Coach Learning and Positive Youth Development: Implications for Coach Developers

Considering the growing interest in positive youth development (PYD) across cultures, there is a need to understand how coaches learn to foster PYD outcomes. To fulfill this need, the purpose of this conceptual paper is to present a model that outlines how coaches learn to coach for PYD through sport and provide recommendations for coach developers to support the learning and practice of coaches. It is hoped that such recommendations will add to the pivotal role coach developers play when working with coaches to promote PYD through sport. A coach learning model is presented to describe coach learning and coaching practice relative to PYD. The present article can serve as a resource to instigate reflections about the design and delivery of PYD-focused coach education programs, as well as support researchers’ and coach developers’ efforts as they thrive to facilitate coach learning.