The Internet as a source of learning for youth soccer coaches

Abstract

Coaches’ knowledge has been widely accepted by researchers to consist of professional knowledge, interpersonal knowledge, and intrapersonal knowledge. This knowledge can be acquired through various learning sources and situations. Given the popularity and accessibility of the Internet, coaches are now offered more options and choices to acquire the knowledge they seek. Unfortunately, little research has been done to explore the Internet as a possible source of coach learning. This study investigated the perceived benefits of using coaching resources from the Internet, types of Internet resources sought by youth soccer coaches, and also how the resources are used to improve their coaching knowledge. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 10 youth soccer coaches (9 men and 1 woman) who had a minimum of eight years of coaching experience, at least an Asian Football Council B License coaching qualification, and had been using Internet resources for coaching for the past three years. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the interview transcripts. Results revealed the following: (a) the Internet was favored as a learning source for coaches due to its easy accessibility and time-saving, low cost, and affordance of new ideas; (b) Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are the common platforms to locate coaching resources, but to discern the credibility of these coaching resources are the biggest challenge faced by coaches; (c) all coaches used the Internet to improve their professional knowledge; and (d) common strategies adopted by coaches include careful screening and selecting the Internet resources that suit the team/athletes, and memorizing and trying them out during coaching sessions. Results are discussed in relation to coach learning literature. Recommendations are also proposed to promote the Internet as an alternative learning platform to complement coach education programs.

Keywords

Association football coach education coaching knowledge online resources

Introduction

Sport coaching is a complex process that involves planning, implementing, and evaluating coaching programs to meet the needs of various stakeholders’ goals and expectations.^1,2 In this regard, supporting coaches’ improvement of their knowledge is crucial for quality coaching and athletes’ performance. It has been suggested that coaching knowledge includes professional knowledge (e.g., sport-specific knowledge and pedagogical knowledge), interpersonal knowledge (e.g., communication and presentation skills), and intrapersonal knowledge (e.g., reflective skills). These types of knowledge are essential to assist coaches in developing their athletes holistically.³ Yet, gaining coaching knowledge is not straightforward. Indeed, studies have found that different types of learning situations dramatically influenced coaches’ development.⁴ In addition, previous life experiences (e.g., as an athlete) have been shown to highly influence coaches’ choices in terms of preferred learning situations. More recently, studies have also shown that even coaches sharing similar roles within similar contexts prefer different learning situations.^4,5 Indeed, Trudel, Gilbert, and Werthner cautioned coach educators and sport organizations that any attempts to develop coaches’ knowledge should consider the contexts in which learning occurs.⁵

Werthner and Trudel viewed coaches’ learning situations as mediated, unmediated, and internal. In mediated learning situations (e.g., coaching courses and formal mentoring), learning materials presented are decided upon and directed by a person other than the learner. In unmediated learning situations, there are no instructors or teachers and the learner is responsible for choosing what to learn. Finally, in internal learning situations, the learner is not exposed to new materials but reconsiders or reflects on existing ideas in their cognitive structure.⁶ The effectiveness of different learning situations reported in the literature has yield mixed results.^7,8 For example, mediated learning situations such as formal coach education programs that aim to develop coaches’ knowledge, skills, and quality practices has been disputed in the coaching literature.^2,8 One main criticism includes low transferability of knowledge learned from coach education materials to real-life coaching scenarios.^5,9,10 However, other studies attributed this to a lack of coach education support system for development.^11,12

Indeed, Trudel et al.⁴ stated that different types of learning situations can influence coaches’ motivation in learning and the extent of the knowledge gained. With increasing evidence of the need for more individualized education for coaches, there is a need to understand coaches’ preference for different learning situations,^6,9,13 and the mechanisms in facilitating the learning process to inform coach education policies and coaching practice. However, research examining the facilitation of different learning situations especially in unmediated and internal learning among coaches remains scarce.⁴

Using the Internet as a form of learning has gained attention in the recent decades as seen in various fields such as physical education¹⁴ and sports.^15–18 Studies have found positive effects of utilizing unmediated and mediated Internet learning. For example, a survey of Internet use in the United Kingdom saw 90% of the respondents indicating Internet use for various forms of learning. Specific to sport coaching, 70% of the coaches interviewed use the Internet to locate information and resources on how to coach better.¹⁸ Similarly, studies also reported the benefits of using the Internet for learning due to time and cost efficiency, easy accessibility, as well as its ability to meet individuals’ learning needs.^17,19

Although several studies have highlighted the resources available on the Internet for coaches’ learning,^6,20 there is still a dearth of research that examines how Internet learning enhances coaching knowledge and practice.⁴ For example, a study by Wright et al.²⁰ briefly investigated whether or not coaches used the Internet as a resource for coaching-related purposes. The study found that the Internet was one of seven learning situations that coaches utilized for gathering coaching knowledge and skills. However, the only information gathered was that coaches used the Internet to communicate with people and access information through the World Wide Web (Web). No information was provided as to what types of information were exchanged through the interactions, or gathered from the Web to enhance their knowledge. The study also did not examine how exactly coaches used the Internet for their learning and reasons why they preferred this mode of learning. In a similar study, Pope et al.¹⁷ investigated the content of the information coaches attained from the Internet on sport psychology resources, their use of such information, and differences in coaches’ used of Internet resources across experience, certification, and competitive level. They found that accessibility and credibility of the specific online resources are the main reasons for the low usage of the Internet resources. However, the study did not examine how coaches used the resources in their coaching practice, which is important to advance our knowledge in this line of research. Given the new age of technology and the possible effect it has on coaches’ learning, it is useful for sports policy makers and coach educators to understand how the Internet can be better utilized as a learning source to enhance coaches’ knowledge.

