{"id":1452,"date":"2017-09-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-assessing-coaching-quality\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:44","slug":"leaders-virtual-roundtables-assessing-coaching-quality","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-assessing-coaching-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaders Virtual Roundtables: Assessing Coaching Quality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Sep 19, 2017 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Leaders Virtual Roundtables: Assessing Coaching Quality<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Coaching & Development<\/a> <\/div>\n
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Is it really about wins and losses?<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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On 23 August 2017 Michael Poulton, the Competition & Stakeholder Manager at the Australian Football League (AFL) hosted our latest Leaders Virtual Roundtable. Poulton was keen to explore how coaches and coaching quality is assessed in sports across the globe with the invite-only gathering of Leaders Performance Institute members from the worlds of Olympic sport, European Soccer and international tennis. The assorted directors and heads of performance reflected on their own sports in answering how coaches are currently assessed as well as the processes and methodologies behind this. Were owners a decisive factor? And is data useful for painting a picture of a coach\u2019s success? Here is the executive summary.<\/h4>\n
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The Participants<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chris Bullen<\/strong>, Manager, High Performance Coaching, High Performance Sport New Zealand<\/p>\n

Richard Buchanan<\/strong>, Performance Director Swansea City AFC<\/p>\n

Damien Comolli<\/strong>, Sporting Director<\/p>\n

Neil Cottrill<\/strong>, Head of Coaching, PGMOL Professional Game Match Officials ltd<\/p>\n

Fabian Erny<\/strong>, Chief Executive Office, justfootball academy (jfb-academy)<\/p>\n

Simon Jones<\/strong>, Head of Performance Support, Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)<\/p>\n

Michael Poulton<\/strong>, Competition & Stakeholder Manager, AFL [Moderator]<\/p>\n

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  1. Agenda<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Poulton kicked off proceedings by revealing that three to four head coaches are lose their jobs per year in the 18-team AFL. Those dismissed tend to not find themselves future positions within the league. This turnover is inevitably linked to the results enjoyed and endured out on the oval but what does coaching quality look like beyond wins and losses? He then opened the topic to the roundtable to discuss what appears to be a universal lack of formal tools and structured systems in place to help assess coaches and so organisations are often guilty of going off on their own tangent. How can teams make deeper, more meaningful assessments that not only better reflects where a coach finds themselves but convince owners too?<\/p>\n

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    1. Current practices<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Fabian Erny at the Switzerland-based jfb-academy explained that the organisation\u2019s soccer coaches are encouraged to evaluate their own performance. This will be done through self-reflective work and a mentor, who will be assigned to each coach. New coaches will all work with more experienced coaches.<\/p>\n

      At the elite level in European soccer, Damien Comolli expressed concern about the lack of objective measures that carry weight with the boardrooms, the media and the fans. He lamented the idea that owners will, after a run of poor results, will dismiss a coach on the premise that they have \u2018got to do something\u2019. Subjectivity tends to prevail, with owners asking if the coach is being backed by the players. Objective measures, such as the hallmarks of a particular style of play, can be introduced but too often there is a discrepancy between capricious results and the information contained in the data. The situation can be blamed on owners with itchy trigger fingers but Comolli posits the idea that improved data collection would provide a more practical solution.<\/p>\n

      Simon Jones at the LTA explains that the personal relationship is a major component of coach-athlete relationship in tennis, where they might spend all day every day together; it can have implications for personal chemistry as well as efficiency. He has also worked with coaches in the English Premier League and suggests that it is as much a recruitment issue and an assessment issue for sport, which has long held onto the notion of chasing the coach with a proven track record. It\u2019s an understandable stance but it has created a situation where a limited number of coaches have had the opportunity to work with skilled players; the coaching skills of another coach may not be as developed because they have not enjoyed the same opportunities and it will be more difficult to persuade the key decision-makers to give them a chance. He also touches upon the problem with extant data, which is that it may not show in results for a while \u2013 and by then it may be too late.<\/p>\n

      Neil Cottrill at the PGMOL highlighted the lack of formal qualifications needed by coaches who work to bring through the next generation of match officials in English soccer. There is an assumption that because someone was a good referee or practitioner that they can work to pass on their experience to their officials. The approach from the PGMOL is that each coach is supported on a personal level with their development as a coach, to build the skills required to work with high performing match officials.<\/p>\n

