Labor migration among elite sport coaches: An exploratory study

Abstract

Coaches are critical to elite sport achievements because they represent the link between sport policies and athletes. Yet, labor migration of elite sport coaches challenges the competitiveness of the sport system of the sending country and brain drain is a concern for policy-makers. Previous research on labor migration in sport has focused on athletes in professional team sports. Based on the push-pull framework, this study seeks to explore the factors affecting labor migration of elite sport coaches in less commercialized sports. Semi-structured interviews with nine elite sport coaches employed in Germany were conducted. The following migration factors emerged from the analysis: job-related factors (salary, workload, financial planning security, pressure, politics within the sport federation, and recognition of the coaching job in society); social factors (family support, and children's education); competitive factors (training environment, and sport equipment); and seeking new experiences (new culture/language, and challenging task). Networks were found to be critical to the reception of job offers. A combination of various push and pull factors from several levels (i.e., individual, household, organizational, and national level) is at work when examining potential coach migration. Policy-makers should consider these factors when they strive to create a more attractive working environment for coaches.

Factor analysis of educational evaluation indicators of Iranian sports coaches

“…According to the results of this research, the professional factor is in the fourth priority, the results of this part of the research are in line with some of the results of previous researches such as : Orlowski et al (2016), Ringoteriot et al (2014), Rinogit et al (2014), Froud and Roger (2013), The Canadian Coaching Training, Evaluation and Promotion System (2012, Santos (2010), Kavosato and Et al. (2008), British Columbia Coaches Association (2007, Architecture et al (2013), Ramezani Nejad et al (2013, Tabrizi (2002) and Kohandel (2000).…”

Does Experience Matter? Salary Dispersion, Coaching, and Team Performance

“…Nash and Collins (2006) underlined the multifaceted role of coaches. Orlowski, Wicker, and Breuer (2016) surveyed coaches in elite sports in Germany, who reported 65 different formal qualifications, such as licenses, certificates, and university degrees, which they classified into 11 separate types. An important facet in the role of the coach is the ability to communicate effectively, creating "chemistry" between coach and athletes (Carter and Bloom 2009).…”

“…The literature suggests that coaching requires a variety of skills, some of which can be acquired without extensive high‐level playing experience. Indeed, university‐level training in sport sciences may contribute to coaching success; it is, at least, positively correlated with compensation in German elite sports coaches (Orlowski, Wicker, and Breuer ). Consequently, it is important to look at coaching skill and ability from multiple perspectives and regard it as arising from multiple sources.…”

'Race', Ethnicity and Racism in Sports Coaching

“…Others have used a more meso-level analysis to explore why coaches migrate. Wicker and colleagues (Wicker et al, 2018;Orlowski et al, 2016Orlowski et al, , 2018 for example, concluded that push factors such as having a degree in sport science and pull factors such as larger salaries and a permanent contract, played a role in the decisions of German coaches to coach in another country. Borges et al (2015) found that transnational Spanish coaches in professional football and handball had been recruited informally and had relied on their networks to attain such positions.…”