Did you know…that expert basketball coaches begin their coaching

careers by imitating others?

Jimenez, S., Lorenzo, A., & Ibanez, S. (2009). Development of expertise in Spanish elite

basketball coaches. Revista Internacional de Ciencias del Deporte, 17 (5), 19-32.

Becoming an expert at anything isn’t easy. It takes hard work amongst other crucial
factors. Researchers have defined an expert as someone who has achieved a high
performance level in their field of work through intense training and an appropriate social
environment. Reaching such performance levels requires many years of practice and
experience. Various studies have investigated and identified factors, such as education and
mentoring that might contribute to becoming an expert coach. However, very little
research has focused on the exact development that coaches go through in becoming
experts in their profession.
Interestingly, this recent study found that elite Spanish basketball coaches
became experts by going through four stages of development. The authors of this study
interviewed eight elite coaches with at least 26 years of coaching experience respectively
that included coaching gigs in Spain’s first professional men’s basketball league (ACB
league) and/or with national teams. There are many different definitions of what makes an
expert. For the purpose of this study, the researchers defined an expert coach as
someone who was considered a prestigious coach by other high level basketball coaches,
had won a professional basketball award with his team, and had coached professional
players on the international level.
The coaches were asked to describe their career paths and factors that had
contributed to their development in the coaching profession on their way to becoming
expert coaches. The researchers analyzed the interviews and found a number of
commonalities in the coaches’ responses. More specifically, it appeared that the coaches
went through four stages of development in becoming expert coaches. In the first stage,
these individuals quit playing basketball to focus on coaching at a young age. As
inexperienced coaches they imitated tactics and drills used by their former coaches,
despite not being sure whether their methods were appropriate. These coaches left school
or work to dedicate themselves fully to their new profession as they progressed towards
the second stage. In the second phase of their development the coaches were mentored
by other more experienced coaches and started to develop significant basketball
knowledge through courses and watching other coaches’ practices. They also received their
first opportunity to become coach of a first team or a youth ACB club. Stage three was
characterized by coaches’ independent work with an elite team. During this stage the
coaches had already accumulated many years of coaching experience and felt comfortable
in their leadership roles. When these coaches reached the fourth and final stage of their
development, they were able to make unique contributions to their basketball coaching
profession. Such contributions not only pertained to sharing knowledge about the sport,
such as skills and tactics, but also included ideas about how to manage groups of players.
In summarizing their development towards becoming experts, these coaches
indicated that the best way to learn had been through experience driven by the motivation
for constant improvement as well as by mentorship provided by other knowledgeable
coaches. These findings were largely consistent with those of other studies. The 4-stage
developmental process of coaching expertise identified by the researchers was
characterized by formal experiences such as attending coaching courses as well as
informal experiences such as talking to established coaches to gain technical and tactical
knowledge and receive social support. In conclusion, the results of this study confirm that
many years of coaching experience are necessary in order to become an elite coach.
Throughout these years, coaches need to keep an open-mind about their coaching
approach, be willing to learn from others, and adapt and mold their coaching philosophy so
as to integrate new knowledge into practices and games. Lastly, the path to becoming an
elite basketball coach often begins with simple imitation of coaches encountered as a
player before slowly progressing into the development of one’s own unique coaching
philosophy through many years of dedicated work.