Archery coaches use the internet to look up what they already know, not to learn
1 study · 63 archers measured
The summary today
The question has been asked only once, in a British research thesis from 2023: 63 qualified coaches from the national governing body answered a questionnaire and six were then interviewed. Nearly all of them use the internet, 90.3% for their coaching before the pandemic, and they turn mainly to governing body channels and YouTube; 61.7% rate online resources at least moderately useful. Use stops halfway, though: only 51.9% say they always apply what they find, and just 21.9% go online for it every week. The interviews explain why. Coaches prefer to learn from other coaches, in person, and treat the internet as a store of things already learned, to be looked up when needed, or as a source of videos to show their archers; they judge what they read against their own experience, feel swamped by the amount of material and doubt its accuracy. The exception is the most experienced and best qualified, who also use it to fill gaps, looking to other sports as well: for them the internet is also a way to learn, which is why the study points both ways. During the lockdowns use did not rise but fell, to 78.6%. The limits weigh heavily: 63 responses out of 1,959 registered coaches, about 3%, self-selected and with the higher coaching levels over-represented; six interviews with people partly close to the author; and a thesis that has not been through a journal's peer review. Nobody has measured what coaches actually learn, or whether their work with archers changes.
Also phrased as: "coaches learn online"; "online coach education"; "coaches and youtube"; "online courses for coaches"; "where coaches learn"
In practice
It is taken for granted that coaches now keep up to date online, through videos, webinars and governing body courses, and that the pandemic moved most of their education there.
Evidence
-
2023
For Archers Published later
Thematic analysis of six semi-structured interviews with coaches aged 30 to 65: the main driver of internet use is retrieving knowledge they already have, to be looked up when needed, and the internet also serves as a source of videos to show a movement to their archers; to learn something new the interviewees prefer meeting other coaches in person. They are six people, partly close to the author, who is himself a coach and coach developer for the governing body. From the same interviews: coaches validate what they find online against their own opinion and experience, do not recognise or question confirmation bias and echo chambers, struggle to know what they are looking for, and name information overload and doubts about accuracy as the brakes. There are no counts: these are themes, not frequencies.
Coaching quality and coach education: the impact of the internet. A case study for archery · Bryan Woodcock
-
2023
Against Archers Published later
The exception is the most experienced and best qualified coaches, who also use the internet to fill gaps, often looking for supporting information in other sports. It is the only point in the interviews where the internet becomes a tool for learning: it concerns a minority, but it runs against the claim, so the study also counts once against it.
Coaching quality and coach education: the impact of the internet. A case study for archery · Bryan Woodcock
-
2023
Context Archers Published later
Questionnaire to 63 qualified coaches, the valid responses out of 1,959 registered: 90.3% used the internet for their coaching before the pandemic and 78.6% during the lockdowns; 51.9% always apply the information they find (50.0% during), 44.2% sometimes. In all, 61.7% rate online resources at least moderately useful and 6.8% slightly or not at all, but only 21.9% consult them every week and 27.4% every month. The platforms ticked most often are the governing body website (13.99% of choices), its coach education platform and YouTube (12.63% each) and the World Archery website (9.56%); during the pandemic webinars and the governing body platform rise slightly, with no significant differences (p > 0.05). Those who answered do not represent the governing body: among the 63, 36% hold the first coaching level, against 70% of all registered coaches, and the higher levels are over-represented; 66% are unpaid volunteers, 16% paid coaches and 17% coach developers; only 10% are under 25. The split by sex, about two men for every woman, matches that of the membership.
Coaching quality and coach education: the impact of the internet. A case study for archery · Bryan Woodcock
Status history
- 2023 Contested The first and only survey comes from a British thesis: 63 qualified coaches from the national governing body answered the questionnaire and six were interviewed. Of them, 90.3% used the internet for coaching before the pandemic, but only 51.9% always apply what they find and just 21.9% go online for it every week. The interviews mostly describe an archive: coaches retrieve what they already know, look for videos to show their archers, and prefer to learn in person from other coaches. The most experienced and best qualified coaches, however, use the internet precisely to fill gaps, that is, to learn. A single study, with 63 responses out of 1,959 coaches, that points both ways: contested.
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Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Archery coaches use the internet to look up what they already know, not to learn (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/archery-coaches-internet-learning
@misc{campagna2026_allenatoriinternetapprendimento,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Archery coaches use the internet to look up what they already know, not to learn},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/archery-coaches-internet-learning},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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