Coach Development with Andy Kirkland PhD | KoopCast Episode 177
Episode overview:
Andy Kirkland started out as a sports scientist at the Scottish Institute of Sport and now is a Lecturer in Sports Coaching at the University of Stirling.
Episode highlights:
(36:30) The limiting factor of coaching is time: time spent communicating with athletes, time is monetized so this is a challenging factor, allocate time to get to know your athletes
(48:44) Model your coaching process: what do you do as a coach, programming, sports science support, media, admin, see if you have gaps in your process that you can modify to improve retention, AI, coffee shop example
(1:10:03) Multi-sport coaching: curling example, adventure racing example, different perceptions of performance across different sporting cultures, rugby example, see outside your cultural bubble
Our conversation:
(0:00) Introduction: calling in from the Adventure Van, Andy’s role in sports coaching, arguments for professional critique
(2:52) Changes in the coaching space: Golf banter, different waves in which coaching has evolved
(4:37) Background of the study: lack of research on coaching and coach education, creating foundational tools with which to research coaching as a profession
(7:25) Survey scope: 10,000 participants, mostly non-coached athletes, around 800 coaches, value of studying non-coached athletes, recruiting participants
(9:28) Goals of the study: how coaches learn, how athletes perceive training, mismatch between coach education and coaching practice, various coach backgrounds
(11:13) Coach education versus coaching practice: the challenge of developing a universal coach education program, importance of coach backgrounds, physiology example,
(14:07) Psychology of the coach-athlete relationship: poor athlete feedback is normal, coaches need to be able to develop good coaching interfaces and functional feedback loops
(15:27) Flexibility and nuance in coaching: life experiences matter, problems with cookie-cutter education programs, coaches must be trained to be flexible and deal with unpredictability, working with experts outside of coaching
(18:48) Kirkland’s Three Laws of Coaching: shit happens, life is not fair, the goalposts change, coaches who think training is going perfectly are missing something
(19:35) Coaching bias: coaches view athlete progress through their own personal worldview, how technology changes biophysical bias, power meter example, biophysical bias and coach background
(21:55) Andy’s personal journey as a coach: Dunning-Kruger Effect, the Magic T-shirt example, the illusion of expertise
(24:45) Physiology is not coaching: there is some overlap but they are different disciplines, examples, implementation of evidence-based medicine is not very effective, humans are neither rational nor logical, institutional barriers prevent good practice
(27:49) Coaching is behavior change: inducing positive behavior change to improve performance requires knowledge of the whole athlete, not just mitochondrial mechanisms
(28:47) Retention and compliance: two theoretical measures of coaching, developing a quality assurance program based on retention rather than performance, behavioral change is required for performance change
(31:01) Andy on retention: good social relationships and good athlete experiences support retention, unhealthy power dynamics harm athletes, the power of informed choice
(33:36) Understanding athlete needs: exercise addiction example, understand where athlete behaviors come from, listening to the athlete voice, peer pressure example
(36:30) The limiting factor of coaching is time: time spent communicating with athletes, time is monetized so this is a challenging factor, allocate time to get to know your athletes
(38:36) The more people you work with, the better you are at useful stereotyping and tailoring practice to individuals, examples
(41:08) Athlete load and business models: you need a certain athlete load to be good at your job, cookie-cutter training plans, coaching business models are different for untrained, amateur, and elite athletes, example
(45:42) Where coaches spend their time: not enough time communicating with athletes, coaching is a cottage industry, coaches have different models based on preference and time,
(48:44) Model your coaching process: what do you do as a coach, programming, sports science support, media, admin, see if you have gaps in your process that you can modify to improve retention, AI, coffee shop example
(52:12) Artificial Intelligence: AI will remove the lower portion of the coaching market with higher athlete loads and less communication, coaches with better interpersonal skills will retain their business model
(55:01) Expectations of coaching: athletes are taught by the market that endurance coaching is all programming, this expectation is not accurate, train with your physical and social environment
(58:31) Hype cycles: different coaches come in with different levels of education, popular trends proliferate based on elite athlete training and novelties
(1:00:23) How to learn as a coach or self-coached athlete: work your weaknesses, no umbrella model, develop your bullshit filter, interrogate your own practices, authorities can be wrong, revisiting the magic T-shirt, check if you are improving
(1:05:15) Ultra-trail Snowdonia example: are you prepared for the complex demands of your event, capacity versus demands
(1:08:24) Asking questions: examples, Koop’s learning process, questioning your actions
(1:10:03) Multi-sport coaching: curling example, adventure racing example, different perceptions of performance across different sporting cultures, rugby example, see outside your cultural bubble
(1:14:35) Wrap-up: where to find Andy, Andy’s upcoming coach roundtable on the profession of coaching
(1:17:30) Outro: giving thanks, read Andy’s paper, share the KoopCast
Additional resources:
An exploration of context and learning in endurance sports coaching
Buy Training Essentials for Ultrarunning on Amazon or Audible
Information on coaching-
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