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My first ever 'Robin Hood'

Grahame Cotterill Post 1

• 4 November 2015, 5:42 PM

Tacit Knowledge

Christine,

I have just read the paper you wrote with Dave Collins and it has set me off on a tangent. On page 470 the suggestion that coaches are better able to interact with athletes if they were performers themselves. I have no concrete evidence other than Archery GB's attempt to fast track the 2012 squad into coaching. Not all made it to the highest levels. I have a gut feeling that some top athletes make top coaches but not all, otherwise why are we not awash with excellent coaches who have "retired" from competition in their sport .Also on a political note it is interesting that the government seems to think it will get expert teachers who have higher degrees but have not undergone formal teacher training. Again my experience tells me these are few and it flies against your description of expert on page 472.

You can tell me off if you think I am being provocative but I wonder what the others think?

Christine Nash

Christine Nash Post 2 in reply to 1

• 4 November 2015, 9:09 PM

It's good to see you are reading more extensively than the recommended list Grahame. We are actually referring to this article in the next course so you are ahead of the game. I had to check what I had written on P470 because I couldn't remember.

The suggestion is that coaches who have previously been performers may be better able to interact with athletes in that sport however it does not suggest that these ex-athletes will all become coaches or that they should be fast tracked. I actually have not seen any evidence that the concept of fast tracking works - it really depends upon a number of factors.  I tend to consider that ex-players may or may not make good coaches - to me it would be similar to suggesting that someone who has been a patient in hospital would make an excellent surgeon!

I'm not sure what definition of expert you are referring to on P472 but I do like the characteristics of expertise on P465 and I have used them in a subsequent (2012) paper looking at definitions of coaching expertise. I do think we tend to use the word expert too easily - I think there is a big difference between very good, highly skilled and other descriptive phrases but not all of these are experts in my opinion. Still a lot of work to be done in this area.....anyone want to help?