A season-long examination of the intervention tone of coach–athlete interactions and athlete development in youth sport

Erickson, Karl and Côté, Jean (2016) A season-long examination of the intervention tone of coach–athlete interactions and athlete development in youth sport. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 22. pp. 264-272. doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2015.08.006

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Abstract

Objectives: Coaches are a primary influence on athletes' development in youth sport (Horn, 2008).However, the intervention tone of coaches' behaviour has not been directly observed. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between the intervention tone exhibited by youth sport coaches and athletes' individual developmental trajectories over the course of a season. Design: Short-term longitudinal study with behavioural observation. Method: Fifty-five athletes and their coaches from five youth volleyball teams were observed at three time points, and the intervention tone of interactive behaviour was systematically coded and organized by coach-athlete dyad. Athletes completed measures of the 4C's of athlete development (competence, confidence, connection, character) at each time point, which were used to create individualized developmental trajectories. Person-centred analyses were used to examine associations between athletes' developmental trajectories and their unique interactive experiences with their coach. Results: Cluster analysis revealed the presence of three distinct clusters based on athletes' develop-mental trajectories: 1) high and increasing, 2) low and decreasing, and 3) moderate and maintaining, with athletes from each team distributed across clusters. Analysis of dyadic interaction profiles revealed significant differences in interactive behaviour between clusters. Conclusions: Results suggest that differences in coach-athlete interactive experiences are associated with different developmental trajectories over the course of a season, even for athletes working with the same coach, highlighting the individualized nature of coaches' influence on young athletes. Practical implications for coaches include a critical awareness of their unique interactive relationship with each athlete independently, as well as the importance of fostering these relationships with regard to young people as more than just athletes.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Coaching; Youth sport; Coach-athlete interaction; Athlete development; Systematic observation; Person-centred analysis; REF2021
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV557 Sports > GV0711 Coaching G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV557 Sports
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education and Science
Research Priority Areas:	Health, Life Sciences, Sport and Wellbeing
Depositing User:	Rhiannon Goodland
Date Deposited:	08 Oct 2020 09:50
Last Modified:	31 Aug 2023 09:09
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/8858

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