Coach Education, Competition Experience and Players’ Perception of Coach Competence as Predictors of Performance in the Kenyan National Leagues

Abstract

Technical and tactical coach education attributes constitutes part of coaching pedagogy. However, research on the technical and tactical aspects of coach education has been scanty. Technical and tactical coach education attributes evaluated on team performance in competition in this study were; coach academic status, professional qualification, past playing and competition experience. Also the players’ perception of coach competence and its influence on team performance in sport competitions was assessed. The study was informed by experiential learning theory and a Cross-Sectional survey design was used. The sample size of the study was 53 coaches and 500 players who were randomly selected. The Leadership Scale for Sport questionnaire (LSS) instrument and a self-administered questionnaire were used to collect data. Data was expressed in frequencies and percentages and presented in tables and graphs. Chi-Square was used for data analysis and Fisher’s exact test to determine the strength of the outcomes. Findings showed that the coach academic status significantly influenced team performance in soccer (χ2 =30.292 and P = 0.000) and coach academic status significantly influenced team performance in volleyball (χ2 =15.251 and P = 0.018). However, no significant difference was reported on the influence of the coach professional qualification on the team performance in both soccer (χ2 = 25.180and P = 0.120) and volleyball (χ2 =25.180a and P = 0.120) teams. A significant difference was reported on the influence of the coach competition experience and team performance in both soccer (χ2 = 30.292 and P = 0.000) and volleyball (χ2 = 23.910 and P = 0.001) teams. In addition, a significant difference was reported on the influence of the coach playing experience and team performance in both soccer (χ2 =23.910 and P = 0.002) and volleyball (χ2 = 21.695 and P = 0.001) teams. However, no significant difference was reported on the influence of the coach professional qualification on the team performance in both soccer (χ2 = 11.467 and P = 0.489) and volleyball (χ2 =11.897 and P = 0.119) teams. It was however found that the coaches’ gender had no significant influence on team performance. Further, based on the study discoveries, it was also established that perceptions of soccer players on the coaches training, rewarding behaviour, autocratic behaviour and social support predict team performance in the Kenyan national soccer leagues. However, a perception of players on the coaches’ democratic leadership style does not predict team performance in the Kenyan national soccer leagues. Further, based on the study discoveries, it was also established that perceptions of volleyball players on the coaches training, rewarding behaviour and social support predict team performance in the Kenyan national volleyball leagues. However, a perception of players on the coaches democratic does not predict team performance in the Kenyan national volleyball leagues. From the findings, it was concluded that coach education background, competition experience and perception of coach competence by players play important role in the overall team performance of both soccer and volleyball teams. That coach professional qualifications which did not seem to be significant in team performance need to be reconfirmed through another scientific study. It was recommended that team managers, owners and other stake holders in sports need to consider academic status of coaches during recruitment. This was further confirmed by the findings on the perception of players on the coach competence. On recommendation for policy implementation, federations are advised to collaborate with the ministry and the institutions of higher learning to develop a holistic coach education curriculum in Kenya.