©Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2010) 9, 62-70 http://www.jssm.org Received: 16 November 2009 / Accepted: 31 December 2009 / Published (online): 01 March 2010 Coaches’ perceptions of competence and acknowledgement of training needs related to professional competences Sofia Santos 1, Isabel Mesquita 1 , Amândio Graça 1 and António Rosado 2 1 Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, University of Porto, Sport Faculty, Portugal 2 Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, Portugal Abstract The purpose of the present study was to examine coaches’ per- ceptions of competence and acknowledgement of training needs related to professional competences according to the profes- sional experience and academic education. The participants were 343 coaches from several sports, who answered to a ques- tionnaire that includes a scale focused on perceptions of compe- tence and another scale on acknowledgment of training needs. An exploratory factor analysis with Maximum Likelihood Fac- toring was used with Oblimin rotation for the identification of emergent factors. Comparison on coaches’ perceptions in func- tion of coaching experience and coaches’ academic background were made applying One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc multiple comparisons. Factor analysis on coaches’ perceptions of competence and acknowledgement of training needs made apparent three main areas of competences, i.e. competences related to annual and multi-annual planning; competences re- lated to orientation towards practice and competition; and per- sonal and coaching education competences. Coaches’ percep- tions were influenced by their experience, as low experienced coaches rated themselves at lower levels of competence and with more training needs; also coaches with high education, in Physical Education or others, perceived themselves as more competent than coaches with no higher education. Finally, the majority of the coaches perceived themselves to be competent but, nevertheless, they indicated to have training needs, which brings an important feedback to coach education. This suggests that coaches are interested in increasing their knowledge and competence in a broad range of areas which should be consid- ered in future coach education programs. Key words: Coaching education, perceptions of competence, professional competences, science of coaching, training needs. Introduction The issue of the professional competences necessary to the coaching process has claimed the attention of coach- ing researchers (Abraham et al., 2006; Demers et al., 2006; Jones et al., 2004; Kirschner et al., 1997; Westera, 2001). The earlier research agenda restricted to coaches’ overt performance was criticized for missing the under- pinning mental premises that could explain coaches’ be- haviors. Consequently, the research turned its attention to examining the coaches’ thoughts and knowledge (Jones a ...

1. ©Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2010) 9, 62-70
http://www.jssm.org
Received: 16 November 2009 / Accepted: 31 December 2009 /
Published (online): 01 March 2010
Coaches’ perceptions of competence and acknowledgement of
training needs
related to professional competences
Sofia Santos 1, Isabel Mesquita 1 , Amândio Graça 1 and
António Rosado 2
1 Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in
Sport, University of Porto, Sport Faculty, Portugal
2 Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine coaches’ per -
ceptions of competence and acknowledgement of training needs
related to professional competences according to the profes-
sional experience and academic education. The participants
were 343 coaches from several sports, who answered to a ques -
tionnaire that includes a scale focused on perceptions of compe -
tence and another scale on acknowledgment of training needs.
An exploratory factor analysis with Maximum Likelihood Fac-

2. toring was used with Oblimin rotation for the identification of
emergent factors. Comparison on coaches’ perceptions in func-
tion of coaching experience and coaches’ academic background
were made applying One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc
multiple comparisons. Factor analysis on coaches’ perceptions
of competence and acknowledgement of training needs made
apparent three main areas of competences, i.e. competences
related to annual and multi-annual planning; competences re-
lated to orientation towards practice and competition; and per -
sonal and coaching education competences. Coaches’ percep-
tions were influenced by their experience, as low experienced
coaches rated themselves at lower levels of competence and
with more training needs; also coaches with high education, in
Physical Education or others, perceived themselves as more
competent than coaches with no higher education. Finally, the
majority of the coaches perceived themselves to be competent
but, nevertheless, they indicated to have training needs, which
brings an important feedback to coach education. This suggests
that coaches are interested in increasing their knowledge and
competence in a broad range of areas which should be consid-
ered in future coach education programs.
Key words: Coaching education, perceptions of competence,
professional competences, science of coaching, training needs.
Introduction
The issue of the professional competences necessary to
the coaching process has claimed the attention of coach-
ing researchers (Abraham et al., 2006; Demers et al.,
2006; Jones et al., 2004; Kirschner et al., 1997; Westera,
2001). The earlier research agenda restricted to coaches’
overt performance was criticized for missing the under-

3. pinning mental premises that could explain coaches’ be-
haviors. Consequently, the research turned its attention to
examining the coaches’ thoughts and knowledge (Jones
and Wallace, 2005). Though, in so far as professional
competence reflects the coaches’ capacity to apply their
knowledge and beliefs, while seeking for a more effective
practice, the research on coaching education has been
expanding the interest from what coaches need to know to
what they need to be able to do with what they know
(Cushion et al., 2003; Demers et al., 2006).
Traditionally there is some confusion between
knowledge and competence concepts although they have
different meanings. Despite the diverse interpretations
and forms that knowledge may assume, which compound
the difficulty to define knowledge, traditionally, it does
not comprise the ability to apply it (Kirschner et al., 1997;
Pearson, 1984; Perrenoud, 1999). According to Kirschner
et al. (1997) and Westera (2001) knowledge refers to a
theory, a conceptual framework or a set of principles in a
given domain which is remembered, learnt, or repro-
duced. However, the need to meet the requirements of a
changing society will be fulfilled by considering compe-
tence as the application of knowledge in a specific setting
(Kirschner et al., 1997; Westera, 2001). Therefore, com-
petence is interpreted as a function of knowledge, skill,
situation, self-confidence and values (Kirschner et al.,
1997; Stephenson and Weil, 1992).
As professional competences allow coaches to ap-
ply theory in their practice, competences become an im-
portant part of coaching process, and must be thoroughly
understood in order to enhance coaching effectiveness.
Job-task analysis and qualitative approaches made appar-
ent that coaches’ behaviors and competences extended

4. mainly to the domains of training, competition and man-
aging (Côté and Salmela, 1996; Côté et al., 1993; Côté
and Sedgwick, 2003; Demers et al., 2006; Duffy, 2008).
Concerning these major domains, coach education pro-
grams as the National Coaching Certification Program
(NCCP), proposed by the Coaching Association of Can-
ada (CAC), the thematic network project AEHESIS
(Aligning a European Higher Educational Structure in
Sport Science) (Duffy, 2008), and the high academic
educational program Baccalaureate in Sport Intervention
(Demers et al., 2006), among others, put on view that
coaches’ main tasks include: to organize, impleme nt and
evaluate plans for the long and short term; to conduct and
support players during practices and competitions; and to
co-ordinate assistant coaches and other staff members, for
instance, being responsible for managing human re-
sources. Moreover, coaches’ personal and social compe-
tences, representing the ability to communicate, learn and
be responsible (Duffy, 2008), form the basis for their
interaction with participants, assistant coaches and other
sportspersons as to lead coach education programs (Jones
et al., 2002; Salmela, 1996).
Research article
Santos et al.
63
Therefore, a broad range of coaches’ competences
is required for coaches to perform their role effectively.