Given the potential of utilizing the Internet for learning and the scarcity of research in this area, this study sought to fill in these gaps in knowledge by exploring the benefits of using the Internet as a learning resource among youth soccer coaches, and how they locate and apply the Internet materials in their coaching. The study was guided by four research questions: (i) What are the benefits of using the Internet to develop coaching knowledge? (ii) How do youth soccer coaches search for the coaching resources and challenges face? (iii) What kind of information/knowledge do they search for on the Internet? and (iv) How do they use the Internet resources to support their coaching?

Methods

The context

Singapore is a small but developed country with a population of 4.3 million.²¹ The Internet is easily accessible by all Singaporeans with good quality at any part of the country. This is a result of the government’s investment in preparing Singaporeans to harness technologies such as the Internet to improve productivity and is responsive to the fast changing world.²² For example, it invested 1.2 billion Singapore dollars in establishing the essential infrastructures to support the use of technologies in government and private sectors, including coaches in this study. The Skills Future Fund was also setup by the government to enhance Singaporeans’ knowledge and skill, including the use of Internet and technologies.²²

Participants

The participant coaches were purposefully recruited from soccer academies around Singapore. Coaches were invited to participate in the study if they met the following selection criteria: (a) have at least eight years of coaching experience at the competitive level (school or club); (b) have a minimum of an Asian Football Council “B” License coaching qualification; and (iii) have been using Internet resources for coaching for the past three years. The inclusion criteria help to ensure that the best youth soccer coaches in the country, who are front runners in using Internet resources to support their coaching, are selected to provide insight into the topic under investigation.²³ Ten coaches (9 men and 1 women) who are currently involved in youth (16–18 years old) development soccer were invited to participate in the study. The coaches’ age ranged from 28 to 46 years old with an average of eight years of coaching experience. Three participants are the head coaches of their respective soccer schools.

Procedure and instrument

Prior to data collection, approval to conduct the study was obtained from the ethical review board of the first author’s university. Participant coaches gave their consent to be involved in the study. They were briefed that participation was voluntary, and assured their rights to confidentiality, anonymity, and freedom of withdrawal from the study.

Interviews

Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the coaches as it allowed for a broader representation of the participants’ thoughts and opinions.²³ Each participant coach was interviewed once at a location convenient to him/her. The average time taken for each session was approximately 45 minutes (ranged 40–55 minutes). All the interviews were recorded using a digital audio recorder. A full verbatim of the interview was subsequently sent to each participant coach for approval or editing to ensure the data were accurately captured.

Semistructured interviews were conducted to answer the research questions. The interview guide was divided into four main sections. Introductory questions were first used to gain insight into the participants’ background and history in coaching. The second set of questions focused on the participants’ reasons for using the Internet to enhance coaching. The third set of questions attempted to gain insight into the types of content knowledge that coaches sought on the Internet, as well as understanding the processes they used to seek information on the Internet, and also the challenges they face. The last set of questions focused on understanding how coaches used the Internet resources for their coaching practice. Probing techniques²⁴ were employed to manage and redirect the conversations back and toward the subject if the participant coaches were deviating from the questions.

Data analysis

The transcripts were analyzed following a five phase thematic analytic approach adapted from the past literature.²⁵ This approach was chosen because it enabled the researchers to identify key features (similarities and differences) across the data set related to the research questions, with a strong emphasis on interpretation of the data.²⁶ The five phases included the following: (a) immersion—becoming familiar with, and making sense of the data by reading the interview transcripts on numerous occasions; (b) generating initial codes—coding the entire data set in a systematic fashion, concluding with the identification and production of a long list of different codes; (c) searching for and identifying themes across codes—coded data were collated to produce overarching themes; (d) reviewing themes—this required checking if themes appeared to form a coherent pattern, and how these themes fit together to form the overall story; and (e) defining and naming themes—this involves identification of the theme and determining what aspect of the data each theme captured. Following that, each theme was given a concise tag that provided a clear interpretation of the data.²⁶ For example, tags that share similar meaning such as “save time,” “easy accessibility,” “update-to-date materials,” “low cost,” and “provide coaching ideas” were grouped under the theme of “reasons for using Internet.”

Trustworthiness

To ensure that the data are analyzed and interpreted accurately according to the participants’ perspectives, the research team followed suggestions proposed by Sparks and Smith.²⁶ First, peer review was used in this study to verify the data analyzed.²⁶ Specifically, an independent peer reviewer at the Principal Investigator’s university, who has five years of experience in qualitative research, reviewed the codes and themes to ensure that the analysis was appropriate and accurate. The peer reviewer examined 25% of the codes and themes and matched them with those established by the research team. A reliability of 91% and 93% was achieved between the peer reviewer and the researcher team, respectively. Second, the credibility of the interviewer (second author) as the primary data collector was assured as he was a soccer player at the elite level. He had five years of experience coaching soccer at the developmental level. In addition, he is familiar with the Singapore coaching culture, which allowed him to gain access to the coaches prior to the study, and build rapport with them prior to the interviews. Finally, participant member checks were used by inviting each participant to review the full verbatim transcript of the interview to check for clarity and accuracy. No changes were requested by the participants.

