel
Where to find out more
The main sources used in this report were
• The Coaching Panel (2015) read it here
• The Impact of coaching on participants (2015) read it here
• Perceptions of coaches and coaching (2014) read it here
You can find all the latest coaching research at our website
http://www.sportscoachuk.org/people-who-develop-coaches/resourcebank/research
Or follow us on Twitter @researchub
<<Workshop Title>>  Slide 13