5. The study of coaches’ perceptions of competence and
acknowledgement of training needs allows an understand-
ing of the aspects coaches believe they are competent and
those in which they perceive to need more training, which
in turn provides valuable information to improve coach
education. Perception of competence has been studied as
an important aspect of teaching and coaching effective-
ness (Coladarci, 1992; Feltz et al., 1999). Bandura’s so-
cial-cognitive theory (1977) describes perception of com-
petence as a cognitive process in which individuals make
a subjective judgment about their ability to cope with
certain environmental demands. Several studies about
coaches’ perceived competence to improve learning and
performance of their athletes (Lirgg et al., 1994; Taylor
and Betz, 1983) have been developed. In particular, Feltz
et al. (1999) measured coaching self-efficacy and found
that past winning years in coaching, perceived ability of
team and parental support were significant predictors of
coaching self-efficacy.
Coaches’ perception of competence and acknowl-
edgement of training needs could vary according to the
coaches’ characteristics namely professional experience
and academic education. Indeed coaches’ professional
experience is taken into account in research as an impor-
tant source of knowledge and competence (Gilbert and
Trudel, 2001; Irwin et al., 2004; Jones et al., 2002; 2003;
2004; Wright et al., 2007). Additionally, to look into
coaches’ academic training, particularly in physical edu-
cation and sport, gains pertinence when considering that
the academic ground offers a support to coaches’ behav-
iors by providing knowledge on sport science, for in-
stance about coach education and didactics (Bloom, 1997;
Demers et al., 2006).
The main purpose of this study was to examine

6. coaches’ perception of competence and acknowledgement
of training needs related to professional competences.
Specific research questions aimed to grasp the compe-
tences related to the coaching role in which coaches per-
ceive themselves more confident; the areas of profes-
sional competence in which coaches perceive to have
training needs; and how coaches’ perception of compe-
tence and training needs are associated with different
personal characteristics such as experience and academic
education.
Methods
Participants
This study included 343 coaches (289 men and 54
women), whose ages ranged from 16 to 65 years (M =
32.37, SD = 9.84). Coaches’ professional experience
ranged from 1 to 25 years (M = 5.94, SD = 6.47). Consid-
ering that professionals attain the stabilization period of
their development after 5 years of experience (Burden,
1990) and taking into account the 10-year-rule for the
attainment of expertise (Abraham et al. 2006), coach
experience was classified into three categories, low ex-
perienced coaches (up to 5 years of experience; n = 129;
38.6%); medium experienced coaches (5 to 10 years of
experience; n = 152; 45.5%), and high experienced
coaches (10 and above years of experience; n=53;
15.9%). The influence of academic background on
coach’s appraisals was also inspected. Higher education
in Physical Education and Sport (P.E.) develops special -
ized contents regarding sport sciences (Bloom, 1997;
Demers et al., 2006), so coaches were also classified
whether they had a P.E. degree, a degree below higher
education, or other higher education degree. In this last
group, it was verified that coaches had degrees from a

7. broad range: economics, psychology, management, agrar-
ian sciences, biology and military studies not related in
the most part with education. Thus, 42.1% (n=142) of
coaches have elementary to secondary school levels edu-
cation; 45.7% (n = 154) a P.E. degree; and 12.2% (n = 41)
other higher education degree.
Coaches under study cover twenty-two sports:
handball, volleyball, soccer, athletics, swimming, basket-
ball, gymnastics, rugby, tennis, table tennis, kempo, bad-
minton, cycling, karate, judo, hockey, canoe, fencing,
indoor football, figure skating, rowing and shooting, in a
total of 274 (79,9%) from team sports, and 69 (20,1%)
from individual sports.
Procedures
Three strategies were used to develop the questionnaire,
while fulfilling the requirements for construct and content
validity. First, the process of item generation and design
for the first version of the questionnaire was based on the
underlying theoretical framework and a review of the
relevant literature (Abraham et al., 2006; Côté and Sal -
mela, 1996; Côté et al., 1995; Duffy, 2008; Kirschner et
al., 1997). Second, a panel of three experts with PhD
degree in Sport Pedagogy and experience in coach educa-
tion evaluated if the initial pool of questionnaire items
represented the competences profile related to the specific
thematic. Some items were removed and other items were
modified upon their advice. Third, the revised version of
the questionnaire was then subjected to a pilot study with
a sub-sample of 30 coaches of a range of sports and
coaching experience, in order to test items clarity and
accuracy, and the feasibility of the questionnaire.
The final version of the questionnaire is composed

8. of a section addressing coach’s demographic characteris-
tics, and two scales with 23 items each. One scale is fo-
cused on coach’s self-perception of competence and the
other on the acknowledgment of training needs. The items
were answered on a 5 point Likert type scale from 1 to 5:
non-competent; slightly competent; competent; very
competent; extremely competent for perceptions of self-
efficacy and no needed; slightly needed; needed; much
needed and extremely needed for training needs.
The data collection was obtained from coaches
that attended coaching education seminars throughout the
2008/2009 season. After assuring confidentiality and
anonymity, coaches who volunteered were conducted to a
quiet room where the proceeding to answer the question-
naire was explained, and informed consent obtained. The
participants had time to ask questions and the time to
complete the questionnaire was not limited. The time to
fill in the questionnaires ranged from twenty-five to
thirty-five minutes.
Exploratory factorial analysis was applied with the
Coaches’ perceptions of professional competences
64
purposes of assessing the questionnaire’s psychometric
properties and factorial structure. Aiming to reduce the
number of variables, factor analysis used the Maximum
Likelihood Method which minimizes the discrepancy

