Defining success
Defining success: a coach’s perspective
Overview
The word ‘success’ is frequently used within the Australian sport ecosystem but rarely defined. Understanding how our coaches define success is important given the critical role they play. The Australian Sports Commission has explored this topic to form a clearer picture of how Australian coaches define success.
Key findings
There are six major themes that shape how coaches define success:
- Sport growth
- Personal growth
- Emotional growth
- Performance
- Collaborative growth
- Coach‑oriented outcomes
The results were similar across all coaching levels, with coaches gravitating towards sport, personal and emotional growth above performance as key determinants of success.
What this means
Success looks different for every coach, and recognising this diversity is essential for anyone working with or supporting them.
Coaches should feel confident to stand by their own definition of success, building stronger relationships and more meaningful experiences for participants.
Coach developers can better engage coaches by tailoring opportunities to what coaches see value in — or could see with the right support.
Clubs and organisations benefit from flexibility, adapting their expectations and measures of success to reflect the values of their coaching workforce.
This research helps broaden our understanding of what success truly means to coaches, and how we can build environments where they feel valued, supported and empowered to thrive.
Report
- Defining success: a coach's perspective research findings report[PDF • 900.01 kb]