Vygotsky and sports coaching: non-linear practice in youth and adult settings

ABSTRACT

Over the past 20 years, a significant amount of research has located sports coaching principally as an educational endeavour. In particular, non-linear educative approaches have attracted much attention yet few studies have explored in any real depth the theoretical underpinnings of such practices. Where conceptual analyses have been conducted, the work of Vygotsky has emerged as a useful framework. The aim of the present study was to investigate the extent to which Vygotskian principles of learning and development might be evident within non-linear sports coaching practices and to examine whether embracing these principles might enhance coaching practice both in youth and adult settings. Drawing on qualitative empirical data, this paper explores how six coaches perceived their everyday practice as non-linear. Resultant findings uncover the nuances of both coach and athlete experience in line with three of Vygotsky’s key theoretical assertions, namely: Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), scaffolding and mediation. The paper concludes by suggesting that the application of theoretical ideas has the potential to inform and enhance non-linear pedagogical approaches, yet coaches must remain cognisant of the bespoke nature of the coaching context.

KEYWORDS:

• Sport pedagogy
• non-linear
• learning
• qualitative research
• Vygotsky

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Don Vinson is a principal lecturer in Sports Coaching Science at the University of Worcester, UK. He has published numerous articles in the field of sports coaching pedagogy and coach education. He is an experienced coach educator and has also coached field hockey in the English National Premier League as well as at the junior international level. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Andrew Parker is Professor of Sport and Christian Outreach in the School of Sport and Exercise at the University of Gloucestershire, UK. His research interests include coaching styles and behaviours especially in relation to young people’s experiences of elite sports settings. He has expertise in qualitative and mixed methods research and his previous research activities have attracted funding from such sources as the European Commission and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

ORCID

Don Vinson http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3116-4828

Notes

1 The term ‘case study’ is used here to refer to the logistics (and geography) of data collection rather than as a theoretically-informed methodology or approach.