Coaching With and For Creativity

Abstract

The dynamic landscape of contemporary sport demands that coaches move beyondreplicating established “best practices” to cultivate “next practices” that integrate peak performance with holistic athlete well-being. This chapter introduces the Coaching With and For Creativity framework, a socio-cultural approach designed to guide coach development in enhancing both coaches’ and athletes’ creative potential. Grounded in Glăveanu’s 5A model of creativity, the framework positions creativity as a process of exploration and expansion of possibilities, emphasising the reciprocal and relational dynamics between coach and athlete. We outline three central pathways: expanding creativity-related skills (e.g., openness, perspective-taking, tolerance for ambiguity), enriching environments through creativity-supportive instructions and movement prompts and fostering exploration as a co-creation strategy. Drawing on research and applied case studies, including the Australian National Generation 2032 Coach Program, we demonstrate how embodied creative activities can strengthen coaches’ willingness to take risks, loosen control, and design environments thatinvite athletes to explore, innovate, and grow. Ultimately, Coaching With and For Creativity positions coaches as designers of enriched, dynamic learning systems where creativity is not an individual trait but a distributed, relational process. This framework offers a pragmatic contribution to advancing coach development and nurturing transformative sport environments