Investigating the Way Soccer Coach Education Discusses Player Learning Styles

Formal coach education programs have seen a significant increase in the number of coaches attending and completing recognized coaching awards and qualifications recently. However, research has demonstrated that such formal coach education has limited impact on the practice of the coach when they return to working with their players. To date coach education research has failed to analyze the way in which learning styles have been presented on such awards and qualifications and the impact such knowledge may have on the coaches’ practice. As such, research to investigate the promotion of learning styles within a coach education environment took place to establish if coach education promotes the use of specific teaching strategies for particular learners via the use of learning styles. The research process included semi-structured interviews with eight Football Association Level One Award Coaches, who identified that they were clearly and explicitly introduced to the concept of VARK learning styles during their coach education experiences. These findings demonstrate entry-level soccer coaches in the UK are encouraged to place the learning style of a player at the center of learning despite the suggestion from research that learning styles have a negligible impact on learning. The research also demonstrated that coach educators and the curriculum of coach education courses failed to utilize current research to reflect the latest teaching and learning strategies.