EXPLORING THE COACHING ECOLOGY IN YOUTH SWIMMING: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY

Previous studies with systematic observation tools inthe coaching context have reported that the pattern ofcoaching behaviour can be understood as a sequentialcycle of unplanned and reactive behaviours wherecoaches most frequently instructed, provided feedbackand encouragement while simultaneously managingthe training environment. Nonetheless, there is aclear limitation when the coaching process is viewedas unidirectional without accounting for how athletes’behaviour can inform coaching processes. Therefore,the purpose of this study is to describe and interpretthe ecology of youth swimming training sessions. Thefollowing research questions framed the study: (a) Howdid the coaches structure the training sessions? (b) Whatkind of coach instructional and managerial behaviourswere prevalent in this context? and (c) How activewere athletes during the training sessions? Two youthswimming coaches and their athletes were videotapedduring five training sessions each. A modified version ofthe task structure observational instrument was used tosystematically observe the swimming training sessions.Results showed that both coaches provided much timefor athletes to practice motor skills, and little time wasused for management and instruction. In addition todescribing tasks and explaining how to perform them,the coaches instructed while athletes practiced andprovided both positive and corrective feedback. Finally,athletes were actively engaged and showed high levelsof compliance in instructional and managerial tasks.