9. between the population and sample covariance matrix
maximizing the fitting function. In order to analyze the
relations between factors, the analysis was applied with
Oblimin rotation, since it allows the factors to be corre-
lated (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007).
The number of participants satisfied Comrey and
Lee’s (1992) recommendation of having at least a subject
to item ratio of 5:1. In addition, the criteria of a minimum
eigenvalue of 1.0 (Pedhazur, 1971) and at least three
loads above 0.40 were necessary to retain a factor. The
factorial solution is also confirmed in the scree plot ap-
proach, validating the number of selected factors.
As the KMO tests pointed out a very good correla-
tion between the variables (KMO = 0.939 and 0.946) and
the Bartlett's Test resulted in significant differences
(p<0.01), the factorial analysis’ requirements were veri-
fied. The fidelity of the instrument was also tested
through the assessment of its internal consistency. The
Cronbach alpha was fixed on 0.70 (Nunnally and Bern-
stein, 1994). Factor scores were calculated considering a
weighted arithmetic mean of the items for each factor.
Finally, descriptive statistics were used to calcu-
late frequencies, percentages, means and standard devia-
tions. In order to explore coaches’ perceptions in function
of their professional experience and academic education,
One-way ANOVA was applied using Tukey’s post hoc
multiple comparisons.
Results
The exploratory factorial analysis produced solutions with
3 factors for both scales under analysis - perceptions of

10. self-efficacy and training needs (Table 1). The respective
subscales showed good internal consistency, with Cron-
bach’s alpha of .90 to .96. As each factor presented eigen-
values higher than 1.0 and was composed by 6 to 9 items,
none were excluded from the study. Also, the factors
include all the 23 items that composed the questionnaire.
Together, the three factors of the self-efficacy scale
explain 69.35% of the total variance. As presented in
table 1, the first factor explains the greatest amount of
variance (59.27%). Coaches’ perception of competence
related to annual and multi-annual planning (factor 1)
presented an average of 3.96; perceived competences
related to practice and competition orientation (factor 2)
presented an average of 3.90; and, finally, those related to
personal and coaching education competences (factor 3)
presented an average of 3.29. In average, coaches’
Table 1. Factorial matrix resultant from the factorial analysis
with Oblimin rotation, analyzing coaches’ self perceptions
related to professional competences.
Self-perceptions’ factors and items Loadings Alpha Eigen
values
% of
Variance
6 To organize and implement the multi-annual plan. .842
3 To carry out the multi-annual preparation planning,
considering the team and the individual needs. .835
12 To establish the competition multi-annual plan. .831
9 To evaluate the multi-annual preparation planning. .817
15 To relate the competition with the multi-annual plan. .794

11. 5 To organize and implement the annual plan .624
8 To evaluate and modify the annual planning, adapting it
to unexpected situations. .589
14 To coordinate the competition with the annual plan. .589
1
Competences
related to
Annual and
Multi-annual
Planning
2 To carry out the annual plan, considering the team and
the individual needs. .428
.942 12.496 54.329
13 To guide an athlete during the competition, considering
technical and discipline aspects. .792
10 To prepare an athlete and a team to the competition. .77
7 To evaluate and modify the practice session, adapting it
to unexpected situations. .758
4 To organize and direct the practice session. .729
1 To plan the practice session considering the team and
the individual needs. .718
2
Competences

12. related to
Practice and
Competition
Orientation
11 To prepare a season’s competition, establishing goals
adjusted to the team’s level. .698
.915 2.01 8.737
20 To be responsible about the world vision (social aspects
and norms), trying to modify behaviors .757
22 To solve problems within new situations. .727
21 To communicate ideas, problems and solutions. .71
17 To lead an organization, managing the athletes, coaches
and sport specialist’s activities. .663
18 To guide the education of beginner coaches. .655
19 To manage other coaches education. .633
16 To assume the head coach’s role, managing other
coaches and sport specialist’s activities. .596
3
Personal and
Coaching
Education
Competences
23 To be self-sufficient in learning, by a reflexive practice. .533

13. .909 1.444 6.28
Santos et al.
65
Table 2. Factorial matrix resultant from the factorial analysis
with Oblimin rotation, analysing coaches’ training needs re-
lated to professional competences.
Training needs’ factors and items Loadings Alpha Eigen values
% of
Variance
10 To prepare an athlete and a team to the competition. .836
13 To guide an athlete during the competition, considering the
technical and discipline aspects.
.818
7 To evaluate and modify the practice session, adapting it to
unexpected situations.
.808
1 To plan the practice session considering the team and the
individual needs.

14. .771
23 To be self-sufficient in learning, by a reflexive practice. .767
11 To prepare a season’s competition, establishing goals ad-
justed to team’s level.
.733
1
Competences
related to
Practice and
Competition
Orientation.
4 To organize and direct the practice session. .636
.961 13.631 59.266
6 To organize and implement the multi-annual plan. .815
9 To evaluate the multi-annual preparation planning. .81
12 To establish the competition multi-annual plan. .743
15 To relate the competition with the multi-annual plan .719
2 To carry out the annual plan, considering the team and the
individual needs.
.577
8 To evaluate and modify the annual planning, adapting it to
unexpected situations.
.557
5 To organize and implement the annual plan .551

15. 2
Competences
related to
Annual and
Multi-
annual
Planning
14 To coordinate the competition with the annual plan .499
.938 2.177 9.467
19 To manage other coaches education. .803
17 To lead an organization, managing the athletes, coaches and
sport specialist’s activities.
.779
18 To guide the education of beginner coaches. .737
16 To assume the head coach’s role, managing other coaches
and sport specialist’s activities.
.722
22 To solve problems within new situations. .501
20 To be responsible about the world vision (social aspects and
norms), trying to modify behaviors
.467
3
Personal and

