Coaches’ development in Brazil: structure of sports organizational programmes

The purpose of the present study was to analyse the organisational structure of the programmes offered by the Brazilian Sports Federations and the Brazilian Academy of Coaches (ABT) in order to prepare coaches to work in the performance sport context. Data were collected from three information sources (online pages from the Federations/ABT, e-mail and by phone). While some Federations structure their programmes in progressive levels related to different contexts of performance (beginner, development, performance), others prioritise, through the levels, the depth of the knowledge related to coaching, regardless of the coach’s professional performance context. The ABT programmes are focused on the development of athletes and teams in a long-term sports development context. Some implications from the findings are discussed for the ongoing improvement process of the organisation of coach education in Brazil.