Supporting the professional development of coaches to optimise the dynamics of their interactions with athletes: the case of badminton coaches

This study seeks to understand the impact of coaches’ activities on those of athletes. It forms part of a research program in culturalist anthropology that aims to conceptualize the meanings that the coach and the athlete associate with their lived experiences, but also to understand the ways in which these meanings coincide. The initial results of this study showed that coach-athlete interactions often gave rise to disagreements that could lead to unproductive collaboration. A transformative study was conducted to allow coaches to achieve a higher level of intersubjectivity with athletes. In terms of methodology, after taking an audio-video recording of a training session followed by a self-confrontation interview (SCI) conducted with the coach and then the athlete, we conducted a second “transformative” interview with the coach. Confronted with the athlete’s SCI, the coach had to interpret the disagreements observed. The SCI of a second session followed by the SCI of the coach and the athlete were then set up to identify the coach’s possible areas for development. Though a certain level of resistance was observed during this reflection process, the results show that insight into the athlete’s experience, and more particularly into any disagreements on meaning, is an opportunity for the coach to engage in a reflective activity, a key source of professional development.