Foreign high-performance sport coach's professional experience: A case study of Japanese water polo coach in Singapore

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the professional experience of a Japanese high-performance water polo coach in Singapore. Informed by the Job Demands-Resource (JD-R) theory, we adopted a life story approach within a single case study design to capture the coach’s first-hand perspectives on navigating a culturally distinct coaching environment. The participant was one Japanese coach at the Singapore national men's water polo team. Data were collected through a demographic questionnaire, a face-to-face semi-structured interview, and followup e-mail. We analysed the data using reflexive thematic analysis. Throughout the analysis process, we drew on both deductive insights from JD-R theory and inductive findings emerging from the data, ensuring a nuanced understanding of the coach’s experiences. To enhance trustworthiness, we employed member checking and conducted peer debriefing sessions. Three core themes emerged from the analysis. First, Job Demands encompassed producing strong results for major competitions in a socio-cultural context distinct from Japan, adapting to local work cultures, and negotiating differences in team members’ motivations. Second, Job Resources included the coach’s personal competencies, high levels of work engagement and self-efficacy, and organizational resources such as scientific support and full-time assistant coaches. Despite these supports, limited staff welfare benefits for foreign coaches posed a challenge. Third, the coach’s capacity to Balance Job Demands and Resources allowed him to craft challenging tasks—beyond his employer’s immediate expectations—to promote a more sustainable coaching and player development system. These findings underline the importance of fostering cultural adaptation, clarifying role expectations, and offering sufficient resources to foreign high-performance coaches. They further highlight how coaching expertise, autonomy, and proactive job crafting can enhance both individual well-being and team performance. Ultimately, the study offers insights for policymakers, sport organizations, and practitioners seeking to optimize cross-border coaching and global coaching systems.