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“Re-Humanisation” of
Sport Coaching
Prioritizing Humanistic Psychology as an
essential tool for developing athletes in the
21st Century.
Jesse Rawlings
SPCO305 Presentation 2017

STRUCTURE
SECTION 1: Humanism and Humanistic
Psychology
SECTION 2: Humanism and Sport
SECTION 3: Humanism and Coaching
Sport

Humanism and
Humanistic Psychology
SECTION 1:

DEFINING HUMANISM
• TRADITIONAL DEFINITION
- Elevates the relevance of human beings as being more important than
metaphysical beings, such as Gods.
- Humanitas, which means human nature, civilization and kindness.
• MODERN DEFINITION (The International Humanist and Ethical Union)
- A democratic and ethical point of view.
- Individuals have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to
their own lives.
- It stands for the building of a more humane society.

HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY
• DEVELOPED BY ABRAHAM MASLOW (1908-1970)
- A psychology of the whole person.
- Study of healthy, fully functioning, creative individuals.
- Continuous study of ‘self-actualized people’.
- Other notable Humanistic Psychologists include Carl Rogers &
Frederick Perls.
- More on this later…...

WHAT IS SPORT?
• According to Arnold (1997), Sport is a valued human practice when
participants:
 Adhere to rules and practice traditions and customs
 Pursue the intrinsic goals of particular sports
 Socially interact
 Competing in a contest involving individual and group rivalry
 Practice sport in a moral and ethical sense

PARADIGMATIC VIEWS OF SPORT
FUNCTIONALIST THEORY
• Sport is a structure within which
societal values are maintained and
dispersed.
• Sport is governed by rules and
recognizes traditions and customs that
reflect the society which sport is played
in.
• Attitudes, values and behavioral codes
found in sports can be transferred into
and developed throughout society.
CONFLICT THEORY
• Recognizes economics as the social
driver of society.
• Conflict occurs between the working
class and ruling class as power and
wealth are unevenly dispersed.
• Sport is a reflection of this conflict, with
the creation of sporting clubs,
organizations, competitions and
legislations that give favor to a
particular class, community or group.

CRITICAL THEORY
• Looks in-depth at how economics,
science, history and education can
impact practices such as sport.
• Seeks to challenge, question and
critique inequality and justice that
stems from power imbalances.
• Sport is seen as a societal tool for
maintaining the status quo, therefore
sport is interrogated by critical theorists
who believe sport is a driving factor for
unjust societies.
POSTMODERN THEORY
• Challenges established and accepted
rules and structures.
• Unearths the dominant power
struggles within sport.
• These include racist beliefs or
tensions, sexist and feminist issues
and political disagreements.

HUMANIST THEORY
• Sport provides a means for balanced human development, through the
physical, psychological and social opportunities and challenges that construct
sport.
• Humanist theory seeks a need to develop better people by treating people as
individual human beings.
• People choose to participate in sport for many reasons, be it health and
wellbeing, fun and enjoyment, an opportunity to socialize and meet new
people, win matches, cooperate in a group environment or to master these
skills. These individual motivations and reasons for playing should be upheld
throughout an individuals sporting journey.

Humanism and
Coaching Sport
SECTION 3:

CHAPTER OVERVIEW
• Explore, analyze and define
current approaches and
philosophies of coaching.
• Understand humanistic
coaching philosophy and why
it is necessary for modern
sport coaches.
• Build and develop humanistic
principles within the art of
coaching sport.

CURRENT APPROACHES TO
COACHING SPORT
• DIRECT INSTRUCTION (Adapted from Lodewyk, 2015)
- Most commonly used model by practicing PE teachers & coaches. (Butler, 2005)
- Instructor centered approach originating from behaviorist learning theory.
- Teacher/coach viewed as an expert transmitter of knowledge.
- Use of highly structured games and learning tasks.
- Teacher delivers specific feedback to correct performance.
- Skill mastery and technical execution is prioritized.
- Lack of meaningful application, higher order thinking and purposeful peer interactions
leader to disengaged students during games. (Azzarito & Ennis, 2003)
.