Results

The results presented in the following sections are ordered according to the research questions. Findings are also discussed against past literature. Numbers were assigned to each participant to maintain confidentiality of their identity and to differentiate the coaches. For example, Coach 1 and Coach 2 were coded as C1 and C2, respectively.

Benefits of using the Internet to develop coaching knowledge

All the participant coaches affirmed many benefits of the Internet in assisting them to acquire coaching knowledge, citing easy accessibility and time-saving, low cost, and offering new ideas for coaching. These benefits are the key motivating factors that promote their continuous learning.

Accessibility and time-saving

One common reason given by all the coaches for the popularity of the Internet as a learning source was that it was widely accessible, making it convenient and time-saving to gather information for learning as compared to mediated forms of face-to-face learning. As one coach stated:

It was not difficult to find all of this [coaching] information, and I can get the information quickly, which is useful because of my busy schedule. In fact, I spent most of my time searching for the coaching knowledge during my travels on public transport. It saved me lots of time … I can coach and learn at the same time! It’s definitely more convenient [for learning] compared to coaching course where you need to commit a fixed-time and place for learning. (C9)

Having prior knowledge in the use of technology also helped coaches to access the Internet resources freely and easily to save time as illustrated by C7 and C10:

Being tech-savvy I find it very easy to just get hold of my Ipad and surf the Internet to get ideas on football related matters for free most of the time. It helps to save time of having to travel to the library just to browse magazines or books related to coaching. (C7)

… with the advancement of technology, many people these days carry smart phones with them and as such, are able to log on to the Internet and search for whatever drills they want. They are able to do it wherever at their own discretion. (C10)

Low cost. Another feature of the Internet that participant coaches viewed positively is the low cost of gaining coaching knowledge, as opposed to those fee-paying coaching resources. C2 and C7 provided two excellent examples to illustrate this observation:

Getting the coaching resources from the Internet is very practical and time saving … the coaching videos on YouTube and the content on the Scottish and other Football Association sites are free, as such it saves me some money instead of having to buy books and DVDs related to coaching to learn. (C2)

Using Internet resources to build my coaching knowledge not only save my time, it also saves cost … In the past, I had to purchase books or articles and spent considerable time browsing through these materials only to find what I want. It’s time consuming, and to some extent, counter-productive … (C7)

Offer coaching ideas. All the participant coaches indicated that the main reason for them to use the Internet is to source for soccer-specific coaching ideas such as drills, strategies, and coaching plans for their coaching practice. One of the coaches highlighted how he had benefited from the Internet materials shared by top soccer teams such as season planning and establishing coaching philosophy. He said:

There are many teams, coaches and soccer experts on the Internet with great coaching ideas and philosophy that we can learn from. For example, sometimes I am able to find session plans of top teams such as Chelsea FC and it is very interesting to see what the top teams in the world are doing. Other times I could find articles of coaches like Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola who explained their coaching philosophy! That is good coaching knowledge for me and I like it very much … I love to know what the best teams and coaches around the world are doing. (C6)

Other coaches were also interested in searching for good drills or strategies from the Internet that can be used for their players and team, as evidenced in the following quote:

I like to search the Internet to pick up new ideas for my next training session. For example, if I want to practice combine play of using 3-2 layers at training, I would go to the Internet and locate resources to this topic. There are many interesting and useful drills for me to select. I just need to browse through these resources, select those that I am more familiar with, and book-marked them for future use. (C8)

Interactive features. Seven of the 10 participant coaches in this study cited that one of the reasons for choosing the Internet over other forms of learning (e.g., reading materials book or article) was that the information was much more interactive and engaging. C5 provided an example to illustrate this point:

… [u]sing the Internet is also way more interactive than traditional sources because there’s the video function where coaches can see how drills are conducted, as compared to traditional sources where there are static pictures and a lot of words. You can even visualize what is going to happen in your coaching session by looking at the setting and organisation of the video. It is very useful and helpful!

Six participant coaches commented on how the interactive nature of video on the Internet engaged them in learning. Specifically, the video functions enabled them to use the playback functions to enhance the process of note taking and view segments repeatedly when needed. One of coaches shared some user-friendly features that videos provide from the YouTube:

The duration of the video can be seen. This helped me to decide which video to watch and which not to base on the time that I have. Also, having it in video format allowed me to forward and rewind as and when I like and this helped a lot when I’m jotting down notes and planning my sessions. I could do this any time based on my schedule … It is really helpful! (C6)

C3 provided another example to illustrate the immediate benefit of watching coaching videos:

I really like searching YouTube because everything is in video format, which makes it very easy for me to learn and apply in my training sessions, as compared to reading a session plan that is available in words and pictures. The videos provide visual aid and help me familiarize with the execution of different drills, and how to get the athletes organized for practices. It is awesome!

Up-to-date materials. Five participant coaches stated that they preferred learning through the Internet to other learning situations because new information is regularly updated and made easily available to the learners:

The Internet provides up-to-date information most of the time, as compared to traditional coaching sources, for example, print materials that can only be updated once every few years. It also has a wide array of information from many coaches and as such, it’s easy to learn from them as I can just mix and match the drills to suit my team’s needs. As such, I’d prefer browsing the Internet for information on the latest coaching resources such as drills, strategies etc. (C3)

Maintaining currency and offering a wide range of coaching information to learners are key reasons participating coaches preferred learning through the Internet. C2 said, “The Internet provides latest coaching information and ideas. It can easily be shared around among coaches to get better.”

