Triangulation in Youth Sport: Healthy Partnerships among Parents, Coaches, and Practitioners

Youth sport is unique because it involves communication, coordination, and maintenance of relationships among multiple adults, all of whom are vested stakeholders in a child-athlete's sport experience. This dynamic becomes even more complex when a sport psychology practitioner is added; therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide guidelines and considerations to assist sport psychology practitioners in managing the triangulation of adults who are involved in the consultation process with youth athletes. We first discuss specific dyads and considerations for the practitioner and then highlight recommendations for practitioners regarding transparency and confidentiality issues specific to youth athletes.