Perceptions of the purpose and role of volunteer coaches in the emerging NCAA sport of women’s triathlon

Authors: ¹Sean Phelps PhD.

Sean Phelps, PhD, is an assistant professor of sport management at Colorado Mesa University. His research interests include organizational theory, national governing bodies, and international sports

Perceptions of the purpose and role of volunteer coaches in the emerging NCAA sport of women’s triathlon

ABSTRACT

Purpose: While the academic research into volunteer coaches in youth sports is robust and prevalent, the same cannot be said for volunteer coaches involved in intercollegiate sports. The NCAA rules/guidelines for incorporating volunteer coaches into various sports range from the previously specific, but no longer allowed, (Division I, particularly football and basketball) to the more general (Division II and III). Using the emerging NCAA sport of women’s triathlon as the case study, this project asked the coaches of the 40 institutions presently sponsoring women’s intercollegiate triathlon about their perceptions regarding volunteer coaches.

Methods: A qualitative interpretive research approach was used to allow each respondent to make sense of their individual situation. A web based open-ended questionnaire was sent to all NCAA women’s triathlon head coaches and paid assistants and selected coaches were also interviewed (representing all three NCAA divisions).

Results: Twelve (30%) coaches responded to the survey. Results indicated that four main themes were derived from the data: gratitude, caution, acceptance, and personal traits.
Conclusions: The perceptions of existing NCAA coaches regarding volunteer coaches may become a gateway or a barrier. A volunteer coach might complement the head coach and fill in the gaps in other areas such as sport specific expertise, fundraising, and social functions. Implications of the study include that volunteering can serve as the apprenticeship before becoming a paid coach.

Application in Sport: USA Triathlon, as the National Governing Body for the sport, has a personal stake in creating highly trained, experienced, and specialized draft legal coaches for its juniors, developmental and Olympic programs. The NCAA emerging sport of women’s draft legal triathlon is one way in which to accomplish these goals.

Keywords: sport coach, college sport, National Governing Body, emerging sport

“There is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer.”
Jimmy Doolittle

In January 2014, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) approved women’s triathlon as an emerging sport (36). An emerging sport must reach 40 institutions before the NCAA recognizes the sport (and then provides funding for national championships) (14). In 2022, USA Triathlon, as the National Governing Body (NGB) of the sport, reported that 40 schools had adopted women’s triathlon and that the process for full NCAA recognition could begin (T. Yount, personal communication, 8 February 2023). USA Triathlon (USAT) is the driving force behind this initiative (both politically and financially) (36). USA Triathlon has an organizational stake in this because it needs to identify triathletes who can compete on an international level and eventually contend in the Olympic Games as well as developing future high performance coaches. USAT also offers a coaching education and certification program.
Under the USA sports system, colleges and universities are often the training grounds for Olympic athletes (7). Prior to the 2014 initiative by USAT, this training ground did not exist. USAT also wanted to develop the international style of racing domestically. At the Olympic level, triathlons are draft legal, meaning during the cycle portion of the triathlon competitors are allowed to ride behind one another just like bicycle racing. This is different from a traditional non-drafting event where cyclists must be separated from one another by several meters. The NCAA draft legal format is a 750-meter swim, followed by a 20-kilometer bike and ending with a 5-kilometer run, which is the sprint distance under World Triathlon rules (59). World Triathlon is the International Federation for the sport of triathlon.

As the USA had been slow in the adoption of the draft legal format for competitors compared to other countries (38), it also is behind much of the world with triathlon coaches who have draft legal experience. So much so, that USA Triathlon started recruiting interested existing coaches in 2014 to specialize in this format of racing (55). Additionally, the NGB also is developing a mentorship program for college coaches (56). Head coaches may have come from a swimming or running background, have Ironman™ coaching certifications and/or have experience of their own as age group triathletes. Furthermore, college and university athletic departments might only want to pay for a head coach to keep overhead down until full recognition by the NCAA is obtained. Enter the volunteer coach. Volunteer coaches may allow for simple division of labor and tap into expertise or particular skill sets. They may be able to manage administrative duties such as scheduling, team uniforms and/or trouble shooting. Volunteer coaches may allow head coaches to “fill in the gaps” in terms of content expertise (i.e., swim, bike, run, organization, fundraising) as the sport works towards full NCAA recognition as well as operating under the present rules of that organization (33-35).