Another coach shared the same sentiment and commented that:

… with the Internet there are always new updates of drills, information and articles of philosophies, so when I am searching for information weekly, there is no problem in finding new ideas. (C7)

Processes used to search for Internet resources

The common medium used by the coaches to locate coaching resources included Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. These platforms are preferred as they allow learners to locate learning resources easily. C3 and C5 provided examples to illustrate this point:

I relied heavily on Google-YouTube, Facebook of football association such as Scottish Football Association coaching groups … I also follow many soccer coaches on twitter mainly because of the wealth of coaching resources and information they could provide. (C3)

YouTube has many links … it is helpful to us as busy coaches looking for coaching ideas because the duration of the videos can be seen, which helps me narrow down the options to view and select the videos I want to view. The Scottish FA also provides me information on pro youth football development which is of my interest … I am very interested in knowing what it is like at the highest level of coaching or at least, what is happening outside Singapore and South East Asia. (C5)

Using key words

The participant coaches generally found that they could easily attain the information they required when they used more specific keywords in search engines. This required the coaches to have a basic knowledge of well-defined words about the topic for searching purpose. Only four coaches in this study reported using this technique to locate specific coaching resources. This coach said:

In order to get the coaching resources you want from the Internet quickly, you need to know some of the key words and terms in soccer … that will help to filter all those unnecessary resources and save your time from having to browse through the materials one-by-one. It is a learning process … I started off with browsing through the Internet and picked up some specific key words in soccer … if I need the similar resources later, I just use the same key words to locate the similar resources … it was fast. (C2)

C5 provided another example when locating specific drills:

I just need to type in “soccer drills coaching 1-2 combination plays” in the Google search, more specific drills will be available for selection. After that I will have a look at the search results and look for the most appropriate drills based on the description. I also do the same on YouTube and then watch a few videos. If I find something that I like, I would stop there. But if I can’t find what I am looking for, I would continue searching. I will also type in more specific search words or add words like “Barcelona”, “Ajax”, “Academy”, because these can generate answers that are more likely to give me youth drills. (C5)

Random browsing

Six participant coaches preferred “random browsing” through different websites to locate different coaching resources and ideas. This motivates coaches to keep going back to the Internet to locate new coaching ideas or resources. C4 shared his experience:

There are various avenues that I think Internet could offer so I often like to randomly browse different sites for new ideas though it can be time consuming … Once I come across an useful site and interesting topic that I’ll be working on, say “attacking one versus one,” I will then bookmark and note down the drills which are relevant that I can use to work on with my players. Every time I found a new site with new ideas, I feel excited as it adds on to my collection of coaching resources.

Challenges faced

Discerning credibility of sources

Participant coaches had their own ways of discerning if the source of the coaching knowledge was accurate and credible on the Internet.

C4 provided an example to illustrate the measures and efforts he took to filter coaching resources from the Internet:
If I come across a drill that I think would benefit my players, I would select and verify the sources carefully to ensure that the information [is] useful and trustworthy … I usually base my judgment on the reputation of the organization, individual or from the display of the websites.
Past experience as a coach or player is also tapped into as an evaluation tool to help coaches’ discern the accuracy and reliability of the Internet resources. Five coaches from this study reported using this strategy to guide their judgment. One coach provided an example of this point:
I would sift through information from the Internet which I have gathered and use my experience as a player and coach to determine the reliability of such information. I have nobody to learn from so I just have to figure out myself using my past experience … It's not the best ways but it works for me to some extent … (C1)
On the other hand, information that came from established organizations, websites, or established coaches were deemed as credible resources by all the participant coaches in this study; as illustrated by C8:
… [u]sually I only use the source if it is from a reputable organization, website or established coach, like the Scottish Football Association, English Football Association, Southampton Academy, Barcelona Academy, Ajax Academy or individual coaches like Mourinho, Paul Clement, Ancelotti, Steve Holland and so on. There is quality assurance and I feel safer to use them.

Types of coaching knowledge sought on the Internet

All the participants used the Internet resources to serve their coaching needs. In particular, the participants used the Internet to procure professional knowledge (e.g., drills and tactics) according to various age groups they are coaching. C1 shared relevant strategies he employed in locating and screening specific coaching information:
As I’m taking mostly kids under the age of 10 most of the time, I’d normally seek out websites that contains information on youth football. It can range from videos, YouTube, or from other websites which contains information on how to approach coaching kids better. (C1)
Another coach who is coaching at the competitive level sought more complex tactics in order to enhance his team’s performance:
I am coaching a competitive team. So far, we have been achieving top four positions in the soccer league. I believe the team needs more complex tactics to confuse the opponents and win matches … I will focus my attention on what my team and individual player can do first before deciding which tactic to choose and use from the Internet. It requires time to find the best fit … (C5)
Interestingly, only two coaches used the Internet to seek interpersonal and intrapersonal knowledge. Although they might represent a small percentage of the overall sample, it is worth knowing what other competencies coaches sought to learn, and how they used it in their coaching. C6 shared his experiences:
Besides using the Internet to search for useful coaching tips which are related to skills and strategies development for my athletes, I also look out for information that can guide or help me in my thinking [reflection] skill … I feel that a good coach should think hard at the end of each training session to look for good and bad things in order to learn and get better.
C10 shared his coaching philosophy to become a better coach. He believes that coaching should go beyond technical skills development:
I searched for youth development information like coaching practices for the youth age groups that I’m working with. I also looked for skills that are needed to work with the youth age groups such as motivational skills, communication skills and mental skills because I believe that these types of knowledge are important to becoming a good coach.

