Evolving Coach Identities Within a Community of Practice: Learning About Ourselves

• In Event: 47.085 - Novel Approaches to Sport and Education Research

Abstract

This collaborative self-study examined how two coaches learned about their own coaching practices during the course of a university-level Gaelic football season. Situated within a Community of Practice framework, the purpose of the research was to explore how their learning to coach developed as the season progressed. This involved gaining a deeper awareness of their evolving coach identities within this particular coaching context. The findings highlight how the collaborative nature of their coaching interactions helped them to gain a better understanding of their coaching decisions, and underline the importance of reflective practice in sports coaching contexts. It may provide useful insights for other coaches, and assist coach educators in the design of innovative coach education experiences.

Authors

• Richard Bowles, Mary Immaculate College

• Anne O Dwyer, Mary Immaculate College