The Football Association of Wales has shared new research on how coaches can be better equipped to manage the demands of their role and thrive within their working environments at the 15th UEFA Coach Education Conference in Rome.
Dr Dave Adams, FAW Chief Football Officer, and Professor Brendan Cropley of Cardiff Metropolitan University were selected to present findings from their work conducted through the FAW Centre for Football Research in collaboration with Professor David Shearer and Dr Lee Baldock (University of South Wales), bringing a Welsh perspective to the development of coach education across Europe.
Their workshop, Thriving Under Fire: Developing the Coach as a Performer Through Formal Coach Education, explored how education and support can help coaches sustain both their performance and their well-being.
Their research highlights that coaches can struggle to cope with the demands they experience within their coaching roles, with consequences for their well-being and ability to function effectively. These findings have implications for how coaches are prepared, developed and supported throughout their careers.
Central to the presentation was the concept of the “coach as a performer”: recognising that coaches must manage their own emotions, behaviours and responses to pressure while leading and developing others.
Alongside technical and tactical knowledge, the workshop emphasised the importance of helping coaches recognise sources of stress, understand their reactions and develop effective strategies to manage their well-being and cope with the demands associated with the environments in which they work.
It also challenged coach educators and National Associations to place well-being at the heart of coach development, recognising its contribution to effective leadership, sustainable performance and positive player development.
Delegates explored how these principles could be embedded within existing coach education programmes. This included creating opportunities for coaches to practise and reflect on their responses to pressure, alongside more individualised approaches to learning, feedback and assessment.
The findings are directly informing the FAW’s approach to coach education and the support provided to coaches working across Cymru’s national teams.
By connecting research with practice, the FAW Centre for Football Research is helping to strengthen understanding of the realities coaches face and identify practical ways to support them.
Presenting this work at UEFA’s Coach Education Conference provided an opportunity to share that learning with colleagues across Europe and contribute to a wider discussion about how football can help coaches perform effectively and thrive throughout their careers.
The FAW recently launched its 10-year strategy called Llunio Cymru, under which a new High Performance Plan was released. Central to the FAW High Performance Plan will be to make date informed decisions, which the Centre for Football Research will play an important role in.
