Coaching the Coaches: How to Build a Thriving Culture of Learning and Growth
The Missing Link in Coaching Development
We spend countless hours discussing how to develop athletes—how to refine their skills, improve decision-making, and create adaptable, high-performing players. But what about the people responsible for guiding them? What about the coaches?
Despite the undeniable influence that coaches have on athlete development, most organizations invest surprisingly little in coaching development beyond surface-level certification or occasional clinics. Coaches are often left to figure things out on their own, picking up methods from their playing days or replicating what they see online. Worse, many organizations impose rigid, top-down methodologies that leave little room for creativity or growth, stifling coaching potential instead of nurturing it.
If we truly care about athlete development, we need to care just as much about developing coaches. And if we apply the same principles that work best for players—principles rooted in ecological dynamics, constraints-led learning, motivational interviewing, and acceptance and commitment training—we can create a coaching environment that fosters continuous learning, adaptability, and long-term success.
This means coaching development must extend beyond skill instruction. It must include psychological safety, intentional practice design, collaborative learning, and a framework that allows coaches to challenge their own assumptions about how athletes learn. A coaching environment rooted in high standards and high support fosters innovation, encourages resilience, and ensures that coaches remain engaged and adaptable over time.
So what does that look like in practice? How can organizations create an environment where coaches can develop into the best possible versions of themselves?
1. Creating a Representative Learning Environment for Coaches
We know that athletes don’t develop optimally by repeating isolated drills that lack context. Instead, they need environments that mirror the real demands of the game, where they can make decisions, adapt, and refine their skills dynamically.
The same is true for coaches. Yet most coaching education happens in sterile settings:
Sitting in a classroom watching PowerPoint slides.
Listening to lectures from “experts” but never applying the concepts.
Running pre-scripted drills that don’t challenge them to think about how they coach.
This is the equivalent of teaching an athlete how to play volleyball by making them watch game film without ever letting them step on the court.
A representative learning environment for coaches means giving them real, interactive opportunities to coach in dynamic, game-like situations. It means moving beyond theoretical instruction and into applied coaching scenarios where they can refine their craft in real time.
A robust learning environment requires variability—just as athletes need to experience different constraints, conditions, and tactical situations, coaches should be exposed to a range of challenges that push them to think critically and adapt their approaches. This can include designing constraint-led exercises where coaches must modify practice conditions in real-time to better suit athlete development, or participating in live coaching sessions where they receive immediate feedback and reflect on their choices in the moment.
How Organizations Can Implement This:
✅ Live Coaching Workshops – Instead of passive learning, have coaches take turns leading sessions while peers and mentors provide feedback. Learning should happen while coaching, not just while watching.
✅ Video Reflection & Review – Encourage coaches to record their own practices and break down their sessions the same way they would for athletes. What worked? What didn’t? Where did they talk too much? Where did they miss an opportunity to provide meaningful feedback?
✅ Guided Observations – Instead of just watching high-level coaches and taking notes, provide structured observation tasks. “How does this coach shape the environment? What questions do they ask? What decisions do they leave to the athletes?”
✅ Peer Coaching Feedback Loops – Pair coaches up to observe each other’s practices and offer constructive feedback. This builds a culture of reflection and shared learning instead of isolated trial-and-error.
✅ Simulated Coaching Challenges – Just as athletes need training simulations, coaches should be placed in unexpected, problem-solving scenarios. Ask coaches to adjust on the fly to different team dynamics, unpredictable practice constraints, or in-game decisions.
✅ Multi-Sport Exposure – Encourage coaches to explore how other sports develop decision-making, problem-solving, and adaptability. Many coaching concepts from soccer, basketball, or rugby can cross over into volleyball, broadening a coach’s perspective on learning.
✅ Application of Constraints-Led Coaching – Run workshops where coaches experiment with modifying constraints to improve skill transfer. Encourage them to change elements such as space, task complexity, or time to create more dynamic and engaging practice conditions.
2. Promoting Attentional and Intentional Learning for Coaches
One of the biggest challenges for new coaches is knowing where to focus their attention. They often get caught up in the wrong details—whether every player's footwork is "perfect," whether their drill runs smoothly, whether they sound like the coaches they grew up with—rather than understanding the deeper principles of why and how learning happens.
How Organizations Can Implement This:
✅ Motivational Interviewing Techniques – Help coaches reflect on their own coaching style by asking open-ended questions, affirming strengths, and guiding self-discovery rather than dictating how they should coach.
✅ Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) for Coaches – Teach coaches how to manage their own stress, embrace discomfort in the learning process, and stay committed to growth even when facing challenges.
✅ Reflective Practice – Set up structured post-practice debriefs where coaches reflect on what they intended to accomplish vs. what actually happened.
✅ Encouraging Curiosity & Experimentation – Organizations should welcome questions and alternative viewpoints rather than expecting conformity. Innovation happens when coaches feel safe enough to challenge conventional thinking.
✅ Emphasizing Psychological Flexibility – Encourage coaches to recognize their own thought patterns, accept uncertainty, and make adjustments in their approach rather than rigidly adhering to outdated models.
3. High Standards and High Support: Building an Effective Coaching Culture
Too many coaching organizations operate under either of these two extremes:
High Standards, Low Support – Coaches are expected to perform but are given little guidance or resources.
High Support, Low Standards – Coaches are coddled, and no one challenges them to improve.
The most effective approach? High Standards + High Support.
How Organizations Can Implement This:
✅ Psychological Safety in Learning – Coaches need to feel safe enough to fail in their coaching development. Without this, they’ll default to safe, outdated methods that they “know” won’t get them in trouble.
✅ Mentorship Programs – Pair newer coaches with experienced mentors, not to impose methods, but to serve as a sounding board for growth.
✅ Regular Development Check-Ins – Instead of a one-time certification, coaching growth should be a continuous process, with periodic reflections, goal-setting, and discussions.
✅ Support Through ACT Principles – Help coaches become aware of their own thought patterns, identify unhelpful coaching behaviors, and commit to practices that align with their values rather than just following outdated methods.
Conclusion: Building a Culture of Learning, Not Compliance
By integrating ecological dynamics, constraints-led learning, motivational interviewing, and acceptance and commitment training, coaching organizations can create an atmosphere where learning isn’t just about compliance—it’s about true growth. When coaches are supported in this way, they become better, their athletes become better, and the entire sport moves forward.
Let’s build organizations that prioritize learning over compliance and growth over stagnation. If we invest in coaching development the right way, we don’t just create better coaches—we create a better future for the athletes we serve.
Great article Loren
Love this!