Cooperative coaching: Benefits to students in extracurricular school sports

IntroductionThroughout the world, many young people participate in school-based extracurricular sports activities (SBECSA) mainly after school and on weekends (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012; Edwards, Kanters, & Bocarro 2011; Sport Council Wales, 2009; Sasakawa Sports Foundation, 2014). SBECSAs contribute to positive youth development (Barnett, 2007; Dotterer, McHale, & Crouter, 2007; Farb & Matjasko, 2012; Fredricks & Eccles, 2006; Lipscomb, 2007; Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan [MEXT], 2012; Schaefer, Simpkins, Vest, & Price, 2011; Shernoff & Vandell, 2007; Telama, 2009), although each country's SBECSAs have various purposes such as skill improvements, promotion of physical activities, recreation and character building (Nakazawa, 2014; Uchiumi, 2001). Currently, outsourcing of health, sports and physical education has proliferated (Evans, 2014; Flintoff, 2008; Gard, 2015; Macdonald, 2011; MEXT, 2013; Pope, 2014; Powell, 2015; Williams, Hay, & Macdonald, 2011; Williams & Macdonald, 2015) in line with the privatization of education (Apple, 2001). Outsourcing in SBECSA could be regarded as an unavoidable phenomenon due to the lack of in-school coaches (Aoyagi et al., 2013a; Aoyagi, Ishii, Shibata, Arai, & Oka, 2014b; Powell, 2015). In particular, the following issues have been reported: lack of teachers who can coach SBECSAs to an expert degree; aging of SBECSA teachers; and excessive workload for teachers managing SBECSAs in addition to their regular duties (Akita Prefecture Board of Education, 2013; Japan Senior High School Teachers Union, 2008; MEXT, 1997; Whiteley & Richard, 2012). Evans (2014) indicated that privatization and outsourcing in school is not likely to disappear. Sports coaches who can provide outsourcing assume important roles, especially in providing expertise and decreasing teachers' burdens (Aoyagi et al., 2013a; Aoyagi et al., 2014b; Jones & Green, 2015; Smith, 2015; Williams & Macdonald, 2015). However, problems with excessive outsourcing have also been reported. One is the expansion of sports-related disparities as some children with low socioeconomic statuses cannot join sports activities (Evans, 2014; Morita, 2014). The other is the concern centred on less educational coaching by external coaches (Aoyagi et al., 2013a; Aoyagi et al., 2014b; Flintoff, 2008; Powell, 2015). Based on these situations, it is necessary to consider an appropriate degree of outsourcing, in particular, an appropriate cooperation of external coaches and teachers. Therefore, the current study contextualized "cooperative coaching" as situations in which both external coaches and teachers engage in and support SBECSAs.From the external coaches' perspectives, it is suggested that teachers' engagement in SBECSAs promotes external coaches' engagement in SBECSAs (Aoyagi et al., 2013b; Aoyagi, Ishii, Shibata, Arai, & Oka, 2014a). In contrast, the teachers' perspectives reveal a number of benefits for teachers and students in using external coaches. The use of external coaches is considered an effective method for reducing the workload burden and improving the teachers' knowledge and coaching skills (Aoyagi et al., 2013a; Williams & Macdonald, 2015). Teachers have also reported improved techniques and increased motivation among students following the use of external coaches (Aoyagi et al., 2013a). Therefore, external coaches and teachers need one another to develop valuable SBECSAs. However, these are evidences only perceived by external coaches and teachers, but not by students. A previous survey conducted with junior high school students indicated that the contents of coaching affected their motivation to participate in sports (Sirard, Pfeiffer, & Pate, 2006). Based on such reports, coaches and teachers are regarded as influential people to students. Students are receivers of coaching, and could be neutral evaluators of the benefits derived from external coaches and teachers. …