Background: The development of movement capabilities in physical education is closely linked to questions about their educational value. Aims: This article extends the debate about the educational value of developing movement capabilities to include sport practised outside school. It interprets the educational value as a range of positive learning that is possible through the development of movement capabilities. It highlights the complexity of learning in and through sport and suggests the use of complex learning theory (CLT) to understand and account for it in coaching and teaching. Design: This article begins with an examination of learning theory used in coaching and physical education teaching that finishes with an explanation of CLT. It then explores the complexity of learning through movement and finishes by grounding theory in practice with an example of using CLT to understand the range of learning involved in teaching a swimming skill. Results and conclusion: Our exploration and analysis of CLT suggest that it provides an effective way of understanding the complexity of learning in physical education and sport and of accounting for the central role of the body and movement in learning.