In November of 2021, USAT presented to the Collegiate Triathlon Coaches Association the “current state of the sport.” At that time, 70% of the institutions sponsoring women’s triathlon used at least one volunteer coach in 2021 (62). A further breakdown showed 50% of volunteer coaches assisted with the swim, 57% assisted with the bike and 47% assisted with the run. “Indicating that some volunteers help with more than one sport” (62). USAT also found that volunteer coaches also assisted “with race management, transportation, bike maintenance, physical therapy and recruiting” (62). This information provided a starting point for the project. Thus, the research question is: what are the perceptions of head coaches as to the purpose and role of volunteer coaches in the emerging NCAA sport of women’s triathlon?

College sports in the USA has long used the apprenticeship-approach to training and educating future coaches. If not a student-athlete, one becomes a manager or intern as an undergraduate, then becomes a graduate assistant, then an assistant coach and, finally, a head coach. Since triathlon is new and classified as an emerging sport, this traditional pathway does not yet formally exist. While it is a time-honored tradition to use playing experience at the beginning of a coaching career rather than specific education pertinent to coaching in general and sport specific (44), draft legal experience for existing triathlon coaches in the USA is still rare. Triathlon is not a high school sport and does not have as structured and formalized club system as USA Swimming or USA Gymnastics. The incorporation of volunteer coaches, particularly those with draft legal experience, might be one way to increase the pool of knowledgeable coaches that then possibly become available to new NCAA programs. Head coaches can be “instrumental in the career development of their head assistant coach, indirectly preparing them for future head coaching positions” (40, p. 11). Volunteering could become the apprenticeship and help train future coaches. Until more student-athletes graduate from the sport, and move into coaching through those traditional pathways, volunteer coaches may be an untapped resource.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Before proceeding, it is important to provide operational definitions of the terms volunteer and perceptions. These definitions are the operational “guardrails” for the study. Volunteers are people, who for a variety of motives, decide to donate their time and, often, their money to a particular group or cause (39). Perception is the “process of integrating, organizing, and interpreting sensations” (26, p. 80) and “…the way you think about or understand someone or something” (51).
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (53), about 62.6 million people volunteered between September of 2014 and September of 2015. These same statistics showed the more education one has, the more likely that person is to volunteer. Other statistics included those volunteers provided a median of 52 hours annually and those men and women volunteered at near the same rate (52 hours vs. 50 hours, respectively). Volunteers were “most likely to volunteer for religious organizations, followed by education or youth service organizations,” and those individuals who possessed a bachelor’s degree or higher “were more likely to provide professional or management assistance or to tutor or teach than volunteers with less education” (53). Volunteers can provide an economic benefit for nonprofit organizations (4) by taking on “staff-like roles to control costs” (24, p. 201). Volunteer sports coaches through their social interactions and engagement could become “community assets” (23, p. 322).

Within the academic literature, the topic of volunteering, in general, regarding motivation, meaning, sense of community, and perceptions have been significantly studied (10, 42, 43, 49, 58). Youth sports have also been extensively study: from training (15, 22, 45), education (28), motivation (3), behavior (18, 27, 31), relationships/wellbeing (25, 46, 52) and efficacy (6, 8, 16, 50). Organizations such as the National Alliance of Youth Sports, Positive Coaching Alliance, Good Sports and TrueSport focus on youth sports, youth coaches, and parents. To coach under the auspices of the US National Governing Body system, a coaching certification program is required to include SafeSport certification (54). However, for any coach at the college/university level, there may be no certification requirements. While focusing on career and job coaching, Schimdt-Lellek and Fietze (47) could just as well have been discussing intercollegiate sport coaches as “coaching…is not protected by state laws; there is no state license and no public mandate and thus no defined monopoly for this professional activity” (p.746). Thus, there is no formal governance structure mandating certain education requirements or certifications to become a college coach.