16. Coaching
Education
Competences
21 To communicate ideas, problems and solutions. .459
.905 1.539 6.689
perception of competence ranged from “competent” to
“very competent”.
Considering the training needs scale (Table 2), the
three factors explain 75.42% of the total variance. The
results show that coaches highlighted training needs re-
lated to practice and competition orientation (factor 1),
with an average of 3.48; competences related to annual
and multi-annual planning (factor 2), with an average of
3.02 and personal and coaching education competences
(factor 3), with an average of 3.04. Regarding the training
needs, in average, coaches rated competences represented
by factors 1, 2 and 3 as “needed” to “much needed”.
Based on the factors that characterize coaches’
perceptions of competence and training needs related to
professional competences, it was completed a compara-
tive analysis of coaches groups formed by professional
experience and academic education.
Considering professional experience (Table 3), we
found significant differences in coaches’ perceptions in
all factors. The results revealed that higher experienced
coaches perceived themselves more competent in annual
and multi-annual planning (F2.321 = 6.778; p = 0.001), in
practice and competition orientation (F2.325 = 4.208; p =

17. 0.016) and, also, in personal and coaching education com-
petences (F2.316 = 5.991; p = 0.004) than the low experi -
enced coaches.
Significant differences were, also, found in
coaches’ perception of their training needs (Table 3). The
low experienced coaches believed they need more train-
ing than the higher experienced coaches regarding compe-
tences related to practice and competition orientation
(F2,310 = 4.685; p = 0.012), and to annual and multi-annual
planning (F2, 324 = 4.489; p = 0.013). Again, no differences
were observed with the group of medium experienced
coaches.
Considering coaches academic education (Table
4), several significant differences were identified in
coaches’ perceptions of competence. In fact, regarding the
three factors - competences related to annual and multi-
annual planning (F2, 324 = 11.086; p < 0.001), practice and
competition orientation (F2, 326 = 15.702; p < 0.001) and
personal and coaching education competences (F2, 318 =
12.958; p < 0.001) - both coaches with P.E. degree and
coaches with other higher education degree perceived
themselves more competent than coaches with degree
bellow higher education. In contrast to these results, a
unique difference was shown respecting to the training
needs (Table 4) and between the two higher education
groups: P.E. group acknowledged lower values of training
needs regarding the competences related to practice and
competition orientation than coaches with other higher
education degrees (F2, 312 = 3.710; p = 0.26).
Discussion

18. The analysis of coaches’ perceptions of competence and
Coaches’ perceptions of professional competences
66
Table 3. Comparative analysis of coaches’ perceptions of
competence and educational needs related to professional
compe-
tences considering the professional experience.
Professional Experience Mean SD
Perceptions of competence
Low experienced 3.446 .727
Experienced 3.587 .686 Competences related to Annual and
Multi-annual Planning (b)
High experienced 3.757 .670
Low experienced 3.889 .616
Experienced 4.073 .594 Competences related to Practice and
Competition Orientation (b)
High experienced 4.091 .590
Low experienced 3.419 .692
Experienced 3.695 .708 Personal and Coaching Education
Competences (b)
High experienced 3.688 .661

19. Training Needs
Low experienced 3.185 .871
Experienced 2.859 .871 Competences related to Practice and
Competition Orientation (b)
High experienced 2.856 .992
Low experienced 3.180 .851
Experienced 3.141 .972 Competences related to Annual and
Multi-annual Planning (b)
High experienced 2.869 .924
Low experienced 3.133 .905
Experienced 3.100 1.024 Personal and Coaching Education
Competences
High experienced 2.919 .954
Legend: Statistical differences between a) Low experienced and
Experienced; b) Low experienced and High ex-
perienced; c) Experienced and High experienced.
acknowledgement of training needs resulted in a similar
three factors solution, making apparent competences
related to annual and multi-annual planning, competences
related to practice and competition orientation, and per -
sonal and coaching education competences. Hence,
coaches, in general, perceived that they need more profes-
sional education in a broad range of areas, pointing to-
wards an assorted model of training needs.
However the reason why the item “To be self-
sufficient in learning by a reflexive practice” had entered
into different factors from one scale to the other is not
easy to ascertain. While in the coaches’ perceptions of

20. Table 4. Comparative analysis of coaches’ perceptions of
competence and educational needs related to professional
compe-
tences considering their academic education.
Academic Education Mean SD
Perceptions of competence
Bellow higher education 3.403 .638
P.E. degree 3.735 .730 Competences related to Annual and
Multi-annual Planning (a; b)
Other higher education 3.856 .724
Bellow higher education 3.799 .583
P.E. degree 4.163 .599 Competences related to Practice and
Com-
petition Orientation (a; b)
Other higher education 4.172 .540
Bellow higher education 3.375 .673
P.E. degree 3.764 .693 Personal and Coaching Education
Compe-
tences (a; b)
Other higher education 3.750 .588
Training Needs
Bellow higher education 3.173 .805
P.E. degree 2.874 1.026 Competences related to Practice and
Com-
petition Orientation (c)
Other higher education 2.902 1.042
Bellow higher education 3.148 .819
P.E. degree 2.949 .976 Competences related to Annual and
Multi-

21. annual Planning
Other higher education 3.026 1.011
Bellow higher education 3.085 .896
P.E. degree 3.020 1.029 Personal and Coaching Education
Compe-
tences
Other higher education 3.069 .951
Legend: Statistical differences between a) Bellow higher
education and P.E. degree; b) Bellow higher education and
Other higher education; c) P.E. degree and Other higher
education.
Santos et al.
67
competence scale the referred item loaded on the “Per-
sonal and Coaching Education competences” factor, in the
acknowledgement of training needs scale it loaded on the
“Competences related to Practice and Competition Orien-
tation” factor. A tentative explanation for this apparent
divergence could be that factors are not uncorrelated, and
consequently, even if coaches consider that to be self-
sufficient in learning by a reflexive practice is a personal
and critical competence, they also take it of fundamental

