This paper reports a PhD study which examined the relationship between the 1) physical self-perception of advanced volleyball players in Iraq and 2) coaching approaches valued by coaches and players. The physical self-perception of players from two men’s and two women’s teams (n=48) in Iraq was surveyed using Fox’s (1990) Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP) translated into Arabic. Selected players (n=16) and all coaches from the 4 teams (n=8) were interviewed using Viber, which were translated from Arabic to English, transcribed and analysed using Braun and Clarke's (2017) 6 stages of thematic analysis. The PSPP findings indicated that both male and female players had high physical self-perception and weighted the importance of their physical conditioning highly. This appeared to be linked to coach-centric coaching practices that emphasised physical fitness over tactical development, which coaches and players appeared to value. There were also differences between men and women that should have informed different coaching approaches across genders. This PhD study is significant in that the implementation of athlete-centred coaching pedagogies (Cassidy, et al, 2018) in Arabic-speaking countries is less advanced than in other regions. The results can assist coaches to develop their repertoire of approaches to support sustainable engagement in elite sport.