What Are You Thinking When You Coach? An Exploration of Tennis Coaches’ Cognitions Using Stimulated Recall

To date, much sports coaching research has tended to focus on components such as decision-making, knowledge structures, and mental models. However, limited attention has been given to the “types of thinking” coaches engage in when coaching athletes in situ. This gap in the research literature is problematic for both coaches and coach developers in improving coaching practice. Therefore, we explored tennis coaches’ cognitive processes (i.e., the what) and their type (i.e., the how). Using stimulated recall interviews (a knowledge elicitation method based on watching video recordings of one’s own practice), data were collected from four expert tennis coaches within coaching sessions (n = 8). In addition, (n = 4) background interviews were conducted to help make sense of the data and inform the stimulated recall interview questions. A Reflexive Thematic Analysis revealed a framework of nine higher psychological functions (noticing, questioning, confirming, risk evaluation, forecasting, contextualizing, normalizing, problem-solving, and deductive reasoning) in which coaches engage during coaching practice. These findings have potential theoretical and practical applications in sports coaching practice and coach development.