22. importance for the practice and competition orientation.
Therefore coaches recognize that becoming a reflexive
practioner is a training need related to skilled performance
in the practice domain. As Irwin et al. (2006) verified,
from a study with six graduates coaches on Coaching
Science, reflection exists as an important element of
coaching practice; moreover, as there is a ‘gap’ between
the academic experience and the ‘real world’ reflective
practice of sports coaching graduates, the development of
reflective practice within sports coaches would appear
critical to enhance professional competences.
Competences related to Annual and Multi-annual
Planning emerged as the strongest factor for coaches’
perceptions of competence scale, which means that those
competences may provide an excellent starting-point to
examine the development of coaches’ competences. In-
deed, whatever the coaching experience or academic
education, regarding annual and multi-annual planning,
coaches indicated that they perceive themselves as very
competent. Nevertheless, coaches perceived that training
in those areas is still needed. Demers et al., (2006) as-
cribed that developing a seasonal or annual plan is a key
goal for an undergraduate program of coach education.
Coaches from under study emphasized long term plans,
considering prospective and strategic plans as a funda-
mental part of their professional competence. In its turn
research have dedicated little attention to the planning
aspects, namely to long term plans. Côté and Sedgwick
(2003) point out the importance of the conception of ini-
tiative plans, instead of simply reacting to various situa-
tions in training and competition, and affirmed that
coaches plan proactively by preparing training for the
long and short-term and their athletes for unexpected
situations that may occur (p. 67). In fact, the development
of the strategic plan greatly helps to clarify the micro and

23. macro plans and ensure that particular action plans are all
"on the same script". This emphasis in the strategic plan-
ning process itself is considered as a very important step
in coaching planning.
Moreover, in this study, to plan, prepare and guide
competitive experience and practice sessions were put
together in the same factor, the one that unveils the daily
work of coaches and the basic competences of the profes-
sion. This factor, named Competences related to Practice
and Competition Orientation emerged as the one in which
they needed more training (much needed), even though
they perceive themselves as very competent. Demers et al.
(2006) emphasizes the competences of communicating
and implementing training tasks, providing support and
managing athletes during competition. Furthermore, the
elite coaches interviewed by Abraham et al. (2006) identi -
fied the competences of providing feedback and skill
acquisition as the key-words of coaches’ pedagogy; which
they employed to explain how to construct the practice
session and to adjust information to the ever changing
environments of practice and competition.
A broad range of competences related to social is-
sues, sport management and coaching education, called
Personal and Coaching Education Competences, emerged
as the third factor for perceptions of competence and
acknowledgement of training needs. Although coaches’
perceptions resulted in being competent this factor was
also classified as needed as the others. Those findings
seem to be a sign of coaches’ permanent seek for compe-
tence and curiosity to learn more in a broad range of ar-
eas. Vargas-Tonsing (2007) reported the interest of
coaches in learning more about communication with par-
ents and athletes, since the communication is an essential

24. part of coaching (Abraham et al., 2006; Vargas-Tonsing,
2007; Wiersma and Sherman, 2005). Coaches’ success
and social status depends on their ability to make all
sportspersons (athletes, parents, directors, etc.) trust on
their skills. Accordingly, in this study, coaches recognize
that effective communication skills are essential for suc-
cess and link this competence with leadership and good
teaching practices. Salmela (1996), also, highlights the
importance of coach’s moral values and social and cul -
tural sensitivity being this fact particularly important
considering the large amount of time that coaches spend
with the athletes and the power they exert over athletes’
minds. Recent studies (e.g. Cushion and Jones, 2006;
Jones et al., 2004; Potrac and Jones, 2009) point out that
social interactions are in the center of the coaching proc-
ess, as “coaches are social beings operating in a social
environment” (Jones et al., 2002, p. 35). However Cush-
ion and Jones (2006) state that the social dynamics which
founds the relationships between all sportspersons is not
yet sufficiently understood. Thus, it is argued that
coaches’ activities ought to be examined and explained as
such, for instance using ethnographic research, in order to
better inform the coaching training programs.
Also the administrative and managerial tasks in-
herent to coaching are ascribed by thematic network pro-
ject AEHESIS (Duffy, 2008) and by the Baccalaureate in
Sport Intervention’s program (Demers et al., 2006). The
elite coaches interviewed by Abraham et al. (2006) re-
ferred to themselves as program leaders, and highlighted
the importance of being able to manage human resources,
for instance, leading a team of support staff. Besides gen-
eral managing and head coach’s skills, the participants of
this study also classified as important and needed compe-
tences of educating beginner coaches. Research on coach-
ing education has highlighted the importance of learning

25. with more experienced coaches (Bloom et al., 1998;
Cushion et al., 2003; Duffy, 2008; Gilbert and Trudel,
2001; Gould et al., 1990; Irwin et al., 2004; Knowles et
al., 2005). As a consequence, not only the coaching edu-
cational programs should include beginners’ coaches
supervised field experiences (Cushion et al., 2003) but
also prepare coaches to survey less experienced col -
leagues. The elite coaches interviewed by Bloom et al.
(1995) considered essential, to the improvement of coach-
ing education, the development of a training program for
Coaches’ perceptions of professional competences
68
mentors, which are experimented coaches that supervise
other coaches’ education (Irwin et al. 2004). Also, the
AEHESIS’s project (Duffy, 2008) considers as one of the
main activities associated with the coaching role the
teaching, instructing and mentoring of sportspersons.
The results concerning professional experience
showed that low experienced coaches perceived them-
selves less competent than high experienced coaches in all
three factors. Also, they pointed out more training needs
in issues related to practice and competition orientation,
and annual and multi-annual planning. Learning through
experience is undoubtedly one of the most referred ways
of learning (Fleurence and Cotteaux, 1999; Jones et al.,