COACHING SPORT
• STRENGTHS OF DIRECT INSTRUCTION:
- Allows teacher/coach to impart their own knowledge on students.
- No clash of ideas, the teacher is the one who holds the knowledge and
reserves the right to pass on that knowledge where they see fit.
- Power is with the teacher, who the athletes respect as the person who
holds the answers.
- Developing isolated, technique based skill execution.

COACHING SPORT
• WEAKNESSES OF DIRECT INSTRUCTION
- Denies athletes the opportunity to develop their own individual knowledge
through experience.
- Doesn’t account for any prior knowledge, opinions, skills that the athlete
holds.
- Athlete plays no part in the learning process.
- No cognitive skills developed (decision making, tactical understanding,
communication skills, learning skills, analysis skills, goal setting etc.)
- Athletes grow tired and disenchanted of hearing the same voice, therefore
their interest and excitement diminishes.

DIRECT INSTRUCTION?
What lessons can we take from
this video about direct instruction
and placing the ‘Coach’ as the
bearer of all knowledge in the
coach-athlete dynamic?

COACHING SPORT
• IS IT WORKING?
• WHAT DO WE NEED TO
CHANGE?
• HOW DO WE CHANGE? COACH
ATHLETE

HUMANISTIC COACHING
PHILSOPHIES
• TRADITIONAL PHILOSOPHIES
- Focus on style of play (Attack,
Defense, Transitions, Set
Piece).
- Technical and Tactical elements
are focused upon.
- Football: ‘Tiki Taka’ v ‘Hit & Run’.
- Rugby: ‘10 man game’.
• MODERN PHILOSOPHIES
- Account for the human side of
sport.
- Psychological and social
elements are accounted for.
- A manifesto for developing
people in a harmonious way.
- Squad and team development.
- Learning and accountability.

CURRENT COACHING
PHILOSOPHIES:
IS THE HUMAN ASPECT CLEAR?
• JOSE MOURINHO (Head Coach, Manchester United)
- Winner of UEFA Champions League, English Premier
League, Italian Serie A & La Liga. Known as the ‘special
one’.
“I stress intellectual intelligence. I want my players thinking all
the time, even if they are wondering what my response it.
Every player is a player, every man is a man. I treat them
fairly, but not equally. Different actions will trigger different
responses”.
http://www.just-football.com/2012/08/play-inside-the-mind-of-jose-mourinho-coaching-tactics-part-i/

CURRENT COACHING PHILOSOPHIES: IS THE HUMAN
ASPECT CLEAR?
• JOE SCHMIDT (Head Coach, Irish Rugby)
- Ex-PE teacher who left NZ to coach Ireland, and masterminded a victory over the All Blacks in Chicago, 2016.
"IF YOU CAN’T TURN UP, WORK HARD AND BE A GOOD PERSON YOU WON’T BE A GOOD PLAYER.” Your coaching
philosophy must stem from your approach to life; one must live life by a set of values that start at home.
"YOU NEED A SOLID SET OF VALUES AND BEHAVIOURS AS YOUR FOUNDATION. ONCE THAT FOUNDATION IS
STRONG, THEN YOU CAN TAKE THE STEPS TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL.” These values and behaviours will form the
foundation for achieving your goals.
"INDIVIDUAL LEADERS SUCH AS PAUL O CONNELL, BRIAN O DRISCOLL AND JOHNNY SEXTON LEAD THROUGH
THEIR BEHAVIOUR NOT THEIR WORDS.” If leaders are given input into team objectives and adopt them from the outset,
there will be increased buy-in from team members.
"THE AVERAGE ATTENTION SPAN IS 11 SECONDS, FOR PURE CONCENTRATION. CONSISTENCY OF MESSAGE IS
KEY.” Decide what message you want to convey, and to stick with it! Focus on what is most important for the entire team.
This message should then be echoed by coaches and key players to reinforce the message in the mind of each team
member.
"FEEDBACK IS FUEL FOR A TEAM; BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE.” During his famous Monday morning reviews,
Schmidt focuses on one thing that a player needs to improve, while also noting two things that the player is doing well. If
each individual improvement is achieved then the team will function better as a unit. Highlighting the positives encourages
belief and confidence, which is the key to building momentum.
https://www.goalglobal.org/stories/post/joe-schmidts-5-top-tips-for-leadership-and-teamwork

