Serial winning coaches’ competences

The research aimed to try to identify some common qualities and understanding of their personality of serial winning coaches. Of course, the results do not represent a “magic recipe” or an “ideal profile,” but they contribute significantly to forming an empirical basis for improvement in the identification, recruitment and development of coaches.

Fourteen serial winning male coaches of international and Olympic competitions from 11 nations and 10 individual and team sports, average age 55 years, 25 years of experience, and total number of 128 medals won were interviewed. Twenty athletes they coached were also interviewed.

The results obtained are described in the table below and highlight the relevance of the personality of the coach who for the most part shows to be outgoing and scrupulous, open to change and oriented to continuous improvement. It also shows the relevance of competence in social relations and possessing a strong orientation to work culture and the ability to make decisions.

Coach Data	Athlete Data
Personality Traits
Serial Winning Coaches described themselves as: having a very strong work ethic confident being thirsty for knowledge socially competent endorsing a positive approach to problem solving	Athletes described their coaches as: having a very strong work ethic confident knowledgeable socially competent endorsing a positive approach to problem solving
Values & Beliefs (the way the world should be)
Serial Winning Coaches believed that: coaching should be athlete-centered and holistic coaches must uphold high moral standards sustained success requires an adequate  work-life balance	Athletes thought that their coaches: were athlete- and team-centered upheld very high moral standards valued all involved had an appropriate work-life balance
Key Skills Required to Succeed
Effective communication Teaching Planning Managing Decision-Making Relationship building	Effective communication Managing Motivating Planning Relationship building

Source: Clifford J. Mallett e Sergio Lara-Bercial (2016). Serial Winning Coaches: People, Vision and Environment. In M. Raab, P. Wylleman, R. Seiler e A.M. Elbe (a cura di), Sporta and exercise psychology research: Theory to practice. Amsterdam: Elsevier.