26. 2003, 2004; Wright et al., 2007), as well as source of
knowledge (Gilbert and Trudel, 2001; Jones et al., 2002;
Lemyre and Trudel, 2004; Wright et al., 2007). Hence,
coaches who have experienced more practical situations
describe themselves as more competent. Lemyre and
Trudel (2004) studied youth ice hockey and soccer
coaches’ opinion about the content of the Canadian NCCP
and concluded that their prior experience had influenced
their judgment. Experience was also pointed out by Jones
et al.’s (2004), since when asked about the factors that
influenced their professional development, coaches men-
tioned practical experience in the first place.
Considering academic education, under study
demonstrates that coaches with higher education degrees
(P.E. or others) perceive themselves as more competent
than coaches with no high education. The academic envi-
ronment, even if not sport specific, promotes the devel -
opment of basic professional competences, for instance,
related to communication, leadership, evaluation or find-
ing solutions to problems, which support coaches’ behav-
iors and, consequently, may enhance the perception of
competence as founded.
However some researchers (e.g. Bloom, 1997;
Demers et al., 2006) highlighted that sport specific educa-
tion has the advantage of supporting coaches’ behaviors
with theoretical knowledge from the sport sciences, no
differences in perceptions of competence were found
between coaches with a PE degree and other higher edu-
cation. The lack of more differences between these
groups, into certain extent, may be due to the fact that
‘other higher education degree’ includes a broad range of
academic fields, majorly in areas not related to teaching.
However, a higher education allows a higher cultural
level that could affect in a positive way coaches' percep-

27. tion about their knowledge and competence to coaching.
In the future it will be necessary to investigate about the
influence of the P.E. course in coaches’ perceptions,
namely using qualitative methods as interviews, to under-
stand why those differences were not verified. However
related to the training needs’ findings a difference was
found between coaches with a P.E. degree and other
higher education. This is related to practice and competi -
tion orientation and indicates that coaches without sport
specific education recognize more strongly the need for
developing the basic competences underpinned the
coaches’ daily work.
Furthermore further studies, which go beyond
these findings, are recommended trying to understand
how perceptions of professional competence and training
needs are influenced by the interaction of several coach
characteristics.
Conclusion
Coaches’ perceptions of competence and acknowledge-
ment of training needs resulted in three main areas: com-
petences related to annual and multi-annual planning,
competences related to practice and competition orienta-
tion and, finally, personal and coaching education compe-
tences. Although the competences were grouped in only
these three factors, it included an assorted range of coach-
ing competences, about all of which coaches indicated to
have training needs, that brings an important feedback to
coaching education. Nevertheless, the tasks that coaches
had the most need in performing were related to the train-
ing with a slight tendency to consider this area as the most
necessary.

28. Whatever were the coaches’ years of experience or
academic education, it was noticed that even though
coaches considered themselves at least competent, they
also perceive all kind of competences as needed. Those
results suggest that coaches are interested in learning and
in increasing their knowledge and competence in a broad
range of areas, ascribing the importance of the research
about coaches’ conceptions and educational needs to
coaching improvement. The research is this area also
claims, the need to identify, develop, and evaluate coach-
ing competencies at all levels of coaching enabling
coaches to access and communicate with the evolving
body of coaching knowledge and best practice in a man-
ner that will foster and support continuous learning and
development. Regarding the competences that emerged in
this study and the subjects that compose each compe-
tence, it is advisable to consider them in the practical
context, i.e., within the educational programs field. Espe-
cially the competences related to coaching education and
managing, about which there is still a lot of issues to
explore, should be consider in the development of pro-
grams curriculum and learning strategies.
More insights to coaching education can be pro-
vided through this study’s findings. For instance, it was
also found that the way coaches perceive their compe-
tence and training needs are influenced by their own ex-
perience. Indeed, low experienced coaches perceive them-
selves as less competent and with more training needs. As
experience has been stated as a major source of knowl -
edge and learning, we would recommend that training
programs began with the evaluation of the training needs
of the coaches, in order to move towards a more individu-
alized training and, also, more close to the real training
requirements. Moreover coaches’ self-perception about
competence demonstrated that coaches with high educa-

29. tion (in P.E. or others) perceived themselves as more
competent than coaches with no high education. Although
academic training in Physical Education should be a dif-
ferentiating factor of coaches’ perceptions, little differ -
ences between coaches with education in Physical Educa-
tion and other high courses were found. As ‘other higher
education fields’ are not, in majority, related to teaching,
a more contextualized study, that considers the nature and
Santos et al.
69
the quality of the education courses - specially using
qualitative methods - is needed in order to better under-
stand these findings.
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Coaches’ perceptions of professional competences
70

36. Key points
• Coaches’ perceptions of competence and acknowl-
edgement of training needs resulted in three main
areas: competences related to annual and multi-
annual planning, competences related to practice and
competition orientation and, finally, personal and
coaching education competences.
• The professional tasks that coaches had the most
need in performing were related to the training ori-
entation.
• Coaches with higher education degrees (P.E. or oth-
ers) perceive themselves as more competent than
coaches with no higher education.
• Low experienced coaches perceived themselves less
competent than high experienced coaches. Also,
they pointed out more training needs in issues re-
lated to practice and competition orientation, and
annual and multi-annual planning.
AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY
Sofia SANTOS
Employment
Faculty of Sport, Oporto University, Portugal
Degree
MSc
Research interests
Coach education, coach behavior.
E-mail: [email protected]
Isabel MESQUITA
Employment

37. Professor, Faculty of Sport, Oporto University, Portugal
Degree
PhD
Research interests
Coach education, instructional approaches, teaching and
coaching team sports, game analysis.
E-mail: [email protected]
Amândio GRAÇA
Employment
University of Porto; Faculty of Sport, Portugal
Degree
PhD
Research interests
Sport pedagogy, teaching and coaching team sports, teachers’
and coaches’ knowledge, ınstructional approaches.
E-mail: [email protected]
António ROSADO
Employment
Faculty of Human Movement, Technical University of Lisbon,
Portugal
Degree
PhD
Research interests
Sport education, sport psychology.
E-mail: [email protected]
Isabel Maria Ribeiro Mesquita
Rua Dr. Plácido Costa, 91 - 4200.450 Porto, Portugal
Copyright of Journal of Sports Science & Medicine is the
property of Hakan Gur, Journal of Sports Science &

