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Table 8 Advantages of using coaches to deliver SFS

From: Process evaluation of a sport-for-health intervention to prevent smoking amongst primary school children: SmokeFree Sports

Strength of coaches

Quotes

Children’s perspectives

 

Role model

“Because they don’t smoke and they’ve teached us not to smoke when we’re older so we can be like them and enjoy sport in our lives”. (Girl, school 4, focus group data)

Fun

“Because they [coaches] were like fun”. (Boy, school 3, focus group data)

Experience and knowledge

“They [coaches] know more about smoking and sports than teachers do”. (Boy, school 20, focus group data)

Teachers’ perspectives

 

Knowledge of SFS/experience of delivery

“They [the coaches] know the whole project and the programme inside out and back to front”. (Teacher (2), school 16, interview data)

Fresh approach

“It’s good for the kids to have coaches coming in and getting fresh ideas and ways of looking at things”. (Teacher (2), school 5, interview data)

Authority and credibility

“When a coach comes in especially when they’ve got the Liverpool or Everton badge they think they’re professionals and they can have almost more authority and credibility over the kids”. (Teacher, school 15, interview data)

Coaches’ perspectives

 

Coaching experience

“We are more, for our job, specialised in the sport element”. (Coach 5, interview data)

Experience delivering SFS

“…maybe a bit more knowledge of the sessions and the drills themselves, so how to set them up and when to break things down to say when to get the messages in”. (Coach 4, interview data)

Role model status

“…a little role model to look up to because we made the sessions fun and made them enjoy it whether they support Liverpool or Everton or not to being more beneficial”. (Coach 6, interview data)

Belief and enthusiasm

“I actually had a belief in what I was saying, it gives more belief to your sessions, it gives you more clarity, a better underpinning of it so you’re not just basing it on what it says, your basing it on what you think and what you believe and what you know and then all of a sudden it’s got more integrity”. (Coach 1, interview data)

Novelty factor

“I’d say sports coaches are like adored in many aspects, especially like you know, it’s a fresh face”. (Coach 1, interview data)

Power of football badge

“As a football coach coming into the children I think that when they see us they don’t see just a normal person they see Everton Football Club and they see all their idols who play for that team or the people they look up to, so that when you start delivering the SmokeFree sessions they listen because they think about how Fellaini or Pienaar have listened to their coach”. (Coach 3, interview data)