Application of Internet resources to support coaching practice

All the participant coaches reported that after careful screening and selection of the Internet resources that suit their team/athletes, they would memorize and try them out during their coaching sessions, as evidenced by the following quote:
I use YouTube most of the time as it helps me to screen which videos to watch and which videos not to watch, based on the time that I have … I would select the videos I preferred, memorized it mentally and use it in my coaching session. It is an easy way to find new coaching ideas and use them right away … (C5)
Four participant coaches used the similar strategy but in a more deliberate manner. For example, adapting the information gleaned from Internet into their coaching. C7 provided an example to illustrate this point:
Basically once I’ve seen something that I like, and which I think can be applied to my team, I’d copy it down and think about ways on how to progress from there. Then, when I meet up with the team, I’d explain to them the topic and give them a rough idea on how the proceedings would go, before we carry out the exercise on the football field. I would assess the response and make adjustments if need be to better engage the athletes.
Upon assessing and reflecting on athletes’ response to the coaching session, eight coaches were prepared to make changes to the coaching plans. One coach elaborated:
During the training, I’ll try to carry out the methods gathered from the Internet … and after the session I would ask my players for their feedback. If it’s good, I’ll improvise more and create new stuff out of it. (C3)
Another coach expressed using a similar approach to enhance his coaching knowledge:
If the selected drills or activities from the Internet worked for me, I would go back and look for more similar drills, improvise or adjust them as a useful source for future use. In addition, I would write down the ideas, remember them mentally, and then think of how I can use or improvise those drills or ideas for my own coaching. Sometime the plans did not work, that prompted me to reflect on the issues, and source for solutions and try them again. The process repeats itself. Overtime, I have accumulated many new coaching ideas that help to add on more variety to my coaching plans. My athletes are looking forward to new drills and tactics during training. (C9)
Participant coaches seem to be able to use the Internet resources in a more deliberate manner by asking players to view specific drills or tactics before and after training for greater learning. Four participant coaches share how they use the online resources to promote learning before and after the coaching session. One common strategy used by these coaches is:
I can’t cover all of the drills and tactics with the limited time I have with my players. To help them learn more and faster is to tap on the online resources. I usually ask my players to view the drills or tactics that we are going to practice before the practice … that saves me some time from having to explain to them during training. They could also view the resources after the training if they are not too sure. I noticed that this way helps them learn faster, and I could teach more. (C6)

I find it useful to ask my players to view the strategy that I would like them to practice before practice. It saves me time from having to explain to them during training. They can also view it after the training as a revision. (C9)

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to examine the benefits of using the Internet as a source of learning for youth soccer coaches, and how coaches locate and apply the Internet materials in their coaching. Our results are consistent with the literature that the Internet has wide-reaching effects on learners all around the world.^16,20,27 The benefits of easy access of coaching resources and time-saving nature of it provide individuals with the freedom to work around their schedules. At the same time, this allows learning to take place at anytime and anywhere, which are critical factors in facilitating coaches’ development. They are only required to filter resources they need, making the process of acquiring knowledge more efficient and meaningful. This is very important to sport coaches as they often cited difficulties in accessing coaching resources and lack of time as the main reason in whether they pursue coaching knowledge.^6,28 This is in contrast to conventional coach education courses that usually present standardized packages of information to coaches that lack variety, or are even outdated.²⁹

Studies have also showed that coaches often lack sufficient financial resources to continue upgrading knowledge and skills.^11,30 Sport organizations struggled to provide coaches with subsidized or sponsored courses for personal development.³¹ This is a more pronounced problem in less developed countries where Internet access is not common and coaches are not highly paid. Moreover, sport organizations often have limited government funding to support coach development programs.¹¹ Such issues might hinder coaches’ motivation in using the Internet as a convenient platform for learning. Our result shows that participants prefer Internet as opposed to fee-paying coaching resources in view of the low cost in gaining coaching knowledge. With increasing free Wi-Fi locations in most of developed or developing countries, coaches are likely to have full access to the Internet to acquire coaching knowledge.¹⁸ Coaching materials from the Internet therefore provide an economical source of learning opportunities for coaches, allowing them to further their knowledge and skills amidst the shortage of financial support. Indeed, participants from this study are quick to seize this opportunity to develop and enhance their coaching knowledge; they can now choose to access coaching information conveniently from the Internet often for no or minimal cost.^18,32

Our results mirrored past research that showed how youth soccer coaches utilized popular Internet platforms like Google, YouTube, and Facebook to seek coaching knowledge.¹⁸ More importantly, coaches can access all three types of coaching knowledge (i.e., professional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal). Given the popularity of the Internet,³³ this platform allows exchange of knowledge and skills between people of all walks of life, different cultural backgrounds, and geographical locations. It also allows coaches free access to the expertise of experienced coaches who might not publish their coaching knowledge and experience in traditional forms of coach educational materials (e.g., books, DVDs). The Internet is therefore a fertile platform for coaches to acquire coaching knowledge and skills from their own culture as well as gain new perspectives and practices beyond their national borders.

