A Coach Development Program: A Guided Online Reflective Practice Intervention Study

Coaches can influence athlete outcomes, such as performance and personal development; yet, coaches themselves are learners in their own right, who seek to develop their coaching craft. Reflective practice is essential for coaches’ development; however, coaches might engage and benefit from reflective practice in myriad ways. This study aimed to evaluate if online reflective journaling (ORJ) enhances the depth of reflection of sports coaches in a 4-week coach development programme (CDP). Participants were a convenience sample of 83 sports coaches from several sports, divided into an intervention group (N = 42) and a control group (N = 41). Data collection used a mixed-methods approach, examining a CDP focused on the coaches’ reflective practice. The results revealed that reflection was the only dependent variable that showed significant differences over time. Participation in ORJ showed positive effects on reflection in both groups; however, only the experimental group was statistically significant. For this sample, ORJ was found to help enhance coaches’ reflection towards critical reflection. All texts included in pre-, post-, and follow-up tests were coded for trustworthiness purposes. This finding supports the potential of ORJ in nurturing reflective practice, which is considered a core competency in becoming a successful sports coach.