Coaches’ perceptions of their work in an elite youth sport setting

This study explored coaches' experience of working in a high-performance youth sport pathway program and their beliefs about coaching. This was a qualitative study utilising semi-structured interviews with 9 members of the coaching set-up. The data was analysed through an inductive thematic approach. Although research has suggested that the coach plays a critical role in skill development at the youth high-performance level, the coaches believed that their role extends beyond this to provide a positive overall experience that supports player retention. They believed that a crucial factor in whether youth athletes continue their sport participation is the coach-athlete relationship, and these coaches saw their work 'holistically' to develop good people as well as good players. While skill development and wellbeing of players was widely recognised and acknowledged by the coaches as part of their role, it was also established that there is little attention paid to the coaches' development and wellbeing in undertaking that role.