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Coaching Insights

Coaching statistics and analysis 2015/16

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Key facts 2015/16

• There are about 1.3 million sports coaches in the UK, providing coaching to around seven million participants • In the last 10 years the percentage of participants who think that coaching improves their enjoyment of sport has

increased from 53% to 81%. • Coaching can contribute to new participants playing sport. 31% of people who do not play sport said a coach would

encourage them to start. • One coach will on average impact on 17 participants in a session. Therefore if a project worked with 100 coaches we would

expect the impact of that project to be made on 1,700 participants. • The proportion of coaches who are qualified has risen steadily over the past 10 years, and is now around 70% • 44% of sport participants are female but current evidence suggests that only around 30% of coaches are female. The

percentage of coaches receiving a qualification each year who are female is only 17%. • Around 15% of sport participants are from BME backgrounds. While 16% of all volunteer coaches are from BME

backgrounds if you only consider those working within the coaching system this number drops to around 8%. However qualifications data suggests that only 5% to 9% of qualified coaches are BME.

• 11% of sport participants are disabled while our research suggests that 6% of coaches are disabled. However only 2% of those coaches who have gained a qualification since 2009 are disabled

• 80% of coaches contribute at least some of their time as volunteers. • On average volunteers coach four hours per week, part-time coaches five hours and full-time coaches 30 hours. • Full-time coaches account for 10% of all coaches but are responsible for 45% of all hours coached in a week.

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UK Coaches

72%

28%

Coach Gender

Male Female

94%

6%

Disabled

No Yes

96%

4%

Ethnicity

White Non-white

Coaching is a predominantly male, white and non-disabled activity. This is a trend that has remained the same for the last ten years that it has been measured.

A more positive way of looking at this data is to consider the untapped potential of those currently not coaching. For example we estimate that increasing the proportion of female coaches to 40% would release an extra 300,000 much needed coaches into sport. 30% of clubs currently report having problems recruiting coaches.

Within community based settings the proportion of BME coaches is similar to figures for participation. It appears more formal and qualification based coaching systems are less appealing to this group.

Sourcessports coach UK (2015) Coaching Panel

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The role of volunteers in coaching

less than 1

1 to 2 2 to 3 3 to 4 4 to 5 5 to 6 6 to 7 7 to 8 8 to 9 9 to 10 10+0

5

10

15

20

25

6

20

17 16

12

10

2

5

10

11

59% of volunteers coach four hours or less per week

Taking up the strain!11% of volunteers are coaching more than 10 hours per week.

Hours per week coached by volunteers (%)

80% of coaches will volunteer their time to coach and volunteers account for almost half of all coaching that happens every week (48%). However full-time coaches who only account for 10% of all coaches still contribute 45% of total hours coached.

Sourcessports coach UK (2015) Coaching Panel

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Coaching Age

under 24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Aged started coaching Current Age

There is a surge of interest in becoming a coach among people under 24 but this drops away dramatically at 25 before rebounding in the mid 30’s. We believe this drop out is caused by young people having less time due to major life changes such as marriage or children. The rebound is the mid-30s is mainly caused by parents coming into coaching to help their children and participants retiring from sport and moving into coaching to stay involved. If you do not have this rebound

with the mid-30s we have found it increases the number of older coaches who are forced to stay on rather than retire.

Almost three quarters of coaches are aged over 35 with the most common age group being 45-54.

The proportion of under 25’s entering coaching has dropped from 50% in 2008 to 40% in 2015

Sourcessports coach UK (2015) Coaching Panel

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The benefits of coaching

Eight out of ten adults who receive coaching believe it improves their enjoyment of sport. In the last 10 years the percentage of participants who think that coaching improves their enjoyment of sport has increased from 53% to 81%.

Adults who are coached are less likely to stop playing sport than those who are not coached. Young people who are coached display a stronger connection to sport - they are more likely to make up the time

they miss playing by doing other sporting activities, and even more likely to do whatever they can to avoid missing playing.

Women are more likely to believe that the benefits of coaching are improving fitness and enhancing fun. For example, 77% of female participants believe that coaching improves their fitness.

By contrast, male participants are far more likely to suggest that coaching benefits their sporting performance (54% compared to 28% of women) or develops their sporting skills (51% compared to 25% of women).

