Exploring formalized elite coach mentoring programmes in the UK: ‘We’ve had to play the game’
Formalized mentoring programmes have been implemented increasingly by UK sporting institutions as a central coach development tool, yet claims supporting formal mentoring as an effective learning strategy are often speculative, scarce, ill-defined and accepted without verification. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore some of the realities of formalized elite sports coaching mentoring programmes. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 15 mentors of elite coaches on formal programmes, across a range of sports. The findings were read through a Bourdieusian lens and revealed the importance of understanding the complexities of elite sports coaching environments, that elite sports coach development is highly specific and, therefore, should not be over-formalized, and how current elite sport coach mentoring programmes may be better conceptualized as a form of social control rather than being driven by pedagogical concerns. Following this empirically based analysis of practice, a number of implications for Governing Bodies, mentors and mentees were considered.
Item Type | Article |
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Additional information | This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Sport, Education and Society on October 2016, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13573322.2016.1248386. |
Keywords | coach education, elite coach development, formal coach learning, mentoring, micro-politics, sports coaching, orthopedics and sports medicine, physical therapy, sports therapy and rehabilitation, education |
Date Deposited | 15 May 2025 13:22 |
Last Modified | 04 Jun 2025 17:05 |