The Three Elements of Coaching
Effectiveness
Jean Côté, Ph.D
Professor and Director
School of Kinesiology and Health Studies
Queen’s University at Kingston
Ontario, Canada
(jc46@queensu.ca)
An Integrative Definition of Coaching Effectiveness
and Expertise
Jean Côté and Wade Gilbert
International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching
Volume 4 · Number 3 · 2009
1. What is Coaching?
What is Coaching?
Conceptual Approaches to Coaching
 Chelladurai (1978, 1990, 2007)
 Smoll & Smith (1989)
 Côté, Trudel, Salmela, Baria, & Russell (1995, 1998)
 Lyle (2002)
 Mageau & Vallerand (2003)
 Gilbert & Trudel (2004)
 Jowett (2005)
 Horn (2008)
The Coaching Model
Goal: Developing Athletes
Coach's Personal
Characteristics and
development
Coach's Mental Model
of athlete(s)’ Potential
Competition
Athletes' Personal
Characteristics &
Level of Development
Training
Organization
Organization
Contextual
Factors
(Côté et al. 1995; 1998)
What is Coaching?
1. Athletes’ outcomes
2. Coach’s knowledge
3. Coaching contexts
A definition of coaching effectiveness or expertise
should include these three components as its
foundation.
Component 1:
Athletes’ Outcomes
Coaching Effectiveness
(Horn, 2008)
Effective coaching …results in either successful
performance outcomes (measured either in terms of
win-loss percentages, individual player development,
or success at the national or international level) or
positive psychological responses on the part of the
athletes (e.g. high perceived ability, high self-esteem,
intrinsic motivational orientation, or high level of
sport enjoyment and satisfaction) (p. 240).
Coaching Effectiveness and Athletes’ Outcomes
1. Skill development (Martindale, Collins, & Daubney, 2005)
2. Self efficacy and confidence (Bandura, 1986; Vealey & Chase,
2008)
3. Achievement goal (Nicholls, 1984; Roberts, Treasure, & Conroy,
2007)
4. Self determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Vallerand, 2007)
5. Competence motivation (Harter, 1981; Weiss & Amorose, 2008)
6. Character and moral development (Shields & Bredemeier, 1995)
7. Positive youth development (Hellison, 1995)
Coaching Effectiveness and Athletes’ Outcomes
(Côté, Bruner, Erickson, Strachan, & Fraser-Thomas, in press; Jelicic,
Bobek, Phelps, Lerner, & Lerner, 2008; Lerner, 2004)
To Develop Athletes’:
1. Competence:
Positive view of one’s action in sport. Learning sport
specific skills, competing, and performing.
2. Confidence:
 An internal sense of positive self-worth in sport.
3. Connection:
 Positive bonds with people and institutions in sport.
4. Character/Caring:
 Respect for societal rules, integrity, empathy for others.