Finally, research focused on assistant coaches is also scarce and not systematic in nature (19, 20). Rathwell et al. (40) looked at the perceptions Canadian university head football coaches had when hiring assistant coaches. Their findings showed that head coaches hired “loyal assistants who possessed extensive football knowledge that complimented their own skill sets” (p. 5). Additionally, they also discovered that head coaches looked at the experience an assistant coach had both as an athlete and as an assistant coach. These head coaches also wanted assistant coaches who “cared about their athletes’ personal growth and development” (p. 12). This finding echoes previous research regarding university head coaches (5, 12, 57).

METHOD
This project is a basic interpretative qualitative study (32) in that the researcher is “interested in understanding how participants make meaning of a situation or phenomenon, this meaning is mediated through the researcher as instrument, the strategy is inductive, and the outcome is descriptive” (p. 6). The project is designed to “hear the voices of the people, analyse the themes and present a thoughtful overview of the results…[it] describes and interprets, but has no theoretical underpinnings” (48, p. 5). It is also interpretive in nature because it is:
shaped by human experiences and social contexts (ontology), and is therefore best studied within its socio-historic context by reconciling the subjective interpretations of its various participants (epistemology). Because interpretive researchers view social reality as being embedded within and impossible to abstract from their social settings, they “interpret” the reality though a “sense-making” process rather than a hypothesis testing process. (41) This differs from a traditional positivist approach where theories are evaluated and verified, incorporating closed-ended questions using pre-determined approaches and involving some sort of statistical analysis (1).

Using a case study format allows for “an empirical method that investigates a contemporary phenomenon (the ‘case’) in depth and within its real-life context” (61, p. 15). A case study is a research technique “used in sport management to examine (e.g., observe, explore) certain factors of a sport industry subject (e.g., event, person, group, company, organization, system) for a certain time period” (1, p. 139). Simply put, the technique allows for a detailed analysis of a specific activity, situation, or practice (1). The case is NCAA women’s triathlon coaches’ perceptions of the purpose of volunteer coaches.

USA Triathlon has a list on its website of all the NCAA schools presently competing in women’s triathlon as an emerging sport. Each of those institutions has an athletic department website that has triathlon information available in the public domain. Additionally, the Collegiate Triathlon Coaches Association also has a list of all head coaches from these institutions as well as the assistant coaches (paid and volunteer). These two sources comprise the study’s participants. Purposive sampling is the selected technique.

A web based Qualtrics™ survey with some demographic and background questions as well as 13 open-ended questions was emailed to all subjects within the specified sample. A provisional list of 25 open-ended questions were developed by the researcher based on a review of the existing literature within youth sports and input from a representative from USA Triathlon. Questions were then reviewed by two different academics at two different institutions; one responsible for a coaching minor (and a former NCAA coach) and the other responsible for a coaching major (and involved with youth sports). The original list of 25 was reduced to 15 and then two of the questions were combined to create the final 13 questions used in the questionnaire (see Appendix A). The use of open-ended questions allows “the researcher to understand and capture the points of views of others without predetermining those points of view through prior selection of questionnaire categories” (37, p. 21).

After approval from the university’s IRB (Protocol 23-12), an email invitation to complete the qualitative survey was sent by the researcher to all NCAA triathlon coaches that included a link to the web based survey. Informed consent was presented and obtained at the beginning of the survey. Also included in the invitation was information regarding follow-up phone/video interviews. Interested respondents were invited to a phone or internet conferencing (i.e., Zoom, Teams, Skype) interview. Zoom offers an auto-transcription feature that expedites data review. Those respondents who expressed interest in participating in an interview included their email address with their submission of the survey. Additionally, USAT sent out a prompt to the coaches promoting the study. A representative from USAT who is involved with their NCAA women’s triathlon initiative was also invited to participate in the interview.

The interview followed a list of semi-structured questions derived from the original survey to allow for the interviewee to expand upon their thoughts regarding the survey (see Appendix B). A division designation replaced each respondent’s name to maintain anonymity and confidentiality (i.e., DIa, DIIa, DIIIa, NGB). A reminder email was sent six weeks after the initial invitation to the intercollegiate triathlon coaching population to increase the participation rate. For those respondents who agreed to be interviewed, a separate informed consent form was required by the university’s Internal Review Board. This form was signed by the participant and returned to the author.