      Chris Bullen of High Performance Sport New Zealand, which works with 14 sports and 80-90 coaches, also has a team of seven dedicated to coaching capability and creating the right environment for coaches to advance. He explained that the organisation tries to triangulate feedback with young athletes, their parents, and staff. This has had the effect of surprising Bullen and his colleagues, challenging their assumptions, because the impact of learning has not been something they have been able to predict. A triangulation of feedback provides a cross section and is a powerful tool in finding out what you cannot see.<\/p>\n

      This method of triangulation of feedback has gained traction at Swansea because it enables all stakeholders to stay ahead of the curve. Used effectively, it can head off situations where the coach is \u2018losing the dressing room\u2019 because that awareness will already be there if your operational strategies are in place and robust<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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      1. Creating learning environments for coaches<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Jones is increasingly looking towards the teaching profession, where there are objective frameworks of observation and teaching effectiveness. He also works as a mentor for soccer coaches where the sport itself takes a backseat and he works on helping the coach to get to know their players within a holistic, appealing, training environment. He also touches upon the importance of communication skills across all sports and refers to the CAR [Competency Autonomy Relatedness] self-determination theory as a useful framework for assessing a coach\u2019s ability to teach technical competency, encourage autonomy in athlete learning, and a coach\u2019s ability to relate to their young charges.<\/p>\n

        While Richard Buchanan at Swansea City discussed the English Premier League club\u2019s attempts to add another layer of analysis where managers can be profiled in terms of the game plans they can implement. What approach this takes will depend upon the individual coach and their remit in the first place.<\/p>\n

        Cottrill says the PGMOL is trying to build a coach profile where they define elements of coaching around self-awareness, time management, management skills, questioning skills, emotional intelligence, football intelligence, innovation \u2013 all elements that encourage coaches to reflect on their practice, while giving Cottrill and his colleagues an idea of their development set against a list of understood metrics, a \u2018framework approach\u2019 as he calls it, which can be applicable to different contexts.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Creating learning environments for young athletes<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          When it comes to youth soccer in Europe, Erny suggests that ex-professionals often desire to get straight back in the spotlight and, as a consequence, the kids suffer, all because of their need to demonstrate their competence. This is to be avoided as the jfb-academy looks to assess the individual development of its young athletes across four areas: happiness (they count smiles), success moments (how many times they score), technical elements (how many touches) and organisation (how much time is the athlete playing or training). However, within a 90-minute session, coaches might be talking ten minutes per session, while another talks for 25 minutes per session. When accumulated across a year it is an immense discrepancy, one that they are trying to work on.<\/p>\n

          Taking up the topic, Comolli argues that it is wrong to measure youth coaches on results and that each should be given three years to implement their ideas within the framework of a club\u2019s playing philosophy and culture; they need to be aligned but they also need time. He also accepts that it can be hard to measure how effective a coach has been at creating a learning environment.<\/p>\n

          In response, Poulton suggests that player retention is a major test of youth coach success and explains the importance of players having the opportunity to escape from the bubble of their clubs and the sport.<\/p>\n

          \n

          Previous Leaders Virtual Roundtables:<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Travel Nutrition and Hydration Strategies<\/a><\/p>\n

          To Be a Successful Coach Do you Need to Have Played the Game?<\/a><\/p>\n

          Meeting the Challenge of Integrating Data for the Betterment of a Sports Organisation<\/a><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n

          \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          The latest Leaders virtual roundtable held exclusively for Performance Institute members.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1453,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[22],"pathway":[],"topic":[],"sport":[],"class_list":["post-1452","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coaching-development-performance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLeaders Virtual Roundtables: Assessing Coaching Quality - Performance Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-assessing-coaching-quality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leaders Virtual Roundtables: Assessing Coaching Quality - Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The latest Leaders virtual roundtable held exclusively for Performance Institute members.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-assessing-coaching-quality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-15T05:12:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Insights-Mick-Poulton-Roundtable-Featured-Image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"375\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-assessing-coaching-quality\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-assessing-coaching-quality\/\",\"name\":\"Leaders Virtual Roundtables: Assessing Coaching Quality - 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