Bridging the PA Educational Gap

In light of some growing conversations and research surrounding the value and perceptions of performance analysis and the applied practice tiered from elite to grass roots I feel there is a need to understand the educational pathways from a basic to broad underpinning to embed the discipline into your coaching practice. Prior to sharing my personal feelings I wish to declare I design and deliver a range of short courses in performance analysis and will share my experience of that environment although I will seek to be as objective in my view as possible.

To start, today I read the very interesting colloborative research summary from the Irish Institute of Sport (IIS) , Sports Institute of Northern Ireland (SINI), Coaching Ireland, the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB) that is a must read for anyone interested in the growth of PA as a discipline and further reinforced many of my thoughts. It also came at a convenient time to coincide with my blog. From an educational viewpoint the research highlighted some key points: • 78% of coaches who do not use PA said they would like training on how to integrate PA effectively into their coaching • 86%, of coaches using PA said they would like training on how to integrate PA effectively into their coaching. • 94% of coaches stated that they would like to use more PA within their coaching.

Performance analysis was once a discipline reserved for elite sport and has been underrepresented on the coach education front. While Cardiff Metropolitan University have been running a MSc in Performance Analysis at the Centre of Performance Analysis for over 10 years and more recently introduced the first BSc in Performance Analysis the coach and grass root practitioners have had little support in developing their skills and knowledge beyond software vendors delivering training heavily weighted towards the features of their specific products. I am not being critical of software vendors or undermining the value of their training as it is an extremely important component to the success of their business and the client receiving the support and training required to maximise the potential and power of the application.

We live in a world where the knowledge economy places great demands on many practices and it is extremely important that we strive to continually improve our own skills and knowledge. We also need to consider that many coaches working at the grass roots and development stages of sport have earned those positions through sacrifice and voluntary giving through a love of their particular sport. Furthermore, consider that it is unlikely a club at this level will have a budget to employ a performance analyst to support the coaching process.

While a degree is not a prerequisite and doesn’t equate to automatic success and riches if your ambition is to work at the elite level the pathway of higher education will maintain pole position in developing a broad underpinning and valuable research skills specific to the discipline making you more employable. On the opposite side of the educational pathway our short course in performance analysis is what I personally call a coach education program. The classroom very often has a blend of coaches, athletes, students and graduates and the benefits flow both directions. We offer an environment of facilitation to share practices, learn and explore with a rich flow of ideas very often derived from diverse sporting backgrounds and applied practices. Our participants not only get the opportunity to share practice but get to expand their networks with like-minded people.

So I often ask is this a discipline for the elite? Should we deprive those applying good practice through personal development the opportunity to learn about performance analysis so that it can be reserved for or only applied by those that learn through the portals of full-time, formal higher education? When considering a response to this question I think of my own employees and their personal development plans for the year. All my staff must be able to apply first aid and CPR, so do I send them to become a paramedic? Or do I evaluate the needs of the specific role and environment and send them on a course to gain the fundamental skills to fulfil the skills gaps?

As with first aid, it need not be an either/or, we need both. The higher skilled professionals exposed to the intellectual vigour of university education will as mentioned hold pole position on the elite job front, yet the fundamental practice and theory of the discipline can be applied at a more basic level through an effective coach education course. This enables those at the grass roots and development levels to acquire practical and theoretical foundations to meet the demands of a modern coaching environment. Effective coach education and short courses can serve as an important bridge between theory and practice and also help many non-academic practitioners understand research. From a personal viewpoint I conclude by stating: there is value in short courses the same as there is significant value in higher education and the valuable research that provides the underpinning of elite practice.

http://sini.co.uk/2014/03/new-research-highlights-the-growing-use-and-perception-of-performance-analysis-in-irish-sport/