Although coaches in this study preferred such a learning mode as they have control over what they would like to learn and the pace of learning, such a self-directed learning mode may compromise the quality of learning as it is unguided.⁵ For example, the majority of the coaches in this study used “random browsing” as a strategy to locate coaching resources. A problem with using self-sourced and random browsing strategy is that the coaching resources sought may be restricted by what coaches are familiar with (e.g., knowledge of this sport), which could limit their learning. Our results also suggest that some coaches are unsure of what information, and perhaps websites, to take reference from when pursuing coaching knowledge. It is also uncertain how this “random browsing” could extend coaches’ knowledge in areas which they were not familiar, or challenge their understanding of coaching. For example, studies have highlighted that Internet users often face problems of “information over-load” and being “lost in hyperspace” because the abundance of information from various sources on the Internet can become confusing, making the Internet an ineffective learning source.^17,18 More research is warranted to investigate if browsing the Internet randomly can help coaches acquire useful knowledge effectively. It is therefore crucial that coaches are equipped with appropriate skills and knowledge perhaps through coach education programs to manage the plethora of information, learn to evaluate the quality and credibility of the source, and use them appropriately.^26,34

Our results suggest that coaches may need more professional guidance in discerning the credibility of learning resources found online. The participant coaches in this study evaluated the credibility of information gathered from the Internet by identifying whether sources were from established coaches and authoritative organizations. When such information is not available, they drew on their past experiences and the display quality of the websites to determine the reliability and accuracy of the information on the Internet. Clearly, distinguishing credible online resource is challenging but important in coaches’ learning given that the Internet is a free space that any person, whether trained or untrained, can upload information that is accessible to all Internet users. One possible solution to address this issue is to have sport organizations include links of informative and credible sites to their websites to facilitate the searching of reliable information by coaches. In fact, none of the participant coaches mentioned receiving links or suggested Internet sources from coaching courses or the football association. The proposed suggestion would also resolve the challenge highlighted by Mallett et al.⁵ of promoting all kinds of learning situations to coaches to enhance their coaching knowledge. Another suggestion is to provide, within a coach education program, a checklist like the Website Quality Evaluation Tool³⁵ that examines the content, function, authority, currency, links, graphics, and style to help coaches evaluate and verify the reliability and credibility of websites or online materials. In conjunction with providing a list of credible links, sport federations could also pose questions relating to enhancing inter- and intrapersonal knowledge for coaches to learn when they access the links. Coupled with self-directed learning behaviors seen among coaches who learn through the Internet, the proposed solution would further promote and facilitate sustainable learning.

Professional knowledge such as soccer drills and tactics were the most sought Internet materials as reported by all the coaches in this study. The result is consistent with past studies where a majority of coaches focused their Internet searches primarily on drills and exercises specific to their sports to meet their coaching needs.^8,20,28,36 Given that coaches seek resources from this platform out of self-initiation and on a voluntary basis, this form of self-directed learning is likely to motivate them wanting to learn more and be better coaches.⁹ The challenge is how to facilitate such mode of learning and yet maintain quality learning experience. Unfortunately, the importance of acquiring relevant skills through the Internet has been neglected given that this platform has largely been an unsupervised and unstructured tool.³⁷ For example, the coaches in this study highlighted some navigational difficulties such as the ability in using concise key words to locate the resources they need that hindered their learning on the Internet. Another difficulty they faced is the ability of discerning the credibility of the coaching materials. Similarly, this could also be a problem for countries that are relatively less advanced in the use of Internet learning.¹⁸ Future coach education programs might want to address this gap to better prepare the coaches.

In addition, it appears that the coaches in this study focused their learning on sport-specific information (e.g., technical, tactical) as opposed to inter- and intrapersonal knowledge. Studies have showed that an appreciation of all three types of coaching knowledge can positively influence the holistic development of athletes.^1,3,38 Given the tendency for the participant coaches to focus on sport-specific content knowledge (e.g., drills, strategies), their Internet searches may contribute little as a learning source for other important content knowledge such as inter- and intrapersonal knowledge. The lack of participant coaches pursuing interpersonal and intrapersonal knowledge (two of ten participants) is not surprising given previous research^9,15,34,39 highlighted that such knowledge has been found to be considerably underdeveloped in pre-existing coach education programs. One of the possible reasons could be due to the lack of emphasis in these areas in coach education programs, or perhaps the lack of effectiveness in delivering it to coaches.^3,9 Given the three types of coaching knowledge that are available for coaches to access from the Internet, the Internet holds potential that has been largely untapped by coaches to enhance their coaching effectiveness, especially in the areas of intra- and interpersonal knowledge. Greater awareness need to be raised for coaches to make better use of such platform to gain the necessary knowledge to support their coaching.