Component 1: Outcomes
Research on athletes supports the use of competence,
confidence, connection, and character as important
outcomes for coaches to develop in their athletes.
Component 2:
Coaches’ Knowledge
Major Reviews of Coaching Education,
Effectiveness, and Expertise
 Abraham & Collins (1998)
 Potrac, Brewer, Jones, Armour, & Hoff (2000)
 Lyle (2002)
 Cushion, Armour, & Jones (2003)
 Cassidy, Potrac, & Jones (2004)
 Nash & Collins (2006)
 Trudel & Gilbert (2006)
 Schempp, McCullick, & Mason (2006)
 Bloom (2007)
 Horn (2008)
Component 2: Knowledge
1. Professional (sport specific) knowledge: includes
technical, tactical, mental, pedagogical, training,
nutrition, etc.
2. Interpersonal knowledge: individual and group
interactions with children, adolescents, and adults
(e.g. coach-athletes relationships).
3. Intrapersonal knowledge: on-going learning and
reflection .
Collinson, 1996
Component 3:
Coaching Contexts
Coaching Contexts
“The lack of a common typology of coaching
contexts hinders the organisation of coaching
research into a meaningful framework that can be
used to inform coach education program design (p.
535; Trudel & Gilbert, 2006)”
Coaching Typology According to Athletes’
Competitive Context
 Trudel & Gilbert (2006)
 Recreational sport coaching
 Developmental sport coaching
 Elite sport coaching
 Lyle (2002)
 Representative team/group coach
 Performance coach
 Participation coach
 Sport teacher
Coaching Typology According to Athletes’
Development
 Although it is important to consider athletes’ level
of competition, it is also important to integrate
athletes’ development research and athletes’
development models to guide coaching practice and
the delimitation of different coaching contexts (Côté,
Young, North, & Duffy, 2007).
Athletes’ Developmental Models to
Conceptualize Different Coaching Contexts
Athletes’ development
models bring order and
organization into the
developmental changes
that occur in sport.
(Bruner, Erickson, McFadden & Côté, 2009)
Athletes’ Developmental Models:
Citation Network Analysis
1. Stambulova (1994)
2. Côté (1999)
3. Durand-Bush & Salmela (2002)
4. Abbott & Collins (2004)
5. Wylleman, Alfermann, & Lavallee (2004)
6. Bailey & Morley (2006)
7. Morgan & Giacobbi (2006)
(Bruner, Erickson, Wilson, & Côté, 2009)
The Developmental Model of Sport Participation
(Côté , 1999; Côté, Baker, & Abernethy, 2007; Côté, Fraser-Thomas, 2007)
17
Recreational Years
16
15
14
13
•High amount of
deliberate play
•Low amount of
deliberate practice
Investment Years
High amount of deliberate practice
Low amount of deliberate play
Focus on one sport
Specializing Years
•Deliberate play and practice balanced
•Reduce Involvement in several sports
12
11
Sampling Years
10
9
8
• High amount of deliberate play
• Low amount of deliberate practice
• Involvement in several sports
7
6
Entry into sport
Research on Athletes’ Development
Recreational Years
• Importance of physical
17 appearance and social
16 acceptance (Harter, 1999).
• Relationship with peers is
15 important for identity
formation (McLellan &
14
Pugh, 1999).
13 • Personal growth through
sport (Hellison, 1995).
Investment Years
•High amount of deliberate practice and
physical effort (Côté et al., 2007).
•High level of personal and social resources
(Salmela, 1996).
Specializing Years
• Increase focus on performance outcomes
(Gould, Feltz, & Weiss, 1985).
• Sportmanship (Shields & Bredemeier, 1995).
12
11
Sampling Years
10 • Evaluation of competence as “good” or “bad” (Harter, 1999).
9
8
7
6
• Ability is not predictive of future success (Régnier, Salmela, & Russell, 1993).
• Mastery experiences with immediate and tangible outcomes (Chase, 1998;
Duda, 1993; Harwood, Spray, & Keegan, 2008).
• Adult role models for connection and character/caring development (Shields
& Bredemeier, 1995).
Entry into sport
Component 3: Contexts
 According to Competitive Context (Lyle, 2002; Trudel &
Gilbert, 2006)
 Recreational /Participation
 Performance
 According to Athletes’ Development (Côté, Young,
North, & Duffy, 2007)
 Sampling years (children ages 6-12)
 Recreational years (adolescents/adults ages 13 +)
 Specializing years (young adolescents ages 13-15)
 Investment years (late adolescents/adults ages 16 +)
Participation coach for
teens and adults
17
16
15
14
Recreational Years
Investment Years
High amount of
deliberate play
High amount of deliberate practice
Low amount of deliberate play
Focus on one sport
Low amount of
deliberate practice
Specializing Years
Deliberate play and practice balanced
Reduce Involvement in several sports
13
12
11
Sampling Years
10
High amount of deliberate play
Low amount of deliberate practice
Involvement in several sports
9
8
7
Entry into sport
6
Performance
coach for older
adolescents and
adults
Performance
coach for young
adolescents
Participation
coach
for children
Coaching Expertise: Definition
1. Research on athletes supports the use of competence,
confidence, connection, and character as important
outcomes for coaches to develop in their athletes.
2. Coaching research provides categories of coaches’
knowledge that include professional, interpersonal, and
intrapersonal.
3. Athlete development models show that athletes’ outcomes
and coaches’ knowledge are characterized differently at
various stages of an athlete’s development in sport.
Proposed Definition of Coaching Expertise
The consistent application of
integrated professional,
interpersonal, and intrapersonal
knowledge to improve athletes’
competence, confidence,
connection, and character in
specific coaching contexts.
Proposed Definition of Coaching Expertise
3 components to the definition:
1. Outcomes (4 C’s; competence, confidence, connection,
and character)
2. Knowledge domains (professional, interpersonal, and
intrapersonal)
3. Contexts (4 contexts based on athletes’ development)
Testing the Definition
of Coaching Expertise: 3 hypotheses
1. Expert coaches in any context develop their
athletes’ competence, confidence, connection,
and character.
2. Expert coaches in any context have
professional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal
knowledge.
3. The nature of the knowledge or competencies
associated with expert coaches’ knowledge
varies according to different coaching contexts.
2. The How: Developmental Paths of
High Performance Coaches
Coaching Development Studies
 Anderson & Gill (1983)
 Occupational socialization patterns of high school basketball




