The COACHES Strategic Communication Model is an integrated framework for developing the professional identity of the contemporary sports coach. It represents the English-language adaptation of the original Croatian TRENER Communication Model.
Although communication remains at its conceptual core, the model extends beyond communication in its narrow sense and functions as a practical framework for building, managing, and sustaining a coaching career in the public sphere.
**Ivan Tomić and Zoran Tomić **developed the model and first presented it as part of an educational programme for coaches seeking licences to work in Croatia’s highest national football leagues. Its principal value lies in integrating personal philosophy, organisational relationships, stakeholder engagement, digital and media literacy, an understanding of professional journalism, continuous education, and sporting results into a unified and logically connected system.
The English-language acronym COACHES comprises seven interconnected dimensions:
• C – Core Identity
• O – Organisational Relationships
• A – Audiences and External Stakeholders
• C – Communication in the Digital Environment
• H – How Journalism Works
• E – Education and Lifelong Learning
• S – Sporting and Professional Success
C – Core Identity
Every serious communication strategy begins with the question of identity. A coach who does not understand who they are and what they represent cannot sustainably manage how athletes, colleagues, the media, and the wider public perceive them. The first question is therefore not how others perceive the coach, but who the coach is as a professional and as a person. This is immediately followed by an equally important question: What kind of coach do you want to become, and what kind of legacy do you wish to leave? Answering these questions requires honest and objective self-assessment. A personal SWOT analysis, including identifying individual strengths and weaknesses as well as external opportunities and threats, provides a foundation for developing a professional identity and a long-term communication strategy.[3] Coaches who understand their strengths are better equipped to develop them, while those who recognise their limitations can address them systematically. Values lie at the centre of coaching identity. Attitudes towards work, discipline, responsibility, education, integrity, tolerance, authority, and respect for diversity determine how coaches lead athletes, make decisions, and communicate with their environment. Values are not merely declarative principles. They are demonstrated through everyday conduct, public appearances, decision-making, and crisis responses. They shape the coach’s personal philosophy and constitute their most enduring communication and reputational capital.
O – Organisational Relationships
A coach operates within a complex internal network consisting of club management, athletes, coaching and support staff, medical teams, administrative personnel, and others involved in the everyday functioning of the sports organisation. The quality of these relationships directly affects organisational stability, team cohesion, and sporting performance. Communication with internal stakeholders must therefore be continuous, clear, and two-way. It should be based on trust, mutual respect, clearly assigned responsibilities, and shared objectives. A coach cannot communicate one set of values publicly while applying different standards within the team or organisation. Internal conduct provides the foundation for external credibility. Without effective internal communication, it is difficult to create a stable organisational environment or achieve sustainable sporting results. The coach’s public reputation consequently begins within the organisation, through everyday relationships with those who directly experience their leadership, values, and decision-making.
A – Audiences and External Stakeholders
A coach's work is public by its very nature. Regardless of the level of competition, coaches operate within a network of external publics that directly or indirectly influence their professional success and reputation. These publics include the media, supporters, sponsors, sports federations, governing institutions, agents, local communities, and the wider public. Communication with these stakeholders requires visibility, responsibility, and strategic judgement. Communication does not mean responding to every public statement or controversy. It means understanding which stakeholders matter, what information they require, which channels are appropriate, and how communication supports long-term professional objectives. An absence of communication does not create a neutral space. It creates a communication vacuum that can quickly be filled by rumours, assumptions, misinformation, and interpretations produced by other actors. Proactive and responsible stakeholder communication is therefore an important condition for building trust and protecting the coach’s professional reputation.
C – Communication in the Digital Environment
The contemporary coach operates within a digital communication environment in which traditional and digital media serve as key intermediaries between sport, coaches, and the public. They do not merely report sporting events; they also interpret and evaluate them, shaping public perceptions of coaching decisions, leadership, and performance. Coaches must therefore understand the distinction between controlled, shared, and uncontrolled communication channels. Traditional media—including the press, radio, and television—operate according to their own professional standards, editorial policies, and production deadlines. Coaches have no direct control over the final content published through these channels. Digital media, by contrast, enable coaches to develop their own communication platforms through social media, personal websites, podcasts, and other digital channels. These platforms facilitate direct communication with stakeholders, but they also require accuracy, consistency, credibility, and strategic content management. The digital coach is not merely a user of technology but a professional communicator who consciously manages visibility, identity, relationships, and reputation. Digital media should not be regarded as a replacement for professional journalism, but as an important complement and corrective to traditional media. A credible and consistent public image consequently becomes both a protective mechanism and an important resource for professional development.
H – How Journalism Works
Journalism is a professional activity governed by established ethical and professional standards. Understanding the institutional logic of the media and the everyday work of journalists is therefore one of the central communication competencies of the contemporary coach. Coaches who do not understand how journalists work may enter unnecessary conflicts, misinterpret critical reporting, or expect the media to represent the interests of the club or coaching staff. Journalists are neither allies nor opponents of the coach. They are professional intermediaries between sporting events and the public. They are expected to work in the public interest rather than in the interests of a particular club, athlete, or coach. Truthfulness, accuracy, impartiality, verification, and balance are fundamental principles of professional journalism. Nevertheless, journalistic errors can occur, and professional and institutional mechanisms exist to request corrections or respond to inaccurate reporting. A strategy of silence is rarely effective in the long term. At the same time, openness towards the media does not require unrestricted availability. It requires a clearly defined media policy, appropriate preparation, and an understanding of when, where, and how the coach should communicate. In this context, engaging a personal public relations adviser or a specialised communication agency is becoming increasingly common in contemporary professional coaching.
E – Education and Lifelong Learning
The contemporary coach is a lifelong learner. Sporting knowledge, tactical innovations, training methodologies, technologies, and communication practices change rapidly. Continuous education must therefore include not only professional coaching development but also the systematic improvement of communication, leadership, presentation, digital, and media competencies. Education is not merely a formal licensing obligation. It is a prerequisite for long-term professional relevance. It strengthens professional confidence, improves decision-making, and enables coaches to manage their careers more actively and strategically. A coach who does not invest in continuous learning gradually loses the ability to respond to the changing demands of sport, athletes, organisations, media, and society. This reduces both sporting competitiveness and communication effectiveness.
S – Sporting and Professional Success
Success is not the starting point of the model but its outcome. Sporting achievements, reputation, recognition, and professional advancement result from the consistent application of all the preceding dimensions of the COACHES Model. Success should not be measured exclusively through victories, league positions, or trophies. It is also reflected in the long-term stability of a coaching career, athletes’ trust, the quality of interpersonal relationships, public credibility, organisational contribution, professional development, and the ability to manage pressure and crises effectively.
The COACHES Model is based on the premise that sustainable success does not occur by chance or result solely from technical sporting knowledge. It emerges from the integrated development of the coach as an expert, communicator, leader, and person. The ultimate objective is therefore not merely to achieve sporting results, but to build a sustainable and credible coaching career that creates a lasting positive impact on athletes, sports organisations, and sport as a whole.
Ivan Tomić and Zoran Tomić