ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the coach’s behaviour: how it can be represented for the purposes of analysis and modelling, and how the available literature on the subject has described the coach’s practice. The problems of model building are emphasised and the attempts of model builders to date are described and evaluated against a set of principles. Key amongst these is the extent to which the model builders have managed to relate the essential components of the coaching process to the coach’s behaviour or practice. This quest is consonant with the objective of developing a conceptual framework around the coaching process. Often, a first stage in setting out a conceptual framework is to attempt to model practice. It will become obvious that this is not an easy task and is made more difficult by the ‘processual’ and multivariable nature of sports coaching.
