Critical Overview of Coach Education Programs in Botswana

Coaches play a pivotal role in elite athlete talent identification and development. Coach education programs should, therefore, be contextualized to national sports federation’s athletic needs and national cultures. Botswana and several developing countries still rely on formal and informal coach education programs developed in industrialized countries. The development and training of coaches have been conceptualized in several broad areas including formal, nonformal, informal, directed, and self-directed programs. National, regional, and continental sports federations still run parallel athlete and coach development programs that heavily rely on consultants from outside their respective countries. Collaboration with local institutions of higher learning and experts in Africa is still in the infancy stage, which undermines athlete and coach development. This article will first provide a brief background on the Botswana sports system. The second section presents a critical overview of coach education in Botswana with emphasis on Botswana Football Association and Botswana Athletics Association Coach Education Programs. The authors examine coaches’ education programs’ context and culture consistent with Wang et al.’s three crucial factors of coach educator pedagogy, learning design, and course content. Finally, the paper will provide a conclusion and future directions.