The Health Promoting Sports Coach: Theoretical background and practical guidance

The organised sport setting is a key context for health promotion, but it can also be associated with risky behaviours. Sports coaches play a crucial role in supporting the health of sport participants but often lack the resources and support to do so. This paper proposes a guide to help coaches become health promoters by defining their key actions in line with the Health Promoting Sports Club model. An embedded mixed-method study with a QUAL (qual) design was used, where 15 experts took part in 5 meetings and 299 coaches provided input through an online survey. Four steps were carried out: (1) defining the health-promoting sports coach and key action principles, (2) co-constructing progression stages using the settings-based approach, (3) identifying key actions for promoting health in different coaching moments, and (4) developing long-term intervention components. A definition of the health-promoting sports coach was produced, and eight key action principles have been identified, divided into three dimensions: connection with the system, adoption of a coaching philosophy, and focus on participants. Five stages of progression for integrating health promotion into coaching have been established, ranging from risk prevention to a global approach involving the entire sports system. Specific actions for each moment of coaching (before, during and after training, and competition) have been determined, such as ‘monitoring the physical, mental and social health of participants’ or ‘ensuring a cool-down, stretching, shower and proper eating after competition’. Finally, long-term intervention components to support the implementation of these actions in practice have been developed based on what coaches are already doing, the skills they possess and the five stages of progression. This paper enabled the development of a guide to help sports coaches promote health by identifying concrete actions and short- and long-term interventions, whilst making links with the health promoting sports club model. It broadens the scope of coaching by incorporating health principles, while emphasising the need to adapt to the environment and context of the club. This work calls for future research to test the effectiveness and feasibility of these approaches in various sporting environments.