COMPETENCES OF PROFESSIONAL VOLLEYBALL TEAM COACHES IN THE OPINION OF EXPERTS

Purpose: The paper presents a theoretical model of vocational competencies of professional team-sports coaches. The model is a theoretical background for a wider research project of which the main aim is to improve standards of professional competences for volleyball coaches in Poland. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to identify vocational competences through reviewing opinions of experts. Methodology: Theoretical model of vocational competencies of professional team-sports coaches was built and verified on the ground of the literature review method and afterwards compared and verified with four expert opinions gained through individual in-depth interviews. Findings: The model consists of three components: knowledge, skills and behaviour, as well as three levels of competencies: basic, complementary and leadership. It has been stated that there is no advantage for any of three levels of competences in a group of the most successful volleyball coaches in Poland, and that a relatively strong impact of behaviour among other competencies’ components was observed. Therefore, all significant conclusions of the theoretical model and research outcomes are discussed.