Motives for and Experiences of Expatriation to Coach
in International Sport Coaching JournalCoaching is a global profession and coaches play a central role in enhancing the performance of millions of athletes worldwide. In the 21st century, the global mobility of coaches has increased, with many coaches taking advantage of opportunities to coach abroad. Norway leads the all-time Winter Olympics medals table (i.e., 368 medals), and with most of these medals coming from skiing disciplines, Norway represents a skiing hotbed that attracts ski coaches from other parts of the world. The purpose of the study was to examine ski coaches’ motives for and experiences of expatriation to coach in Norway. Five North American alpine ski coaches (four males and one female) were individually interviewed (M = 77 min, SD = 24.94), with the data examined using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Motives for expatriation included having a passion for skiing, challenging oneself, experiencing a new sport culture, and maintaining relationships. Upon arriving in Norway, coaches mentioned experiencing challenges with the Norwegian sport system, language, pressure from parents and the media, and being far from friends and family. Once acclimated, coaches discussed the benefits of expatriation that included the Norwegian work ethic, family-centric lifestyle, and popularity of skiing.
Felber Charbonneau and Camiré are with the School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Lemyre is with the Department of Coaching and Psychology, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
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