38. Medicine and its content may not be copied or emailed to
multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the
copyright holder's express written permission. However, users
may print, download, or email articles for
individual use.
annihilate one perspective in favor of another.
When practiced in this spirit, postmodernist
thought can be refreshing, challenging, and en-
ergizing. In addition, it can potentially stimulate
significant breakthroughs in theory develop-
ment in academia and in problem solving in
practice.
Job Feedback: Giving, Seeking, and Us-
ing Feedback for Performance Improve-
ment (2nd ed.), by Manuel London. Mah-
wah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
2003.
Reviewed by James A. Breaugh, University of Mis-
souri, St. Louis, Missouri.
In a variety of research domains (e.g., em-
ployee socialization, career development), the
importance of job-related feedback is generally
accepted. For example, specific and timely feed-
back from a coworker may help a new employee
to master unfamiliar duties. Conversely, feed-
back that is negative in tone and lacking in

39. detail may cause a new employee to become
demoralized. Although feedback’s importance is
widely accepted, this does not mean that indi-
viduals are particularly good at giving or receiv-
ing feedback. For example, research has shown
that the feedback provided by managers is often
lacking in specificity, harsh in tone, and/or de-
livered in an untimely manner. Potentially
worse, sometimes feedback is simply not pro-
vided.
In the second edition of Job Feedback, Manuel
London has provided a detailed treatment of the
topic of job feedback. Although London de-
scribes his primary audience as students in
courses dealing with human resource manage-
ment, career development, and other related
topics, he believes Job Feedback will be a valu-
able resource for practitioners who are responsi-
ble for career development systems or related pro-
grams and for managers and employees who are
interested in improving how they give and receive
feedback. Writing a book for such a varied audi-
ence is quite a challenge. However, having pe-
rused Job Feedback, I believe it has potential
value for each of the audiences targeted.
Before providing an overview of the contents
of Job Feedback, it is important to mention its
author’s credentials. Professor London has expe-
rience as a researcher studying the topic, as a
manager dealing with feedback in his role at
AT&T, and as a consultant working with organi-
zations to establish formal feedback systems.
His varied experiences allow him to provide a

40. multitude of perspectives on feedback-related
issues (e.g., processing multisource feedback),
which enrich his treatment of them.
Job Feedback is divided into four sections. The
first section, which consists of four chapters, fo-
cuses on fundamental issues related to person
perception. Among the topics addressed in these
chapters are (1) the benefits of feedback (e.g., it
has the potential to direct and motivate behav-
ior), (2) the differences between constructive and
destructive feedback (e.g., focusing on the recip-
ient’s behavior versus assigning blame), (3) is-
sues related to employee self-evaluation (e.g.,
self-assessment accuracy), (4) factors affecting
feedback seeking (e.g., managing one’s impres-
sion versus improving one’s performance), and
(5) factors that affect how we process informa-
tion about others (e.g., evaluator motivation). In
addressing these and other topics, London does
a good job of summarizing relevant literature
and of offering useful advice for a practitioner.
The second section of the book is entitled “Per-
formance Evaluation Methods.” The four chap-
ters composing this section address (1) perfor-
mance appraisals (e.g., focusing on task versus
contextual performance, approaches to rater train-
ing), (2) multisource feedback methods (e.g., 360-
degree feedback, employee attitude surveys used
for evaluation purposes), (3) the value of multi-
source feedback (e.g., its linkage to objective mea-
sures of performance), and (4) the use of assess-
ment centers and business simulations (e.g.,
Looking Glass) as standardized assessment tools
for providing feedback to participants.

41. The third section is entitled “Supporting the
Use of Feedback.” The three chapters in this
section focus on the critical role a manager
plays in making feedback effective. Among the
topics addressed are: (1) understanding an em-
ployee’s readiness for change (e.g., has an em-
ployee had time to digest the feedback he or she
has received?), (2) how to conduct feedback re-
views (e.g., the value of self-appraisals), (3) man-
agerial biases (e.g., the Golem effect), (4) key
elements of coaching (e.g., empathy), and (5) the
need to hold managers and recipients account-
able (e.g., by measuring performance improve-
ment).
512 JulyAcademy of Management Review
“Future Directions” is the final section of Job
Feedback. The two chapters in this section ad-
dress how changes in the workplace have influ-
enced the importance and the use of feedback.
Three topics are given particular emphasis.
First, the author considers feedback in teams.
Among the issues addressed are group dynam-
ics, shared mental models, team feedback, and
group goal setting. Next, London discusses feed-
back in the context of cross-cultural organiza-
tions. Among the topics reviewed are the value
of multisource feedback for expatriate manag-
ers and how cultural differences may influence
reactions to feedback. In the concluding chapter
of the book, the author covers such issues as
how technology (e.g., electronic monitoring) can

42. change the nature of feedback.
Overall, there is much to like about Job Feed-
back (e.g., research from disciplines not tradi-
tionally drawn on is discussed, new directions
for research are noted, the guidelines offered for
practitioners are likely to improve implementa-
tion efforts). Having said that, no book is perfect.
As I read Job Feedback, there were occasions
where I would like to have seen London probe
more deeply into an issue, provide a different
perspective, and so forth. Before noting a few of
my reservations about this book, I should em-
phasize that none of them are major in nature.
Given the complexity of some of the issues
addressed in Job Feedback, I believe it would
have been beneficial for London to introduce an
organizing model early in the book and then
utilize it in integrating material presented in
different chapters. Such a model might have
made the conceptual contributions of this book
more apparent. Alternatively, in some of the
chapters, London could have introduced distinct
organizing models (e.g., one dealing with feed-
back-seeking behavior). Earlier in the book, it
would have been helpful if the author had more
clearly described what he means by feedback.
For example, London states that “feedback is the
information people receive about their perfor-
mance” (p. 11). To me, this suggests that the
author conceptualizes feedback as a “received”
message rather than as a “sent” message. I
think this distinction merits more attention than
London gives it. Similarly, consider the follow-
ing passage:

