In this episode of the coach doctor podcast, I speak to Associate Professor Andrew Bennie. Andrew’s PhD research investigated effective coaching in professional sport contexts. From the research, he developed an effective coaching model which includes three core components: (1) the coach and their personal characteristics and philosophy; (2) coaching skills such as leadership, communication, planning and people management, and (3) the environment which should be positive and have a strong sense of team culture.
More recently, Andrew’s research has focused on collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sport coaches from a variety of team and individual sports - in community and high-performance settings from all over Australia to share their stories about pathways into, and experiences when in, coaching roles. These stories formed the basis for the recently published book called Aboriginal Sports Coaches, Community and Culture. Andrew was also part of a team of researchers, Aboriginal coaches, and national sport organization representatives that co-created the Coaching Unlimited program - a national coach education program designed to provide specific coach accreditation pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander coaches in a variety of sports.
Some of the key take aways for me were that first and foremost, coaches at the professional level focus far more on player management and developing a positive team culture than the techniques, tactics, and strategies of the sport. While tactics and wins and losses were considered important, effective professional coaches prioritised athletes’ needs. This connected with a person-centred leadership style that focuses on a ‘people rather than player first’ mentality to cultivate a positive learning environment and manage the ups and downs that occur throughout a season. And while professional sports coaches do have more time to get to know their athletes, community coaches can still prioritise time in their one-to-two training sessions per week to learn about their playing group on an individual level and to get to know what types of activities they like practicing so they can to understand what makes them tick and set the athletes up to really enjoy their sport participation.
As we changed the topic and began discussing Andrew’s collaborative work with Aboriginal Australian sports coaches, it was interesting to hear that within this community, there was an inherent belief of coaching the person first before the athlete across all levels – regardless of whether the coaches were working with U6s or elite athletes in professional contexts. Interestingly, this culturally driven approach to coaching also tied in very closely with what he discovered years earlier when researching effective coaching in professional sport contexts.
Andrew co-authored the book titled Aboriginal Sports Coaches, Community and Culture which shares the stories of coaches in many sports. It elaborates on the strengths, the philosophes, the pathways into coaching and the challenges along the way.
Links to purchase or find more out about this book:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Aboriginal-Community-Indigenous-Settler-Relations-Australia-ebook/dp/B08MD4TVHT or https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-15-8481-7
Andrew, with his First Nations colleagues and national sport organization contacts, are creating opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander coaches to gain formal coach accreditation in a culturally safe format through the Coaching Unlimited program. Link below:
https://www.coachingunlimitedaustralia.com/
Donations are welcome to help fund Coaching Unlimited – A sport coaching program designed with, and for, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. See link below:
https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/give/coaching-unlimited
To contact Andrew Bennie for further questions about any of his work:
email: A.Bennie@westernsydney.edu.au
LinkedIn: @Andrew Bennie