Developing creative coaches through action research: why and how context matters

Although creativity has increasingly become a focus for general developmental attention in many fields, its practical implementation has been bedevilled by problems. Notwithstanding such doubts, the promise of creativity has been eagerly embraced within sport. In taking account of the on-going need to develop sports coaches’ knowledge and practice in situ, the aim of this project was to develop coaches’ creativity through an action research (AR) method, itself the subject of criticism in relation to definitional elusiveness. Although one refers to content and the other to method, it was anticipated that engaging in such a dual, yet unified function could somewhat address the ‘realpolitik’ issues evident in both, to better develop creative coaching practice. Following an AR design which included 4 systematic cycles over a 20-week period, 4 coaches selected through purposive and snowball sampling were encouraged and assisted to implement creative notions into their practice. Although rhetorically supportive, the coaches experienced numerous obstacles to adopt and embed such ideas into their coaching. The results reflected a ‘misuse’ or misunderstanding of creativity, an inability to work without considerable definitional structures and a constant justification for the lack of agency exercised. Such findings are principally discussed within a critical framework of the need to; (1) better appreciate the power of context (in addition to articulating what is meant by such) when utilising or advocating means such as AR and (2) to encourage a more nuanced understanding of what exactly is being asked for in terms of developing (altered) creative practice in coaches.