Crossword Genius

Footwear for athletic coaches (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

trainers

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'coaches' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'footwear for athletic' is the wordplay.
'footwear' becomes 'trainer'.
'for' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'athletic' becomes 's' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'trainer'+'s'='TRAINERS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for trainers that I've seen before include "needed to get the most out of racehorses?" , "Special shoes" , "People who coach athletes, or running shoes" , "Casual footwear" , "Footwear for athletes" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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