Results from the surveys and the interviews were then coded by the author. Coding is taking the raw text and “moving you from a lower level to a higher (more abstract) level of understanding” of the data (2, p. 35). The next step is to further reduce the information to smaller pieces is identifying themes, or similarities in the text (2). Similar words and phrases categorize the same feelings/experiences (1). For example, “personality” or “approachability” might be traits a volunteer coach could have. Then the data is triangulated incorporating several types of data collection to focus on the case (21). In this instance, the use of an online survey and interviews were the two data collection methods combined with materials from USA Triathlon.

Finally, trustworthiness, credibility, and rigor (29) involving the researcher and the data must be addressed. The author has 42 years of experience in the sport of triathlon (including draft legal races as an age group athlete, both domestically and internationally), is a former triathlon race director, former NGB employee, former team manager and age group committee member of a foreign triathlon National Sports Federation, a former academic advisor and coach of a university club team, wrote the grant application for another institution that added intercollegiate triathlon, and, at the present time, is a volunteer coach of an NCAA women’s triathlon team.

RESULTS
The survey garnered a 30% response rate (12/40) and eight coaches (one DI, two DII and three DIII) agreed to respond to the interview questions in writing rather than by phone or video. One DI and one DII coach agreed to be interviewed by video. Additionally, the representative from USA Triathlon responded to the questions in writing.

Basic demographic information showed that seven women and five men completed the survey. Five of the women were between the ages of 35-44 and the other two were 45-54. The five men ranged from one in 35-44, three in 45-54, and one in 55-64. Five women hold master’s degrees, one holds a bachelor’s degree, and the other holds an associate degree. For the men, three hold a bachelor’s degree and two hold a master’s degree. Additional coaching certifications (i.e., USA Triathlon, USA Swimming, USA Cycling, USA Track and Field, SafeSport, National Federation of High Schools, or others), were held by all respondents. SafeSport certification is required by all NGBs for their respective coaching certifications. As a result, all individuals possessed this credential. Eight people hold at least the entry level USA Triathlon Level 1 coaching certification. Three hold a USA Swimming certification while two hold an American Swimming Coaches Association credential. Three hold a USA Cycling coaching certification and one also holds a USA Track and Field certification. Additional certifications include Ironman™, Road Runners Club of America™, certified strength and conditioning coach and a coaching certification in the sport of triathlon from another country. For their individual primary sport background, five women and four men indicated triathlon was their primary sport background while two women and one man indicated swimming. All seven women indicated they were the head coach of a program while four men did so. There was one male respondent who listed being a paid assistant coach. Finally, four NCAA DI schools were represented (two women, two men), four DII schools (two women, two men), and one DIII school (male). Three respondents did not indicate their institution’s NCAA participation level.

Four major themes were derived from the raw survey and interview data: gratitude, caution, acceptance, and personal traits. Gratitude was demonstrated by being thankful or appreciative for a volunteer’s assistance. The National Governing Body representative provided this explanation regarding volunteer coaches incorporating gratitude:
I speak to hundreds of administrators and the messaging from me is that I feel many of our teams are underutilizing the volunteer coach. We have some amazing options in every NCAA collegiate community. The volunteer coach cannot only assist with practices, but they are an amazing sounding board for other discussions that coaches desire at various points during a season on so many other topics. Other times they can help administratively or with recruitment. Some are [physical therapists] and can support recovery needs. Others can speak to mental health woes and ways for athletes to combat fears in many areas. The list of ways that volunteer coaches can be leveraged is unnumerable. USAT might need to do a better job of positioning coaches with NCAA programs with those we know who are reliable and ready to support our institutions through the course of a race season.