coaches
Schinke, Bloom, & Salmela (1995)
 Career paths of high-level basketball coaches
Lemyre & Trudel (2004)
 Learning paths of volunteer coaches
Werthner & Trudel (2005)
 Learning processes of elite coaches
Duffy, Larkin, & O’leary (2005)
 Survey of the developmental paths, motives, activities, and needs
of Irish coaches
Structured Interview Procedure
(Côté, Ericsson, & Law, 2005; Gilbert, Côté, & Mallett, 2006)
• To outline the life histories of effective coaches by
focusing on activities that could have contributed to
their development.
• The life histories are traced using a quantitative
interview procedure derived from our work with elite
level athletes (Côté, Ericsson, & Law, 2005; Gilbert,
Côté, & Mallett, 2005)
Structured Interview Procedure
(Côté, Ericsson, & Law, 2005; Gilbert, Côté, & Mallett, 2006)
 Detailed tracing of the life histories of
selected coaches.
 Structured interview procedure assessed
developmental activities that may have facilitated
the development of coaching.
Structured Interview: Content
(Côté, Ericsson, & Law, 2005; Gilbert, Côté, & Mallett, 2006)
Measures of formal and informal coaching education.
2.
Engagement in various sports as an athlete.

Survey of sports engaged in

# of hours per week involved

# of months per year involved

Leadership role

Perceived ability
3.
Engagement in various sports as a coach

Survey of sports coached

# of hours per week involved in various coaching activities

# of months per year involved in various coaching activities

# of mentors
1.
Retrospective Studies
 Gilbert, Côté, & Mallett, 2006
 Erickson, Côté, & Fraser-Thomas, 2007
 Gilbert, Zelezny, & Côté, 2009
 Young, Jemxzyk, Brophy, & Côté, 2009
 Koh, Mallett, & Wang, 2011
Training Content
 Between 9,000-12,000 hours of experience in
sport divided into:
 Athletic experience (3000-4000 hours)
 Coaching experience (3000-4000 hours)
 Informal and formal education (3000-4000 hours)
Performance Coaching
Elements of Coaching Development
Athletic experience
Above average
athlete in
specific sport
Involved in
different sports
as athlete
Coaching experience
Coached
developmental
athletes in
specific sport
Assistant coached
developmental/
elite athletes in
specific sport
Coaching
experience
in other sports
Informal and
formal education
Interacted
with mentors in
specific sport
Coaching
Certification
Formal
education in
sport or PE
sport specific
Formal
leadership
role as athlete
sport general
Performance Coaching
Elements of Coaching Development
Athletic experience
Above average
athlete in
specific sport
Involved in
different sports
as athlete
Coaching experience
Coached
developmental
athletes in
specific sport
Assistant coached
developmental/
elite athletes in
specific sport
Coaching
experience
in other sports
Informal and
formal education
Interacted
with mentors in
specific sport
Coaching
Certification
Formal
education in
sport or PE
sport specific
Formal
leadership
role as athlete
sport general
Performance Coaching
Elements of Coaching Development
Athletic experience
Above average
athlete in
specific sport
Involved in
different sports
as athlete
Coaching experience
Coached
developmental
athletes in
specific sport
Assistant coached
developmental/
elite athletes in
specific sport
Coaching
experience
in other sports
Informal and
formal education
Interacted
with mentors in
specific sport
Coaching
Certification
Formal
education in
sport or PE
sport specific
Formal
leadership
role as athlete
sport general
Coaching Pathways as “Threshold” of
Experiences
 Coaching competence occurs when a threshold of coaching
experiences is obtained.
 Coaching experiences are additives and contribute to the
activation of the threshold.
 Coaching competence threshold could be activated from
experiences as athletes, coaching, or informal and formal
education.
 Certain coaching development experiences will carry more
weight than others in activating the competence threshold.
When in the Career of a Performance
Coach are Developmental Experiences
Happening?
Stages of Performance Coach
Development
Developmental Milestones
Initial organized sport participation
Mean Age
6.7
Initial competitive sport participation
13.1
Initial formal leadership opportunity (team sport coaches)
13.8
Initial elite sport participation
18.8
Initial coaching experience
20.8
End of elite sport participation
24.5
Initial interaction with mentor coach
25.9
Initial high performance head coaching position
28.8
.
Stages of Performance Coach Development
Diversified Early Sport Participation
(Age 6-12)
Competitive Sport Participation
(Age 13-18)
Highly Competitive Sport Participation/
Introduction to Coaching (Age 19-23)
Part-time Early coaching
(Age 24-28)
High Performance Head Coaching
(Age 29+)
Discussion
 Can we agree on the elements of a definition of
coaching effectiveness?
 The “what” and “when” of training performance
coach.
 What about the development of participation
coaches?