CURRENT COACHING
PHILOSOPHIES:
IS THE HUMAN ASPECT CLEAR?
• JOHN WOODEN (Head Coach, UCLA Basketball, 1948-1975)
- Won 10 NCAA Championships, including 7 in a row with an 88 game unbeaten streak.

APPLYING HUMANISTIC PRINCIPLES
IN COACHING
• Humanistic Psychology and
Sport Coaching
• Teaching Games for
Understanding (TGfU) as a
platform for Humanistic
development

HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY AND
SPORT COACHING(Lombardo, 1987)
• 5 key points of Humanistic Psychology
1. Great importance placed on the personal and subjective interpretation
of human experience.
2. Human and experience are viewed holistically
3. The concept of freedom and autonomy is central to humanism
4. Humanistic psychology is anti-reductionist
5. Human nature can never fully be defined

HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY AND
SPORT COACHING(Lombardo, 1987)
• Humanistic Psychology in coaching- Lessons & Outcomes
- Humans are unique, therefore their sporting experience will be different from
one another. There are no two ‘right ways’.
- Coaching is an ‘open’ venture, not a ‘closed’ one. Encourage the
development of free-thinking, interpretation, analytical athletes.
- Sport must be delivered in an open environment that encourages progression
and provides opportunities to achieve an athletes full potential.
- 4 corner approach to session design and coaching. Tactical, technical, social
and psychological. Developing all of these elements cohesively reflects and
acknowledges sport as a tool for human development.

TGfU AS A PLATFORM FOR HUMANISTIC
DEVELOPMENT (Kidman, 2006)
• Why TGfU?
- Accounts for the expressive, creative, adaptable and versatile nature of
human movement.
- Allows athletes an opportunity to ‘play’ and develop holsitically.
- Builds self-awareness, an ability to learn and enjoyment.
- Provides autonomy and freedom through athlete ownership and
responsibility, which suits the socialization trends of the 21st century.

TGfU AS A PLATFORM FOR HUMANISTIC
DEVELOPMENT (Kidman, 2006)
• TGfU AND ATHLETE-CENTERED COACHING- KEY FEATURES
- Modified games allow athletes to compete ‘in the moment’, improving their
awareness of self and others as well as ability to self-coach and self-correct.
- Allow athletes to learn and facilitate learning by withholding knowledge,
allowing athletes to solve problems and better understand the game,
themselves and others.
- Ask questions and encourage athletes to be open with coaches and peers,
utilizing conversation and peer learning to overcome issues.
- Athletes are not told what to do, they are encouraged to work things out for
themselves. By adopting this approach, coaches are seeking to create
independent, athletes with excellent problem solving and decision making
skills.

Bibliography
Arnold, P. (1997). Sport as a valued human practise is consistent with the Key area of
Learning; Sport Studies. Health and Physical Education in the New Zealand Curriculum.
Azzarito, L., & Ennis, C. D. (2003). A sense of connection: Toward social constructivist PE.
Sport, Education, and Society, 8, 179– 198.
Butler, J. I. (2005). TGfU pet-agogy: Old dogs, new tricks, and puppy school. PE and Sport
Pedagogy, 10, 225–240
Kidman, L. (2006). Humanistic Coaching-Teaching Games for Understanding. In Conference
paper at Asia Pacific Conference on Teaching Sport and Physical Education for
Understanding, The University of Sydney.
Lodewyk, K. R. (2015). Relations Between Epistemic Beliefs and Instructional Approaches to
Teaching Games in Prospective Physical Educators. Physical Educator, 72(4), 677-700.
Lombardo, B. J. (1987). The humanistic coach: From theory to practice.

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