Educational means of expert basketball coaches

Research has shown that coaches learn not only through educational programs, but also through other means of learning that can take place in informal talks with colleagues, mentors, observing other coaches, books, Internet, and even past experiences as a player. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to understand the means most used by sixteen expert basketball coaches as well as to describe each of them in detail for possible transfer to other coaches. To conduct the study, qualitative methodology was used, utilizing the technique of a semi-structured interview in which sixteen expert basketball coaches were interviewed. The results show that formal education (federated courses) has a much lower volume than informal means. Additionally, these informal means have greater relevance for the coaches due to much more specific content. Among these means, situated learning (daily experiences as a coach), practical reflection, mentoring, and shared learning (lectures and observing other coaches, etc.) are highlighted, as well as to a lesser degree, practice communities, the experiences at that stage as a player and non-situated learning. These results make us reflect on the restructuring of the existing training programs for coaches, which clearly need to be more specific and closer to the reality and circumstances of the coach.