Strength in Your Team: A Guide to Coaches’ Social Support Networks

In the same way as staying connected to other people is important for our well-being and development, so it is vital coaches cultivate a professional social support network they can rely on, as those connections will help you to grow your coaching skills and overcome any challenges you face on your coaching journey.

Here are the key sources of support for coaches:

Family & friends

Fourteen million adults have coached sport or physical activity, at some point in their lifetime. This represents over a quarter of the adult population, 27% (Coaching in the UK, Coaching Survey, 2017).

Coaches from other sports (Communities of Practice)

CoPs are a great way to learn. A social form of learning, they bring people together on an ongoing basis with a common purpose or passion to learn from each other.

The online world has oceans of resources to support you on your coaching journey. Online courses are available from Universities, there are a huge range of podcasts aimed at a range of coaching levels and there are many TV programmes and documentaries focused on coaching and coaches.

Some thoughts from the world of research…

Importantly, the connectivist model emphasises the idea that knowledge is stored and manipulated within the networks through which individuals engage (Siemens, 2004). For example, a coach may seek feedback from online sources or a trusted peer, a move which within their network may privilege certain perspectives over others.

Knowledge is thus viewed as a process, fluid and dynamic, flowing through networks of humans, artefacts, spaces and cultures (Goldie, 2016). To this end, knowledge resides within networks – networks within which we negotiate engagement that shapes the use, purpose and breadth of the learning experiences therein.