It is interesting and insightful to know that coaches who sought information from the Internet show enthusiasm in applying the knowledge they gained with their athletes. This is in contrast with formalized coach training programs that have seen low transferences of knowledge and skills into actual practice.^5,9,10 It is possible that such active learning behavior is a result of coaches searching for coaching materials that are relevant and meaningful to them, which may aid them in solving their coaching issues. This could be motivating for them as it gives purpose to expending the time and effort in sieving through the abundant Internet for information. Indeed, past studies have shown that the relevance of learning materials is associated with learners viewing the learning subject positively⁴⁰ and sustained motivation during learning.⁴¹ Further research could investigate how the affordance of control over learning content by the Internet can contribute to the effectiveness of the learning process among coaches. Such information would greatly benefit coach educators and sport organizations in enhancing coaches’ learning. Moreover, Cropley et al.⁴² suggested that motivation is a key factor to engage coaches in learning and improve coaching practice. We argue that the Internet could be a source of motivation for sport coaches to acquire more knowledge and skills to further their coaching craft. More importantly, some coaches in this study reflected on the Internet resources used after each training session and sought feedback from their athletes to improvise and improve the resources. Such internalization of learning is indeed more powerful than traditional mediated coach education programs as coaches took ownership of not only their learning but also the quality of what they learned. Such behavior is in fact an example of self-regulated learning where learners are able to work remotely and autonomously, while being able to monitor and motivate themselves until learning objectives are met.⁴³ More importantly, self-regulated learning as an intrapersonal skill has been related to effective learning and desirable educational and career outcomes.⁴⁴ Although more empirical evidence is needed to examine how self-initiated browsing on the Internet can indeed motivate coaches to learn and improve the quality of their coaching, our results suggest that coaches need to be educated on the importance of acquiring intrapersonal and interpersonal skills in order to help them to be more effective. This could be of paramount relevance to coaches, as their career often requires them to work and acquire knowledge and skills independently.

Limitations and future research directions

Although this study has contributed to the literature by investigating how the Internet has been, and can be used, as a source of mediated and unmediated learning to enhance coaching knowledge, there are some limitations to consider. First, the sample size of 10 developmental youth soccer coaches may be too small to reflect the information-seeking behaviors and preferences of coaches in this field. Future research should explore this topic with a larger sample size to enhance the representation and generalization of the key findings. Future studies may also focus on surveying coaches in other sports (e.g., individual, other team sports) and levels of coaching (e.g., developmental, elite level) to gain further insights into the differences and similarities of learning patterns among different groups of coaches. Second, although our results show Internet learning as a preferred learning situation by all participant coaches, the quality of learning and effectiveness of the application of such learning to coaching practice is unknown. More empirical studies are needed to explore if the Internet can indeed be an efficient learning tool to be utilized alongside mediated coach education programs to develop coaching knowledge and impact athletes’ development; of significance are the operational processes and mechanism that promote this mode of learning. Further investigation is also warranted to find out if learning through the Internet can be incorporated into mediated learning situation and whether doing so can enhance the learning of sport coaches. Such information would be useful for national sport organizations and coach educators to design and develop relevant coaching materials and curricula, building on the strengths of the Internet.

Practical implications

We believe that learning through the Internet could complement and facilitate mediated learning for coaches. Such approach would be beneficial to coach learning. Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made.

First, national sport organizations should ensure that their webpages are of good quality as it is likely to attract potential Internet users such as coaches to visit and connect with them. They should also consider creating links of useful, informative, and credible sites to their websites, and recommending good coaching resources or materials from the Internet to facilitate coaches’ independent learning on the Internet. Second, coaches should be educated on strategies to search for credible and reliable coaching resources, probably through mediated coach education programs/clinics, or the national sport organization’s websites. In addition, national sport organizations may consider establishing an online “learning community” or other opportunities such as blog or tweet to attract coaches to discuss, reflect, and construct solutions to their coaching issues, and share good practices to improve coaching practices to promote continued learning. It also gives coaches the flexibility of time and the autonomy to choose what they would like to learn, which is characteristic of unmediated learning.⁶ Finally, in light of the unequal accessibility of the Internet in different parts of the world, there needs to be more effort from international sporting bodies to provide coaches working in developing countries with more access to the Internet to assist them to develop their coaching knowledge.

Conclusion

The findings of the study provide valuable insights into underlying reasons why youth soccer coaches used the Internet to gain coaching knowledge, how they access the available resources, what kinds of coaching resources are sought, and how they are used in coaching practice. Our results show that the Internet has the potential to serve as a useful learning tool for coaches to enhance their knowledge and skills in coaching. In this regard, more effort, adequate resources, and training are warranted to help sport coaches tap on this learning tool to enhance their coaching knowledge and practice. As our understanding of coach learning through the Internet is in its infancy, more research is required to help us have better understanding of this burgeoning field.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

Cassidy

Jone

Potrac

. Understanding sports coaching: the social, cultural and pedagogical foundations of coaching practice, London: Routledge, 2009.

Lyle

. Sports coaching concepts: a framework for coaches’ behaviour, London: Routledge, 2002.

Côté

Gilbert

. An integrative definition of coaching effectiveness and expertise. Int J Sports Sci Coach 2009; 4: 307–323.

Trudel

Gilbert

Werthner

Coach education effectiveness. In: Lyle

Cushion

(eds). Sports coaching: professionalism and practice, London: Elsevier, 2013, pp. 135–152.

Mallett

Trudel

Lyle

et al.

Formal vs. informal coach education. Int J Sports Sci Coach 2009; 4: 325–334.

Werthner

Trudel

. A new theoretical perspective for understanding how coaches learn to coach. Sport Psychol 2006; 20: 198–212.

Cushion

Nelson

Armour

et al.

Coach learning and development: a review of literature, Leeds: Sports Coach UK, 2010.

Gilbert

Trudel

. Learning to coach through experience: reflection in model youth sport coaches. J Teach Phys Educ 2001; 21: 16–34.

Cushion

Nelson

Coach education and learning: developing the field. In: Potrac

Gilbert

Denison

(eds). Routledge handbook of sports coaching, New York: Routledge, 2013, pp. 359–374.

10.

Gilbert

Gallimore

Trudel

. A learning community approach to coach development in youth sport. J Coach Educ 2009; 2: 1–21.

11.

Koh

Bloom

Fairhurst

et al.

