Infusing disability into coach education and development: a critical review and agenda for change

Abstract

BackgroundThe training of coaches is considered central to sustaining and improving the quality of sports provision. In Parasport, coaches are recognised at the highest level of international sport policy as performing a central role in achieving important sporting and social outcomes related to disabled people. However, an emerging body of evidence suggests that formal coach education plays only a minor role in Parasport coaches' development. To ensure equitable access and quality experiences and opportunities for disabled people in sport there is an ongoing challenge to theorise and implement the optimal structure for educating coaches.

“It’s all about knowing the young person”: Best practice in coaching autistic athletes

“…In relation to the two original research questions the coaches had many valuable insights about their experiences of coaching autistic athletes and they proved to be a rich source of very practical ideas about how coaching can be effective with this group. That this coaching experience is informed mainly through experiential and informal education echoes findings within disability coaching generally, and suggests that studies like this can start to fill the gap in disabilityspecific knowledge, to inform more formal coaching structures, as identified by Townsend et al (2021). Construction of coaching knowledge through personal experience in coaching is not unusual, but is typically set within a framework of more formal educational opportunities (Trudel, Milestetd, & Culver, 2020).…”

“…Construction of coaching knowledge through personal experience in coaching is not unusual, but is typically set within a framework of more formal educational opportunities (Trudel, Milestetd, & Culver, 2020). However, reviews show that coach education within the field of disability sport generally remains under-developed, reducing the effectiveness and sustainability of this resource and some would argue constituting a form of disablism (Townsend et al, 2021).…”

“…How disability could be "infused" into coach education and development has been recently reviewed by Townsend et al (2021), who advocate the adoption of the social-relational model. Autism and sport is an emerging area and as yet there is little to draw on in terms of either the "availability" or the "effectiveness" of "disability-specific" education and training support for coaches, but it is encouraging that the intrinsic approach adopted by the coaches in this study seems to follow the "active and reflective process" of a "social-relational" approach to coaching.…”

“…Approaches to coaching individuals with additional learning and/or social communication needs remains less explored, despite the call for more expertise to be developed to engage young people with disabilities in sport (Cronin, Ryrie, Huntley, & Hayton, 2018). In a contemporary review of this area Townsend, Huntley, Cushion, and Culver (2021) make the case that inclusion of athletes with disabilities is predicated on the skills and knowledge of the coaching workforce, yet there is a paucity of disabilityspecific knowledge informing coaching training and practice.…”

Practitioner perspectives of athlete recovery in paralympic sport

“…Given that our participants advocated for greater general education for coaches, sport scientists, and other professions working in parasport, educational modules focused specifically on recovery should be a long-term goal. Ultimately, we propose a humanistic approach enriched by athlete expertise and further augmented by infusion of disability experiences in education 39 for practitioners to effectively accommodate individual needs. We infer this strategy would improve sport performance via enhanced recovery and result in greater likelihood of career longevity with improved long-term health outcomes for athletes.…”