Chapter 7: An Investigation Into Sports Coaches’ Twitter Use

in Journal of Teaching in Physical Education

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Stephen HarveyOhio University

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Obidiah AtkinsonThe Ohio State University

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Brendon P. HyndmanCharles Sturt University

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2019-0283
Keywords:
collaboration; ideas; learning; social media; sports coaching
First Published Online:
17 Jul 2020
In Print:
Volume 39: Issue 4
Page Range:
481–490
Restricted access

Purpose: To investigate sports coaches’ Twitter use. Methods: Coaches (N = 310) from 22 countries and a range of sports completed an online survey. Quantitative survey data were analyzed descriptively and triangulated with qualitative data using Leximancer (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) text mining software. Results: Most participants reported using Twitter for ≥3 years and accessed the platform multiple times per day. More than half participants agreed that using Twitter had positively impacted both their own confidence as a coach and their athletes/players/team’s performance. The strongest overall themes from the qualitative data revealed that Twitter helped sports coaches improve their practices through the sharing of information, connecting with other coaches, and building positivity into their interactions when supporting players. Discussion/Conclusion: Sports coaches perceive Twitter to be a highly valuable platform to network, collaborate, gain access to information, and share ideas and resources.

Harvey is with the Department of Recreation and Sport Pedagogy, Patton College of Education, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA. Atkinson is with The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. Hyndman is with Charles Sturt University, Albury-Wodonga Campus, Albury, NSW, Australia.

Harvey (harveys3@ohio.edu) is corresponding author.
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