# Should Quality Coaches do hands on testing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Discussions\ **Tags:** polls, quality-coaching\ **Created:** [14 March 2025 11:14 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/should-quality-coaches-do-hands-on-testing/83577 "2025-03-14T11:14:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rosie](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/rosie/32/7719_2.png) [@rosie](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/rosie)\ **Post date:** [14 March 2025 11:14 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/should-quality-coaches-do-hands-on-testing/83577/1 "2025-03-14T11:14:18Z")
It’s poll time to support our next Testing Planet episode on [Quality Coaching](https://www.ministryoftesting.com/events/the-testing-planet-episode-ten). Help us out! Your contributions matter and count towards our ongoing research and creation for the MoTaverse. **Quality Coaches shouldn’t do hands on testing.** How much do you agree with this statement? _Poll ([view on site](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/should-quality-coaches-do-hands-on-testing/83577/1))_ ⭐ Bonus points for added community commentary ---
**Author:** ![cassandrahl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/cassandrahl/32/15220_2.png) [@cassandrahl](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/cassandrahl)\ **Post date:** [14 March 2025 11:19 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/should-quality-coaches-do-hands-on-testing/83577/2 "2025-03-14T11:19:19Z")
I see no reason why a Quality Coach shouldn’t do hands-on testing. To me, it’s a bit like saying a tennis coach shouldn’t play tennis. ---
**Author:** ![ipstefan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/ipstefan/32/8279_2.png) [@ipstefan](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/ipstefan)\ **Post date:** [14 March 2025 12:13 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/should-quality-coaches-do-hands-on-testing/83577/3 "2025-03-14T12:13:35Z")
Isn’t the equivalent of the tennis coach playing tennis a quality coach doing engineering, process, product, system management with a focus on quality? ---
**Author:** ![ipstefan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/ipstefan/32/8279_2.png) [@ipstefan](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/ipstefan)\ **Post date:** [14 March 2025 12:17 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/should-quality-coaches-do-hands-on-testing/83577/4 "2025-03-14T12:17:07Z")
> [@rosie](#): > > Quality Coaches shouldn’t do hands on testing. A quality coach, who’s a coach in quality behaviors and practices within the software domain in the areas of engineering, processes, product and systems should have the knowledge and expertise to do some of the things he’s trying to change or improve, be it testing, deployments and releases, environment and systems setup, coding and solution design, and others. ---
**Author:** ![christinepinto](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/christinepinto/32/14086_2.png) [@christinepinto](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/christinepinto)\ **Post date:** [18 March 2025 17:22 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/should-quality-coaches-do-hands-on-testing/83577/5 "2025-03-18T17:22:21Z")
> [@cassandrahl](#): > > I see no reason why a Quality Coach shouldn’t do hands-on testing. To me, it’s a bit like saying a tennis coach shouldn’t play tennis. love that analogy so I continue with this one: Saying a Quality Coach shouldn’t do hands-on testing is like saying a music conductor shouldn’t play an instrument. Just as a conductor stays connected to the nuances of sound and rhythm by practicing an instrument, a Quality Coach sharpens their expertise and credibility by engaging directly with testing. If they never touch the tools or face real-world challenges, how can they mentor others effectively? ---
**Author:** ![thomas74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@thomas74](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/thomas74)\ **Post date:** [18 March 2025 19:04 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/should-quality-coaches-do-hands-on-testing/83577/6 "2025-03-18T19:04:36Z")
I would add the analogy of a driving instructor who only passed the theory test ---
**Author:** ![oxygenaddict](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/oxygenaddict/32/15064_2.png) [@oxygenaddict](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/oxygenaddict)\ **Post date:** [19 March 2025 13:48 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/should-quality-coaches-do-hands-on-testing/83577/7 "2025-03-19T13:48:19Z")
As a quality coach myself, I do think it is good to get hands on at times and do some testing. However I think it is important that I am not “the tester”. With the tennis analogy - definitely the coach should actively play, learn more and develop their own skillset. But for the tennis club to succeed, the focus of the coach has to be on helping those they coach to play tennis. Sure, the player may learn from watching their coach play in a tournament and the maybe club could get some short term benefit from any success, but for the club to succeed it will need its players to able to compete.