Do Coaches need to know the Game?

I've got a problem with coaches. Not all coaches mind you, just the ones that set themselves up as motivators, but have no technical knowledge about the subject at hand. This is especially true of the trendy new job of 'life coach.'

Now a newly published study by Amanda Goodall, Lawrence Kahn, and Andrew Oswald (Opens in PDF) finds that having expert knowledge of the thing you are coaching definitely matters. The Abstract of the report says "We show that a strong predictor of a leader's success... is that person s own level of attainment, in the underlying activity... Our data come from 15,000 professional basketball games and reveal that former star players make the best coaches. This expert knowledge effect is large."

How Large? The report finds substantial evidence that the difference between having a coach who never played NBA basketball and one who played many years of NBA all star basketball is, on average, approximately 6 extra places up the NBA league table. In a league where there are 29 teams, this is significant.

The report also tries to draw some conclusions as to why this is the case. One possibility is that the same quality that drove the individual to the top of the game still exists, an 'x-factor' that determines success. Other explanations include an ability to impart expert knowledge that can only be acquired by playing the game. A third hypothesis offered is that players who are recognised as 'greats' command more respect from those who are at the top of their game in the present, whereas lesser players, or those who have never played the game would find it harder to convince current players of their credentials.

There may be exceptions, but at last there are some hard facts that show that a coach with expert knowledge will provide better results than a coach who is 'motivating' only.