The creation and implementation of a formalised mentoring programme for novice basketball coaches. Int J Sport Psychol 2014; 45: 11–32.

12.

Koh

Mallett

Wang

CKJ

. Developmental pathways of Singapore’s high performance basketball coaches. Int J Sport Exerc Psychol 2009; 9: 338–353.

13.

Irwin

Hanton

Kerwin

. Reflective practice and the origins of elites coaching knowledge. Reflect Pract 2004; 5: 425–442.

14.

Kirk

MacDonald

O’Sullivan

. Handbook of physical education, London: Sage Publications, 2006.

15.

Blumenstein

Orbach

Bar-Eli

et al.

High-level coaches’ perceptions of their professional knowledge, skills and characteristics. Sports Sci Rev 2012; 21: 5–27.

16.

Davis

. Waking the sleeping giant: the Internet for coaches. Sports Coach 1998; 21: 18–20.

17.

Pope

Steward

Law

et al.

Knowledge transition of sport psychology to coaches: coaches’ use of online resources. Int J Sports Sci Coach 2015; 10: 1055–1070.

18.

Sport Coach UK. Coaching, social media and new technology: using social media and new technology in the UK, http://www.sportscoachuk.org/resource/coaching-social-media-and-new-technology (2014, accessed 5 April 2017).

19.

Papastregiou

Gerodimos

Antoniou

. Multimedia blogging in physical education: effects on student knowledge and ICT self-efficacy, Trikala: University of Thessaly, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, 2011.

20.

Wright

Trudel

Culver

. Learning how to coach: the different learning situations reported by youth ice hockey coaches. Phys Educ Sport Peda 2007; 12: 127–144.

21.

Department of Statistics Singapore. Population and population structure, http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/browse-by-theme/population-and-population-structure (2017, accessed 1 July 2017).

22.

Ministry of Finance. Budget 2017: get ready for a changing digital world, http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget_2017/BudgetInfo/BudgetFeatures/GetReadyForAChangingDigitalWorld (2017, accessed 1 July 2017).

23.

Creswell

. Research design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches, Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2013.

24.

Patton

. How to use qualitative methods in evaluation, Newberry Park: Sage, 2015.

25.

Braun

Clarke

. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol 2006; 3: 77–101.

26.

Sparks

Smith

. Qualitative research methods in sport, exercise, and health: from process to product, London: Routledge, 2014.

27.

Wilson

Bloom

Harvey

. Sources of knowledge acquisition: perspectives of the high school teacher/coach. Phys Educ Sport Peda 2011; 15: 383–399.

28.

Lemyre

Trudel

Durand-Bush

. How youth-sport coaches learn to coach. Sport Psychol 2007; 21: 191–209.

29.

Knowles

Tyler

Gilbourne

et al.

Reflecting on reflection: exploring the practice of sports coaching graduates. Reflect Pract 2006; 7: 163–179.

30.

Olusoga

Maynard

Butt

et al.

Coaching under pressure: mental skills training for sports coaches. Sport Exerc Psychol Rev 2014; 10: 31–44.

31.

Nichols

Taylor

Barrett

et al.

Youth sport volunteers in England: a paradox between reducing the state and promoting a big society. Sport Manage Rev 2014; 17: 337–346.

32.

Gulati S. Technology-enhanced learning in developing nations: a review. Int Rev Res Open Distance Learn, http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/477/1012 (2008, accessed 5 April 2017).

33.

eMarketer.com. Social networking reaches nearly one in four around the world, http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Social-Networking-Reaches-Nearly-One-Four-Around-World/1009976 (2013, accessed 1 April 2017).

34.

Bird

McInerney

Mohr

. Source evaluation and information literacy: findings from a study on science websites. Commun Inform Literacy 2010; 4: 170–180.

35.

McInerney

Bird

. Assessing website quality in context: retrieving information about genetically modified food on the web. Inform Res Int Elect J 2005; 10: n2.

36.

Camiré

Trudel

Forneris

. Examining how model youth sport coaches learn to facilitate positive youth development. Phys Educ Sport Peda 2014; 19: 1–17.

37.

Eklundh

Groth

Hedman

et al.

The World Wide Web as a social infrastructure for knowledge-oriented work. In: Oostendorp

(ed). Cognition in a digital world, Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003, pp. 97–126.

38.

Vella

Oades

Crowe

. The application of coach leadership models to coaching practice: current state and future directions. Int J Sports Sci Coach 2010; 5: 425–434.

39.

Abraham

Collins

Martindale

. The coaching schematic: validation through expert coach consensus. J Sports Sci 2006; 24: 549–564.

40.

Cayanus

Martin

. Teacher self-disclosure: amount, relevance, and negativity. Commun Q 2008; 56: 325–341.

41.

Huang

Diefes-Dux

et al.

A preliminary validation of attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction model-based instructional material motivational survey in a computer-based tutorial setting. Br J Educ Technol 2006; 37: 243–259.

42.

Houston J. Future skill demands from a corporate consultant perspective: presentation at the workshop on research evidence related to future skill demands. National Research Council, http://www7.nationalacademies.org/cfe/Future (2007, accessed 1 July 2017).

43.

National Research Council. Education for life and work: developing transferable knowledge and skills in the 21st century, Washington, DC: National Academics Press, 2013.

44.

Cropley

Miles

Peel

. Reflective practice: value, issues, and developments within sports coaching, Leeds: Sports Coach UK, 2012.