The job security of coaches

Abstract

The proliferation of international sport competitions has drawn considerable attention to coaching. However, it appears that when a team loses, the first solution seems to be to fire the coach. This study thus aims to investigate the job security of professional coaches in South Africa. It attempts to identify the problems experienced by coaches, the solutions they propose and to make managers of sport and future coaches aware of the stability or instability, security or insecurity involved in coaching. Postal questionnaires and telephonic interviews were used to gather data from 25 professional coaches from five major sport codes. Frequencies, percentages and averages were computed. The majority of coaches felt insecure about their jobs. The most common reason for their dismissal was dissatisfaction experienced by players and management with the inability of coaches to make their team win.


(S. African J. for Research in Sport, Physical Ed. and Recreation: 2001 23 (1): 65-74)