Similar positive sentiments were provided by other coaches regarding the value of volunteer coaches.
We have been fortunate to have volunteer coaches work with our athletes…and they have contributed greatly to the development and performance of our athletes. Volunteers bring an expertise to designing and overseeing some of our team training objectives. Their passion of the sport of triathlon is evident in that they are giving of their time and talents to the benefit of our team and the sport. (DIIa)
DIIb added:
Volunteer coaches are instrumental in the emerging sport initiative. Without their selfless dedication of time, I would not be able to have a program. They are just unpaid assistant coaches. They do all the same duties, helping out on a daily basis with practices, and on the road. They are imperative to the success of the program.
DIIIb felt that volunteer coaches have “the highest value, not only does it help the athletes, but allow[s] that person an opportunity to pad their resume.” DIIIa stated “volunteers play an integral role in giving out student-athletes a better college experience…they have been a help and blessing to me and my team, throughout my coaching career.” DIIIa also incorporated a volunteer coach in all areas of the team and program:

Up to including every aspect of the team. Assisting the head coach in all areas of recruiting, coaching, practice planning and execution, travel planning, traveling, running practices, etc. The more the volunteer is willing to take on, willing to work on, willing to learn, the more I am willing to give them!

DIb added that a volunteer coach also provides camaraderie and support to the head coach, especially in these early years of the sport because there may be no coaching staff compared to existing NCAA sports. Without the volunteer coach, there might just be the head coach operating alone in an athletic department. “[Your] coaching changes when you have that much help. It literally changes.” DIIc stated:
I could not have done it without the volunteer coaches. It would have been impossible [without them]…and foolish not to take advantage of [their commitment]. [Locally], I have access to a professional triathlete, a woman who is triathlete, is involved with a women’s triathlon group, and a well-respected businessperson in the community…and a faculty member with decades of experience in the sport.

DIIIa felt a sense of obligation to assist the volunteer coaches:
With every volunteer I have, I ask them what area do they want to do the most? What area would they like to learn more? What areas are they interested in most?…Then I focus on those things. My way of “paying them” for their time is to help them learn about themselves and learn skills that will help them with their next position, hopefully a paid one. My point is to train them for their next move.

One survey respondent shared this outlook:
Many volunteer coaches are looking for experience so that they can hopefully get a paying job (head or assistant coach) at a university…the head coach should support them in that and try to educate them and give them hands on experience in all aspects of collegiate coaching so that feel better prepared to take on a paid position.
Comments from the survey were more guarded and highlighted the caution theme. One coach commented on the “lack of qualified draft legal experience” as a reason for not using volunteer coaches. Other coaches restricted the duties of a volunteer coach: “help with leading workouts and travel” and “just for bike sessions or to cover a practice if both the head coach and assistant coach are away.” A few coaches assigned only duties based on a volunteer’s experience or creating social activities for the team. One coach indicated that “I would not leave travel, budget, program writing, [or] compliance to a volunteer. That needs to be done faultlessly.” Another survey respondent replied that “none as of now” regarding incorporating a volunteer coach in their program.

Expectations can be defined as what the head coach wants from a volunteer. That can be a simple as the most identified item: “know the sport.” It can also include time commitments to the program and athletes. An example of what a coach wants is “just hands on coaching” or “mostly hands on coaching” from survey respondents. Another respondent wanted a volunteer coach to specialize in a specific discipline (swim, bike, or run). DIb said, “It’s a combination of administrative and works outs…maybe 60%/40%.” DIIc added:
[The] volunteer coach serves at the discretion of the head coach….They need to support the vision, mission, and philosophy of the head coach…They need to know who we are and believe in it…Our core values are a part of everything. Everyone understands what the program is about.

Responses to the time commitment question were quite varied, ranging from 2-16 hours per week. One coached expected a “minimum of 10 hours a week” and that total would increase “based on their availability and goals as a volunteer.” Other responses were less specific with one coach replying, “just do what you say you’re going to do.”
DIIIb had higher expectations:
I would want the volunteer coaches to know about the sport of triathlon. First, they should be familiar with the amateur divisions and even better if they understand the junior elite model. Also, understanding the periodization aspect behind it will help to develop the tempo through the season. Secondly, a person with experience in swimming in [high school] and a robust running background would be the third option for a volunteer coach.
DIIIa was adamant about one expectation, an area of the program a volunteer would not be responsible for:

