Coach Vygotsky: Developing the pedagogical creativity of distance running coaches

The application of pedagogical literature to sports coaching is not an uncommon practice and, since being initiated by Jones' (2006) explicit re-conceptualisation of the role of the sports coach as educator, recognition of coaching's pedagogical nature has gained increasing impetus (Jones et al., 2018). One theorist given increasing attention in this regard has been Lev Vygotsky. Whilst this work has opened up alternative avenues of scholarly inquiry within coaching, Jones et al. (2018) discuss how the majority of engagements with Vygotsky's thinking have been somewhat limited. With this in mind, the origins of this thesis were formed around Vygotsky's (1978; 1986; 1990; 1994; 1997; 2019) ideas about learning and the potential impact, both practically and theoretically, that such work might have upon the field of sports coaching. Through an action research approach then, the pedagogical practice of three elite distance running coaches was developed over the course of the project. Although many of these developments were specific to elite distance running contexts, the findings have practical and theoretical implications for the wider field of sports coaching. Not in the simplistic sense of taking the ideas presented here and applying them in theory and practice, but in an advocation for the bending and blending of Vygotskyan ideas in relation to any given cultural historical context; whether that be practical or theoretical.