Developing Coaches' Knowledge of the Athlete-Coach Relationship Through Formal Coach Education: The Perceptions of Football Association Coach Developers

Developing high-quality athlete-coach (A-C) relationships improves both athlete performance and well-being. However, content relating to the A-C relationship has been underrepresented within coach education. The study evaluates how coaches completing the English Football Association's Union of European Football Associations A and B licenses develop knowledge of the A-C relationship. It does so by drawing on the perspectives of those who design and deliver the courses. Semistructured interviews were completed with nine experienced Football Association coach developers alongside a document analysis of seven key course documents. Data were analysed through an inductive thematic analysis and five themes were generated: (a) coach developers understand that the A-C relationship is built on trust, care, and hard and soft interpersonal approaches; (b) the triad of knowledge impacts on the A-C relationship, not just interpersonal knowledge; (c) the A-C relationship is not meaningfully addressed in the formalised course content; (d) in situ visits provide an effective medium to develop knowledge of the A-C relationship; and (e) the assessment framework does not align with the formalised course content. Findings demonstrate, despite a diversification in content, the A-C relationship is introduced in a superficial manner. Future research should clarify the knowledge coaches require to develop high-quality A-C relationships within a high-performance footballing context.