Basically, team discipline and athletic department meetings. [As the head coach], I am the face of the program, and I do not want there to be any misconceptions about who is in charge, who is making the decisions, and who ultimately responsible for steering the ship. Also, for a volunteer, I do not think they need to be responsible for every aspect of the team.
Adding to the “off limits” feeling, DIb revealed, “the biggest one…would be some intimate individual meetings that I have” with student-athletes. If “it’s gonna be a more intimate type of meeting, and we need to touch on some hard issues, I won’t have them sit in on those.” DIb would also not use volunteers in the recruiting process because of the turnover at that position. The head coach needs to develop that personal relationship with each recruit. DIIc stated, “[They] should not be communicating with the administration…not handling money or finances…and not be involved in any off campus recruiting.”

Personal traits were the one theme that was consistent across all respondents and interviewees. Terms such as professionalism, honesty, integrity, positivity, personality, and a willingness to learn were highlighted. One respondent stated that volunteer coaches need to be “approachable, care about the student athletes and their success” while another provided a similar comment wanting a volunteer coach to be “approachable, honest, takes time to connect with the athletes, open-minded, supports my vision and the team culture.”
Knowledge, skills, and attributes came through as a component of personal traits. DIIIa said, “Obviously, the higher the knowledge and experience in the sport, the better…I do not expect them to have the greatest experience or knowledge in the sport. But a willingness to learn and help lead our student-athletes in a positive way.”
Experience was emphasized by all those completing the survey. Comments such as “experience and personality are key” and “experience and understanding draft legal” are reflective of this feeling. One coach went more in-depth regarding expectations on experience: “Experience coaching swimming, biking, and/or running at any level; having at least participated in a triathlon; preferably already USAT certified but would like them to have some sort of coaching certification (swimming, biking, running).”

DISCUSSION
As this project was nearing completion, the NCAA DI Council adopted the recommendations of the NCAA DI Transformation Committee to eliminate the voluntary coach designation across all sports (11). DII and DIII programs can still incorporate volunteer coaches according to information disseminated by USA Triathlon (T. Yount, personal communication, 8 February 2023), but the coach representing institution DIIIc indicated that school is not allowing volunteer coaches; “they must be paid.”

DIa felt:
I do believe volunteer coaches could add great deal of value to a program. Volunteer coaches can add another set of eyes and insight into your team and specific athletes. All coaches have their own way of communicating with athletes. Sometimes when an athlete hears something in a new way it might click…Unfortunately…the use of volunteer coaches [is not]…permitted in the NCAA.

DIb replied:
The volunteer [coach] was a little more challenging because they are a volunteer, and they’re doing for a specific reason, and you’re trying to give them what they are there to learn, but you need them in other ways. [Volunteers are] a little more challenging than when they are paid, because when they are paid you can be more like “these are the things I want done.”…it is a bit challenging trying to manage what they really should do that’s benefitting them and helping you.
This action by the DI Council may eliminate opportunities for volunteer coaches, but with the economic constraints faced by all DII and DIII schools, chances are these institutions may appreciate the assistance. The statements made by DII and DIII coaches provide a welcoming and accepting attitude towards volunteer coaches.

LIMITATIONS
With a 30% response rate (12/40) to the survey, the challenge is to draw any meaningful conclusions from the data collected. Online surveys often have lower response rates compared to other types of surveys (9, 60). However, sample sizes of less than 500 with a response rate of 20%-25% can offer some confident approximations (17). A concerning limitation is that only two coaches chose to be interviewed directly via phone or video call. All others chose only to respond to the questions in writing. This lack of one-on-one interaction eliminated the possibility of follow-up questions and gaining immediate clarifications. An additional limitation to the study, is that not all questions were answered in the survey. No one answered the Question 15 regarding what is needed to plan, lead, organize and evaluate their program. Only half the survey respondents answered Question 17 concerning what protections/services are covered by the institution for volunteer coaches (i.e., insurance, travel, tuition waivers). Those who did respond indicated they were unsure, or that nothing was provided in this area.
Finally, there is a lack of additional member fact checking which can be perceived as a limitation. As there was only one researcher, there was no additional review of the raw data during the coding and thematic analysis. The interpretation of the data is based on only one person’s review. However, “interpretation means attaching significance to what was found, making sense of findings, offering explanations, drawing conclusions, extrapolating lessons, and otherwise imposing order on an unruly but patterned world” (37, p. 480). Thus, one must default back to the trustworthiness and credibility of the author. The reader should feel comfortable that the results are “balanced, fair, and conscientious in taking account of multiple perspectives, multiple interests, and multiple realities” (37, p. 575).