Sourcessports coach UK (2015) Impact of coaching on participants sports coach UK (2011) Sports Coaching in the UK 3

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The value of a coach

Research with 2,000 members of the general public found that coaches were regarded as:

Competent Honest Friendly yet tough Respected Good communicators Passionate Of those who play sport:• One in four (26%) people who play sport but are not currently coached say they

would like to receive coaching • Over a third (38%) say a coach would encourage them to play sport more often • Within the non-coached group, the potential for a coach to increase participation

is strongest amongst women – 43% said a coach would encourage them to play more often, compared with 32% of men

Of those who do not play sport

• One in five (19%) say they would like to receive coaching • And almost a third (31%) say a coach would encourage them to play sport more

often, in other words encourage them to start playing sport

SourcesKnow Research (2015) Perceptions of coaches and coaching

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Recruiting coaches

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35% 31%

6% 6%

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65-74

75+

19%

9%

14%

7%

3%

4%

5%

How interested are you in coaching in the future?

Sourcessports coach UK (2015) Perceptions Research

The most popular reasons for people to start coaching are ex-participants wanting to give something back to the sport/club (52%) and young people wanting to start a career in coaching. The percentage of people starting coaching as a career option has increased from 5% in 2008 to 20% in 2015.

Past sporting experience and age are key indicators of likelihood to coach in the future.

People who are coached are significantly more likely to be interested in coaching in the future

18-24 and 35-44 are key ages for recruiting coaches

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Developing coaches (qualifications)

Each year around 55,000 coaches gain a new qualification.

In the last five years the number of level 1 qualifications has decreased by 9% while the number of level 2 qualifications has increased by 23%

23%

9%

Level 1 Level 2 The increase in level 2 qualifications is a key indicator as it represents a move towards greater engagement as a coach.

Level 2 coaches on average do

• TWICE as much coaching as level 1 coaches

• TWICE as much personal development as level 1 coaches

Sources1st4sport qualifications data (2010-2015)

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Developing coaches (CPD)

84% of coaches have undertaken some form of continuing personal development it the last 12 months. While informal methods tend to be the most popular, formal learning through qualifications is consistently rated the most useful. It is likely that qualifications provide the raw material that coaches mould to their own coaching through practice, discussion and reflection.

The 6 most popular sources of coach learning*

1. Talking to other coaches (82%)

2. Observing/working with other coaches (78%)

3. Reflecting on coaching sessions (70%)

4. Searching/using the Internet (69%)

5. Watching videos on the Internet (66%)

6. Feedback from athletes or players (60%)

The 6 most useful sources of coach learning**

1. Coaching qualifications (78%)

2. Observing/working with other coaches (66%)

3. FE/HE Qualifications (64%)

4. Talking to other coaches (61%)

5. Mentoring (59%)6. Reflecting on coaching

sessions (58%)

* Measured by % of coaches using them** Measured by rating of impact on coaching

The 6 most interesting topics for coach learning*

1. Technical knowledge (80%)2. Planning sessions (77%)3. Listening (72%)

4. Providing feedback (71%)5. Providing instruction (66%)6. Motivating athletes (61%)

Sourcessports coach UK (2015) Coaching Panel

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Technology

The key growth areas for technology in coaching have been the internet, watching videos and using wireless technology such as smartphones and tablets.

However growth in usage is tempered by diverging opinions among coaches over the impact of technology on their development. Compared to observing other coaches or qualifications where a strong impact is obvious, coaches using technology appear to be having different experiences.

It is likely that technology fills a gap in coach development rather than providing a strong foundation from which coaches can develop. We believe this is why coaches are more likely to rate the impact as short term or a little.

Watching videos on the Internet (YouTube etc)

Searching/using the Internet

Online learning courses

Social Media (Twitter, Facebook linkedin)

Coaching qualifications

Observing/working with other coaches

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

27%

29%

30%

33%

9%

12%

40%

39%

40%

39%

12%

22%

32%

31%

26%

24%

78%

66%

Not at all A little

It made a short term impact It made a significant impact Sourcessports coach UK (2015) Coaching Panel

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Support for coaches

Two important trends to be aware of:

• The higher the qualification held by the coach the less likely they are to feel supported.

• Coaches who feel ‘supported a little’ are twice as likely to be thinking about quitting coaching than those who feel supported.

Overall 83% of coaches feel supported by their governing body or other agencies such as sports coach UK and Home Country Sports Councils.

This is a slight increase on the previous year when the figure was 79%.

The most common response from coaches was that they felt supported a little (40%)

More coaches feel not supported than very well supported.

10%36%

14%

40%

Sourcessports coach UK (2015) Coaching Panel

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Where to find out more

The main sources used in this report were

• The Coaching Panel (2015) read it here

• The Impact of coaching on participants (2015) read it here

• Perceptions of coaches and coaching (2014) read it here

You can find all the latest coaching research at our website http://www.sportscoachuk.org/people-who-develop-coaches/resource-bank/research

Or follow us on Twitter @researchub