Position Paper
Coaching and
Participation
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We believe that good coaching brings more people into
sport, increases their enjoyment of sport and makes
them more likely to stay involved in sport. Increased fitness
and more enjoyment are even more important benefits than
increased skill or performance levels.
© Coachwise/SWpix
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The missing link
In spite of a large amount of research material and anecdotal evidence, we believe it’s still
important to provide some more clarity on the role played by coaches in increasing and
maintaining participation in sport. This position paper summarises the value of coaching in
helping people to play sport and stay involved.
© Coachwise/SWpix
Parallel universe – a world
without coaching
Imagine sport without coaches. You turn up to the
session ready to get on with it. But get on with what?
You’re there to play sport, but what do you do first?
Warm up? Tactics? There’s not even anyone else here yet.
Who has been contacting everyone to make sure they
turn up? There’s not even any equipment to get started
with. Shouldn’t someone have brought that? You’re here
because you want to have fun, you want to get better at
the sport, but how are you going to do that? This isn’t fun,
and you’re not getting any better just standing around
waiting. You know what you need? A coach.
How can coaching support participation?
Coaches provide experiences that can get participants
hooked on sport. Coaches can provide extra motivation
and encouragement through their enthusiasm and
knowledge for the sport(s). Good coaches/leaders also
show concern for safety and psychological comfort, and
develop expertise in answering questions about exercise.
Sensitivity to participants’ sporting needs and the
individualisation of programmes are key to inducing and
sustaining participation.
Coaching helps participants achieve their sporting goals.
Research into exercise psychology found that participants
who managed to reach their goals in sport are more
inclined to be physically active for an extended portion of
their lives. Coaches can help participants achieve their
goals through positive changes in players’ perceptions of
their competence and higher levels of success.
What’s the rationale?
Our passion for good coaching is based on a pair of
linked premises:
• Having people leading sessions, in whatever guise, is
more likely to retain an individual’s interest than being
involved in sessions where no one is leading.
• Engaging in activity with technical, tactical and
performance inputs leads to a greater sense of
achievement among participants.
The first premise is based on the fact that skilled
individuals leading a session and covering core activities
are invaluable to sustaining interest. This is not unique to
coaching as the skills required to welcome people into
sport and motivate them to play and continue can be
provided by a sports leader or activator. Although coaches
will also possess these fundamental skills, they will bring
valuable additional skill sets, including technical and tactical
development, goal setting and performance improvement.
A sense of achievement is central to an excellent
sporting experience. Gaining that sense of achievement is
deeply satisfying and enjoyable. Over the past eight years,
our research has consistently confirmed the importance
of high quality coaching in helping participants realise that
sense of achievement, regardless of their level of
participation. Depending on the individual, such
achievement could come from:
• developing competence (in fitness, technical skills etc)
• developing confidence
• reducing anxiety (feelings of looking silly in front
of others)
• succeeding in challenges where the difficulty is
matched to the skill of the individual.
© Alan Edwards
What evidence do we have?
The last of these is of particular importance and
highlights one of the unique characteristics of high quality
coaching. Setting appropriate physical/mental challenges
will retain participants’ interest – tasks or drills that are
too demanding will be intimidating and demoralising,
while those that are too easy will result in apathy,
boredom and drop-out (this might be a risk of
leaders/activators).
We believe it’s also important to distinguish between two
often quoted reasons for participation in sport – fun and
enjoyment. While unstructured, unsupervised
participation can be fun on a short-term basis, true
enjoyment of sport is a deeper, more long-lasting
emotion. Our research confirms that high quality
coaching is a specific factor in increasing participants’
enjoyment of sport.
Around six million people in the UK receive coaching
each week (2.3 million adults, 3.6 million children). Among
adults, women have a slightly higher take-up of coaching
than male participants. This reflects the types of sporting
activities that men and women typically undertake and
the extent to which typically female activities (ie fitness
classes, yoga, Pilates) are often led by a coach/instructor.
Increased fitness is the most frequently quoted key
benefit of coaching (by 72% of participants). Over two
thirds of people (69%) believe that coaching enhances
their enjoyment. Research also indicates that a good way
to promote participation in sport is through an emphasis
on the enjoyment and social benefits of physical activity.
At present, only 27% of adult participants in sport over
the last 12 years have received some form of coaching.
Increasing this number with high quality coaching can
provide the sense of enjoyment and improved
competence that can lead participants to remain active
in sport. An evaluation of Sport England’s Active Women
programme found that high quality coaching was
‘all-important’ in encouraging and maintaining female
participation. High quality coaching was also found to
motivate people to stay involved in sport. 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).
Which participants benefit most
from coaching?
Survey evidence suggests that those groups with a lower
incidence of sports participation (females, older people, black
and minority ethnic communities, and people with disabilities)
have a very positive view about coaching and its impact on
participation. Eighty per cent of respondents from each of
these groups agreed with the statement that ‘good sports
coaching helps increase people’s participation in sport’.
How can activators contribute?
An activator is a generic term, used in different environments.
Most sports need inspirational individuals who motivate
people to take part and stay involved in sporting activity.The
activator could be an interested parent, a retired athlete or a
well qualified coach. Activators may take on a variety of roles,
ranging from welcoming people to organising activity and
from coaching to collecting money.The common theme is
that activators provide opportunities for participants in an
inspirational manner, leading them to return to the session,
club or sport in the very near future.
sports coach UK believes that great activators are part of the
coaching family. While some may not be qualified or active
coaches, by nature, they are exhibiting some of the behaviours
and skills expected from excellent coaches. sports coach UK is
committed to supporting those involved in activation to
become coaches and continue to grow as coaches.
© Coachwise/SWpix
We believe that governing bodies of sport are best placed to
define who should deliver within their sport and use this
definition to guide those responsible for deployment.
Ultimately, the decision of who works where is that of the
legal entity organising the activity, in conjunction with the
guidelines for that activity laid down by the governing body of
sport. We will continue to work with governing bodies of
sport to support the efficient and effective training of
activators with a view to keeping them in, or bringing them
into, coaching.
Next
Steps
A number of factors are associated with participation: intrapersonal (eg
confidence, motivation); interpersonal (eg coach support and others); and
environmental (eg facilities, media, types of recreational sport programmes).
It is clear that coaches and coaching have a key role in increasing and
maintaining participation, but more evaluation of current participation
projects and additional research are required to establish further causal links.
90883:5 sports coach UK, 2014. Designed and produced by Coachwise Ltd