CONCLUSION
As the National Governing Body for the sport of triathlon, USA Triathlon has a professional stake in both developing future world class triathletes and future national team coaches. Creating highly trained, experienced, and specialized draft legal coaches also impacts the junior and developmental ranks for the NGB. The NCAA emerging sport of women’s draft legal triathlon is one way in which to accomplish these goals. In addition to “the effort is part of a larger strategic initiative by the NCAA to grow female participation through its Emerging Sports for Women program” (30). The inclusion of draft legal triathlon also provides additional opportunities for female student-athletes which may help institutions with Title IX concerns.
The perceptions of existing NCAA coaches regarding these volunteer coaches, therefore, become a gateway or a barrier. Thus, NCAA DII and DIII “programs need to provide infrastructures that foster and support effective volunteering” (24, p. 199). Part of that infrastructure is defining the role of a volunteer coach and providing training as well as protections such as liability insurance (13). Future research could focus on USA Triathlon’s increased involvement in educating and training coaches in draft legal racing as well as developing a post-graduate pathway for women to transition from student-athlete to coach. Additionally, what is not addressed in this project deliberately, are the motivations of volunteer coaches in the sport of NCAA women’s draft legal triathlon. That is a question for future research and as part of the larger research question about volunteer coaches in other NCAA sports.

 
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APPENDIX A
Qualtrics survey questions

1. Gender
2. Age
3. Education
4. Please list your present coaching certifications (i.e., USA Triathlon, USA Swimming, SafeSport)
5. Primary Sport Background
6. Your Primary Role
7. What NCAA Division is your program?
8. Please answer this question if you do not presently incorporate volunteer coaches into your program. All others please go to Question #9.
   What reasons exist for not using volunteer coaches?
9. As the head coach (or as a paid assistant), what are your expectations for volunteer coaches?
10. What are the requirements (if any) and expectations of the institution has for volunteer coaches (i.e., NCAA certification, 1st Aid/CPR/AED, Police/FBI Background Check, SafeSport)?
11. How do you recruit volunteer coaches?
12. How do you incorporate volunteer coaches in your program (i.e., leading practices, travel arrangements, PR)?
13. What is the hourly / weekly commitment expected from the volunteer coach?
14. What qualifications do you feel are critical to the success of a volunteer coach?
15. What do you need to plan, lead, organize and evaluate your program?
16. Where do you need assistance with your program?
17. What protections are covered by the institution (i.e., insurance)?
18. What can a volunteer coach receive from the institution and still be considered volunteer (i.e., stipend, travel allowance, team attire)?
19. What duties are you planning to assign the volunteer coach? Administrative? Hands on coaching? Program writing?
20. How might the volunteer coach have a part to play in the succession planning around the program?
21. If there is anything else you would like to add, please feel free to do so here. We thank you for your participation.  

APPENDIX A
Qualtrics survey questions

1. Gender
2. Age
3. Education
4. Please list your present coaching certifications (i.e., USA Triathlon, USA Swimming, SafeSport)
5. Primary Sport Background
6. Your Primary Role
7. What NCAA Division is your program?
8. Please answer this question if you do not presently incorporate volunteer coaches into your program. All others please go to Question #9.
   What reasons exist for not using volunteer coaches?
9. As the head coach (or as a paid assistant), what are your expectations for volunteer coaches?
10. What are the requirements (if any) and expectations of the institution has for volunteer coaches (i.e., NCAA certification, 1st Aid/CPR/AED, Police/FBI Background Check, SafeSport)?
11. How do you recruit volunteer coaches?
12. How do you incorporate volunteer coaches in your program (i.e., leading practices, travel arrangements, PR)?
13. What is the hourly / weekly commitment expected from the volunteer coach?
14. What qualifications do you feel are critical to the success of a volunteer coach?
15. What do you need to plan, lead, organize and evaluate your program?
16. Where do you need assistance with your program?
17. What protections are covered by the institution (i.e., insurance)?
18. What can a volunteer coach receive from the institution and still be considered volunteer (i.e., stipend, travel allowance, team attire)?
19. What duties are you planning to assign the volunteer coach? Administrative? Hands on coaching? Program writing?
20. How might the volunteer coach have a part to play in the succession planning around the program?
21. If there is anything else you would like to add, please feel free to do so here. We thank you for your participation.  
    

