Development of indigenous soccer athletes through the North American indigenous games: A case study in transformational, culturally grounded, and holistic coaching

Indigenous youth in Canada face structural, geographic, and cultural barriers that shape their participation in high-performance sport. Despite increasing attention to inclusive coaching, limited empirical research explores how transformational and culturally grounded methods operate within elite Indigenous sport contexts. This qualitative case study analyzes the developmental processes used within the Team British Columbia (Team BC) U16 Boys soccer program in preparation for the 2023 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). The program cycle ran from July 2022 to July 2023, encompassing regional and provincial tryouts, targeted training camps, and competition at NAIG 2023 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Drawing on field observations, athlete reflections, cultural sessions delivered by Elders and Knowledge Holders, and coaching documentation, the study examines how relational trust, cultural mentorship, identity formation, athlete-led learning, and integrated developmental model contributed to psychosocial and competitive outcomes. Findings demonstrate that culturally grounded coaching practices enhanced athlete confidence, tactical understanding, communication, resilience, and collective performance. These results highlight the importance of decolonizing coaching approaches in high-performance environments and show that Indigenous-informed coaching frameworks can support both development and competitive excellence. The study contributes to coaching science by offering empirical evidence of culturally grounded high-performance soccer development and by identifying implications for future research, coach education, and applied practice. It is also acknowledged that the program brought together athletes representing approximately 14 distinct First Nations bands, Métis communities, and urban Indigenous backgrounds across British Columbia, each carrying unique cultural, social, and political realities. While this diversity is a strength of the program, the study does not fully disaggregate findings across these distinct groups, a limitation acknowledged and discussed further in Section 5.