Abstract:
Sports coaching education and research in higher education have received increased attention lately, especially in English-speaking countries such as the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK (Potrac, Gilbert, & Denison, 2013). Although research on sports coaching education is on the rise, very few studies have explored formal sports coaching education programs in university settings. As a result, little knowledge on formal sports coaching education at the university level has been generated. The purpose of this case study was to explore the outgrowth, design, curriculum, and delivery of a graduate sports coaching education program with a concentration on soccer coaching (M.S.R.S,) at Ohio University in light of the recent professionalization processes within the field of sports coaching. This research project was framed by the interpretivist research paradigm. Interviews, documents, and observations served as the main data sources, with the coding of themes as the main form of data analysis strategy.