APPENDIX A
Qualtrics survey questions

1. Gender
2. Age
3. Education
4. Please list your present coaching certifications (i.e., USA Triathlon, USA Swimming, SafeSport)
5. Primary Sport Background
6. Your Primary Role
7. What NCAA Division is your program?
8. Please answer this question if you do not presently incorporate volunteer coaches into your program. All others please go to Question #9.
   What reasons exist for not using volunteer coaches?
9. As the head coach (or as a paid assistant), what are your expectations for volunteer coaches?
10. What are the requirements (if any) and expectations of the institution has for volunteer coaches (i.e., NCAA certification, 1st Aid/CPR/AED, Police/FBI Background Check, SafeSport)?
11. How do you recruit volunteer coaches?
12. How do you incorporate volunteer coaches in your program (i.e., leading practices, travel arrangements, PR)?
13. What is the hourly / weekly commitment expected from the volunteer coach?
14. What qualifications do you feel are critical to the success of a volunteer coach?
15. What do you need to plan, lead, organize and evaluate your program?
16. Where do you need assistance with your program?
17. What protections are covered by the institution (i.e., insurance)?
18. What can a volunteer coach receive from the institution and still be considered volunteer (i.e., stipend, travel allowance, team attire)?
19. What duties are you planning to assign the volunteer coach? Administrative? Hands on coaching? Program writing?
20. How might the volunteer coach have a part to play in the succession planning around the program?
21. If there is anything else you would like to add, please feel free to do so here. We thank you for your participation.  
    

APPENDIX A

Qualtrics survey questions

1. Gender
2. Age
3. Education
4. Please list your present coaching certifications (i.e., USA Triathlon, USA Swimming, SafeSport)  
5. Primary Sport Background
6. Your Primary Role
7. What NCAA Division is your program? 
8. Please answer this question if you do not presently incorporate volunteer coaches into your program. All others please go to Question #9.
   What reasons exist for not using volunteer coaches?  
9. As the head coach (or as a paid assistant), what are your expectations for volunteer coaches?
10. What are the requirements (if any) and expectations of the institution has for volunteer coaches (i.e., NCAA certification, 1st Aid/CPR/AED, Police/FBI Background Check, SafeSport)?  
11. How do you recruit volunteer coaches?
12. How do you incorporate volunteer coaches in your program (i.e., leading practices, travel arrangements, PR)?
13. What is the hourly / weekly commitment expected from the volunteer coach? 
14. What qualifications do you feel are critical to the success of a volunteer coach?
15. What do you need to plan, lead, organize and evaluate your program? 
16. Where do you need assistance with your program? 
17. What protections are covered by the institution (i.e., insurance)? 
18. What can a volunteer coach receive from the institution and still be considered volunteer (i.e., stipend, travel allowance, team attire)? 
19. What duties are you planning to assign the volunteer coach? Administrative?  Hands on coaching?  Program writing?
20. How might the volunteer coach have a part to play in the succession planning around the program?
21. If there is anything else you would like to add, please feel free to do so here. We thank you for your participation.

APPENDIX B

Semi-structured interview questions

1. In general, what are your overall perceptions of the role(s) that volunteer coaches play in your program?
2. What specific knowledge, skills and attributes do you want your volunteer coaches to possess?
3. What areas do volunteer coaches cover in your program (i.e., writing workouts, supervising practices, fundraising)?
4. What areas do you not allow volunteer coaches in your program to be involved with?
5. What value do you place on having volunteer coaches?
6. How do you incorporate your volunteer coaches into the overall team culture?
7. Is there anything else you would like to add?