A Study of Coaching Concepts among Kokoyakyu (Japanese High School Baseball) Coaches

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the structure and characteristics of coaching concepts held by Japanese high school baseball coaches through multivariate analysis. After conducting a preliminary survey using an open-ended questionnaire, a selective questionnaire survey was conducted among 415 Japanese high school baseball coaches, and an exploratory factor analysis was conducted. We found that their coaching concept could be assessed based on three factors. These factors were “Social Literacy,” “Pride in Kokoyakyu (=Japanese high school baseball),” and “Baseball Literacy.” The scale developed in this study had a certain degree of reliability and validity and made it possible to understand the coaching concept of Japanese high school baseball coaches. The Kokoyakyu coaches’ coaching concept could also be classified into five types and this distribution tended to vary depending on the coaches’ attributes and coaching environment. Overall, the results of this study suggest that Kokoyakyu coaches are successfully using the “Koshien taikai ” (Japanese High School Baseball Championship) in their coaching. Moreover, the Kokoyakyu coaches’ coaching concept can be understood as having been formed and established both by the Kokoyakyu system, which is developed within the unique historical and cultural context of Japan, and the social gaze directed at Kokoyakyu itself. In particular, the “Pride in Kokoyakyu” coaching concept suggests the existence of some sense of “tradition.”