The Characteristics Differentiating Expert and Competent Strength and Conditioning Coaches

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the skills, knowledge, and experiences differentiating expert and competent strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches. Method: The participants were 87 elite-level head S&C coaches with an average of over 18 years of coaching experience. These coaches were employed by teams from the MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA Division 1 FBS “Power Five” Conferences, United States National Teams, and the Australian Football League. This study used both a qualitative and quantitative research design through the use of the Delphi method, which incorporated three rounds of surveys. The first-round survey asked the participants to identify at least one important skill, knowledge area, and experience that should be possessed by an expert and competent S&C coach respectively. The characteristics generated from the first round were placed on a second-round survey and rated on their level of importance using a five-point Likert scale. If a characteristic received a suggestion for rephrasing, and did not reach a level of consensus, or an entirely new characteristic was suggested, then it was placed on the final-round survey to be rated again. Characteristics that reached a level of consensus were placed on the final list of characteristics. Results: A total of 46 characteristics reached a level of consensus and were placed on the final list of characteristics. Conclusion: There now exists an empirically validated list of characteristics differentiating expert and competent S&C coaches. This list can aid in the selection, evaluation, and development of S&C coaches.

KEYWORDS:

• Expert coach
• coach qualities
• coach development
• evaluating coaches

Acknowledgments

There have been many people that have assisted in this research study, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank a select few. I would like to start off by thanking first and foremost my dad and Dr. Schempp. Both of whom provided countless pieces of advice, edits, and feedback throughout this entire process. It is in large part due to the tremendous amount of time and effort they put into this study that it has been such a tremendous success.

I would also like to thank my committee members Dr. Cooper and Dr. McCullick for all of the time they have taken to be on my committee, provide their feedback, and guide me over the course of this research study. It has been a great help receiving feedback from different viewpoints which has absolutely aided in the quality and depth of this study.

In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Schempp’s graduate-level pedagogical analysis course for their time and effort put into the peer debriefing process, which was critical in this research process.

Also, I would like to thank my Sport Instruction Research Lab members who were very supportive throughout the entire process in many ways including offering their feedback and encouragement.

I would also like to thank all of the participants in the pilot study along with the participants in this study. It is due to the time and effort of these very experienced coaches that the results of this study have been made possible and can aid in the development of the field of strength and conditioning.