Exploring Coach Development in Esports through an Online Social Learning Space

Contemporary research recognises coach learning as socially situated and shaped through ongoing interactions between people and context. In esports, coach learning is typically self-directed and occurs in the absence of a codified, formal coach education pathway. This absence of classroom-based or curriculum-led provision presents an opportunity to explore alternative approaches to coach learning. Social Learning Spaces in particular hold promise given their complementarity with the autonomous and relational learning skills used by esports coaches. This study therefore examined how an online Social Learning Space (SLS) intervention for esports coaches supported coach learning through peer interaction, facilitated discussion and shared reflection. Adopting a constructivist orientation that sees learning as co-constructed rather than transmitted, the intervention sought to recognise and value the knowledge within the group. While SLS session plans were prepared by a facilitator to provide direction and loosely targeted constructs associated with coaching efficacy (e.g., confidence in supporting motivation, game-specific understanding, and character development), session content was shaped ad-hoc by participants’ learning needs and their contextual insights. Data were generated through pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, session recordings, ongoing participant feedback, researcher notes, and follow-up interviews. Analysis, which is ongoing at the time of presentation, adopts a reflexive thematic approach informed by Wenger-Trayner’s value creation framework. Given the relative paucity of coach development research in esports, analysis focuses primarily on the immediate, potential, and applied value associated with participation in the SLS, as well as factors that enable or constrain learning. The study offers insights into how Social Learning Spaces can redistribute power in coach education settings, provide greater space for participants’ voices, and support contextually-relevant learning in emerging coaching contexts. Findings have implications for coaches, researchers, coach educators, and governing bodies seeking to design meaningful, participatory coach development initiatives in esports and beyond.