Abstract
Callary, Rathwell, and Young (2015, 2017) interviewed Masters Athletes (MAs) and coaches in an open-ended and non-theoretical manner, and conducted interpretative phenomenological and thematic analyses that developed themes in line with adult learning principles. The purpose of this presentation is to outline the development of a measurement tool asking coaches to self-report how frequently they use approaches that are commensurate with adult teaching principles that a small sample of Masters swimmers have indicated they want and need from their coaches (Callary et al., 2015), and that a small sample of coaches of Masters swimmers have perceived that they variably deliver (Callary et al., 2017). We also present findings of the vetting procedure in the validation of the instrument. The three researchers suggested and collaboratively vetted 67 items across 12 themes built from their qualitative findings, flagging and subsequently cutting 17 items. The items were emailed to 12 known expert coaches of MAs to ask them to consider, on a scale of one to four, how much they agree that each item, as written, makes sense and is not awkward, and pertains to coaching MAs. Two items were flagged based on coaches' responses, but after our discussions, remained in the pool to ensure a minimum of three items per theme. The findings suggest initial content validity for survey items that will provide a descriptive profile for the use of andragogic learning principles by sport coaches working with MAs.
