Assessing the Effectiveness of Thai Sports Coaches Development Program

Abstract

The Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) is a state enterprise responsible for sports development of Thailand. SAT has its duties to promote, support and manage sports across the country for the sustainability of elite sports. SAT emphasizes the development of sports coaches to meet international standards.?? The International Certification in Sports Coaching (ICSC) program is a sports science and training program which is a partnership between SAT and the United States Sport Academy (USSA). It aims to develop the knowledge and skills of sports coaches, who can apply the knowledge and experience gained from the program to perform or officiate for the sports association or organization at both national and international levels. Despite its 10 years of existence, and more than 300 coaches have participated in it, the ICSC program has not been evaluated thoroughly in terms of the knowledge and skills imparted, as well as its applicability and effect on the career of participants after the program. Even the things that need to be done in order for the program to be more effective in the future are unknown. Therefore, the researcher aims to investigate how successful the ICSC program has been for the past 10 years. Data was collected through the use of secondary data, online questionnaire and in-depth interviews. The target group of this study is the sports personnel who complete the ICSC program from 2004 ? 2014. From the result of the study, it can be seen that the ICSC program is effective and contributes to the development of the sports personnel in Thailand, both theoretically and practically, as knowledge and experience gained from the program were applied to improve the sports association or organizations in both national and international levels.