Investigating academy coaches’ epistemological beliefs in red and white ball cricket

Figures & data

Figure 1. Factors influencing coach decision-making (Crowther et al., 2018, p. 69).

Table 1. The Epistemological Chain (EC) of naïve and sophisticated sports coaches (Grecic & Collins, 2013 p.155).

Naïve	Epistemology	Sophisticated
Guru and discipline, rules to follow, autocratic, disciplined, power relationship, dominating coach, compliant athlete, failure to perform is highlighted	Environment	Learning environment created, where athlete can experiment safely without fear of ridicule, two-way discussions and flow of ideas
Transactional, power roles, dictating behaviours	Relationship built	Trusting, caring, nurturing, autonomy-supportive behaviours demonstrated
Coach prescribed, subjective to coach’s beliefs, constant reliance on the coach	Goal setting	Athlete led in discussion with coach
Learn – drill – do, follow set practice regime	Methods	Challenges set for the athlete, creating learning episodes
Success or failure determined by tangible markers or results (e.g. changes in technique, improvement in coach’s measure/statistics	Judgements made	Dependent on how the player develops as an athlete and person with life skills, whilst working towards the athlete led targets. Decisions based on “is the athlete now an autonomous decision maker confident in their own ability?”
Constant coach’s revision of targets, technique, results. Coach led modifications to be practiced, relearned and embedded	Future direction	Future path determined by how self-reliant the player feels. Possibilities include requests for future guidance/mentoring, or removal from the coaching process if it is no longer needed

Table 2. Example cue card questions used during FG.

Stage	Example Questions/Prompts
STAGE 1	What are your experiences of being coached in red ball/longer format cricket? You may want to consider areas such as the following: The “goals” of the coaching – i.e. what were the intended outcomes for you as a player? The types of practice that you were taking part it. (e.g. technical drill practices, exploration practices, net practice, “scenario” practice, etc.)
STAGE 2	I’d like you to think about your red ball coaching. Consider a player that you have worked with in the past … What were the “goals” of your coaching with that player? (e.g. what was the point?) What types of things did you find yourself doing? Saying? How did you go about intervening and/or the feedback process? How did you “go about” your coaching?
STAGE 3	What are your experiences of being coached in white ball/shorter format cricket? Repeat process from STAGE 1
STAGE 4	I’d like you to think about your white ball coaching. Consider a player that you have worked with in the past … Repeat process from STAGE 2
STAGE 5	What similarities and differences do you see between the two formats of the game?Why do these happen?

Table 3. An overview of the full reflexive thematic analysis.

Examples of Raw Data Clusters	Lower Order Themes	Mid-Order Themes	Storybook Themes
Younger players “don’t know their game” Working with the coach to drive practice Learning from (other) experts Coach giving the player technical change Coach leading the technical change (and then player buying in) Technical input decreases as you progress Young players who are able to drive their own practice are a rarity	Knowledge passed down from experts to novice in RBC	Players as passive recipients	Get your head down, listen to me and you’ll be right; in RBC
Times where coaches prescribe technique to players Use of sports science to identify the “right way” Coach instructing based on the demands on the next phase of the pathway	Coach giving technical solutions
Using experts (recently retired players) to deliver/explore skill sets Using professional players as a reference points Using the expert with real-world experience to drive the “model”	Using experts in the coaching process
Players needing/wanting coach input Players will come to coaches when they are struggling Players want more structure from the management Good players are the ones who listen	Players wanting/needing coaches	Players seeking coaches
Consistency of skill (more) important in RBC [Red ball game more technical that white ball] Red ball about longevity, patience and concentration RBC is about discipline[Historical approach to batting] “bat time, bat all day” Batters get judged more in red ball (no hiding place) More pressure in RBC	Mental requirements of RBC	Discipline needed
In the past, WBC was “an add on”, modern-day players learn white ball first Attitude to T20 has changed over the last 15–20 years Change in expectations of the players Change in repercussions for players getting out in WBC	Change in attitudes and expectations – breaking with tradition	A culture shift	Players getting stuck in to learning in WBC
Coaches letting players figure out scenarios for themselves Putting players in difficult situations to enable them to learn Players need to figure it out in competition so need to in training too The importance of players “finding a way”	Players need to “figure it out”	Players take the lead
Creating situations for players to make decisions about their own practice Individual players responsible for getting something out of it After exploring new shots, players are responsible for their continued progress Players to pick out key learning that works for them	Players have the responsibility
Learning coming from the players rather than the coach Asking questions might take a lot longer to help players learn but this is “better” Trying to reduce coach input to encourage player learning	Reducing coach input
Players learning through trial and error Freedom/no repercussion practice “Have a go” practice – Invent something Exposing players to new skills and letting them “have a go”	Players learning by “having a go”	Learning by having a go
Game-related practice – more outcome based Using scenarios in WBC Practice with a game outcome (e.g. hit to the boundary) White ball practice with a game “angle” on it	Open/game-related white ball practice
Specificity of (batting) practice – blocked practice Repetition of shots (in practice) to justify applying skill in a game Increase in specificity in recent history (e.g. ball striking)	Repetitive white ball Practice

Figure 2. The epistemological chain and coaching process in RBC.

Figure 3. The epistemological chain and coaching process in WBC.

Crowther, M., Collins, D., & Holder, T. (2018). What you think – What you do – What you get? Exploring the link between epistemology and PJDM in cricket coaches. Sports Coaching Review, 7(1), 63–81.

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Grecic, D., & Collins, D. (2013). The epistemological chain: Practical applications in sports. Quest, 65(2), 151–168.

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Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author (MC). The data are not publicly available due to restrictions (e.g. their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants and current positions of employment).