43. Feedback is constructive when it offers concrete
information that can be used. The intent is to help
(i.e., maintain, correct, or improve behavior). It is
provided in such a way that it is used by the
recipient. It is clear and easily understood. More-
over, it is interpreted similarly by the source and
the recipient (pp. 15–16).
At one place in this quote, London refers to feed-
back that “can be used”; in another place, he
suggests it “is used by the recipient.” This word-
ing is ambiguous (e.g., if feedback can be used
but isn’t, is it constructive?”). To me the state-
ment that the “intent is to help” is also ambig-
uous. If feedback concerns a “received” mes-
sage, does “intent” refer to the recipient’s
perception, regardless of whether the sender
truly intended to help?
In addition, to the potential value of offering
one or more organizing models and more clearly
defining some fundamental concepts, I would
have liked to see a few topics addressed in more
detail. Among these are information seeking (it
is addressed, but given the amount of recent
research, I believe information seeking merits
more consideration), the difference between per-
formance ratings and performance judgments
(as noted by Murphy and Cleveland [1995], the
ratings provided do not always reflect underly-
ing perceptions), the concept of a “true score”
concerning performance (in discussing self-
ratings, London refers to leniency; this concept
suggests a true score), the Myers-Briggs Type

44. Indicator (given the frequent usage of this mea-
sure, it might have merited coverage in Chapter
9), and stereotyping (it seems as though Banaji’s
work on automatic stereotyping would have en-
riched the author’s discussion of this topic). A
final comment applies to the author’s discussion
of empirical research on various topics. At least
in a few places, it would have been helpful if
London had conveyed a sense of effect size (e.g.,
minimal, moderate). Although statistically reli-
able, some of the findings discussed are very
modest in magnitude.
Despite the reservations just noted, I liked Job
Feedback. Although a reader who is well versed
in human resource management topics is likely
to have previously come across many of the is-
sues raised in Job Feedback in books and arti-
cles on career management, employee social-
ization, performance appraisal, and worker
training, London has organized this information
in a somewhat original way (i.e., the sole focus
is on the feedback process per se). By combining
a review of empirical research with recommen-
dations for practitioners, I believe the author
2004 513Book Reviews
has provided a valuable resource for many
readers.
REFERENCES
Banaji, M. R., Lemm, K. M., & Carpenter, S. J. 2001.

45. Automatic
and implicit processes in social cognition. In A. Tesser &
N. Schwartz (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psy-
chology: Intraindividual processes: 134 –158. Oxford:
Blackwell.
Murphy, K. R., & Cleveland, J. N. 1995. Understanding perfor -
mance appraisal. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Multiple Commitments in the Work-
place: An Integrative Approach, by
Aaron Cohen. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, 2003.
Reviewed by Daniel C. Feldman, University of Geor-
gia, Athens, Georgia.
As the most recent volume in Erlbaum’s Series
in Applied Psychology, Aaron Cohen’s Multiple
Commitments at Work: An Integrative Approach
tackles the subject of workplace commitment
from the perspective of industrial/organiza-
tional (I/O) psychology. The book’s major focus—
and its major strength—is its attention to issues
of construct validity and measurement.
Cohen begins the book with a thorough de-
scription of the different types of commitme nt in
organizational life, including commitment to the
job, the workgroup (and/or the union), the or-
ganization, and the profession. A major thesis of
the book is that individuals hold multiple com-
mitments in the workplace and that these vari-
ous foci of commitment have different conse-
quences for workplace behaviors. Accordingly,
Cohen provides an exhaustive literature review

46. of these different kinds of commitment, both at
the conceptual level and measurement level.
Doctoral students and faculty looking for the
current state of knowledge about commitment
will be impressed by the multipage tables
within the text that summarize the types of com-
mitment used in various studies of commitment,
the methodologies used, and populations stud-
ied. Other multipage tables summarize the
typologies of commitment forms, overall fit
indices for various commitment models, and cor-
relations of other variables with commitment.
Another feature that will undoubtedly prove
valuable to readers is the appendix, which pro-
vides the commitment scales actually used in
most research studies today, complete with their
response sets, sources of items, and scoring in-
structions.
The greatest strength of the book by far, then,
is its attention to issues of conceptualization
and operationalization. The author provides rig-
orous definitions of various terms in the commit-
ment literature, he explains the interrelation-
ships among different kinds of commitment, he
differentiates commitment from other related
constructs in the field (such as job involvement),
and he does a scrupulous job of explaining mea-
surement issues and challenges in conducting
empirical research. Both for beginning scholars
looking for a current state-of-the-art summary of
commitment research and for more experienced
scholars looking for nuanced discussions of
subtle conceptual distinctions and measure-

47. ment options, Multiple Commitments in the
Workplace: An Integrative Approach will prove
to be an invaluable resource.
The book is not quite as strong in its explora-
tion of the context in which commitment to jobs,
groups, occupations, and organizations devel-
ops (or withers). While this volume certainly en-
compasses all the relevant research from I/O
psychology on commitment, at times Cohen
does not draw as heavily or as effectively from
other social science perspectives as he might
have.
For example, after thoroughly discussing the
construct validity and measurement issues, Co-
hen turns his attention to work outcomes im-
pacted by commitment (Chapter 6). Given the
book’s I/O psychology focus, the outcomes dis-
cussed here in the most depth are intentions to
leave and turnover. What might have added
some richness to this chapter, however, is more
coverage of other relevant work outcomes, such
as organizational citizenship behaviors (Organ,
1988). What types of commitment lead most
strongly to altruism, conscientiousness, civic
virtue, sportsmanship, and courtesy—and why?
Conversely, how might lack of commitment lead
to either acts of deviant behavior (Greenberg &
Scott, 1995) or whistle-blowing activities (Miceli
& Near, 1992)? If commitment is as important in
organizational life as the author argues (and I
agree), then the book would have been stronger
514 JulyAcademy of Management Review

48. Unit IV Essay
Team Skills Training Paper
Organization XYZ has hired you as an industrial-organizational
(I-O) psychologist to implement new teams in the organization,
which will consist of the current employees.
Construct a two-page essay that discusses the important factors
of training needs, training content, and evaluation and feedback.
Address the information below in your essay.
· Identify the training needs of the organization. How will you
determine exactly what needs to go into the training program?
· Describe the different aspects of training methods used for the
training program. Where will it take place? What content will
you focus on?
· Identify the methods of feedback that you will use in the
evaluation process of the training program. How will you
measure the effectiveness of the training program?
· Explain why you designed the training program in this manner
and how it will benefit the organization in the future.
This essay should be created with the intention that you will
present this to the organization executives before implementing
it with the workers.
You should base your essay on research from at least two
sources from the CSU Online Library.