Evaluation of the Pilot Implementation of the Coaching for Life Skills Program

Many forms of mainstream coach education continue to sparingly address content specifically related to positive youth development and/or life skills, instead maintaining a focus on the technical and tactical aspects of sport. The purpose of the paper is to present the evaluation findings of the pilot implementation of the Coaching for Life Skills program, designed to serve coaches operating in the context of high school sport. The study qualitatively explored what participants believed they experienced during their participation in the Coaching for Life Skills program, which was delivered to 68 Canadian high school coaches. Participants took part in one of six three-hour workshop (i.e., three workshops in English, three workshops in French). Of these 68 coaches, 10 voluntarily agreed to take part in individual semi-structured interviews. Findings demonstrated how the participants believed they learned important elements related to the coaching of life skills, particularly in terms of increasing their awareness of life skills, improving coach-athlete relationships, and employing coaching strategies that deliberately target life skills development and transfer.

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High School Sport Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Coaches’ Ability to Facilitate Positive Youth Development

Journal of Coaching Education ◽

10.1123/jce.5.1.64 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 64-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Martin Camiré ◽

Tanya Forneris ◽

Pierre Trudel

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Youth Development ◽

Positive Youth Development ◽

Coach Education ◽

High School Coaches ◽

School Sport ◽

Complex Process ◽

High School Sport

Coaching for positive youth development (PYD) in the context of high school sport is a complex process given that many factors influence this environment. The purpose of this study was to explore the ability of high school coaches to facilitate PYD from the perspective of administrators, coaches, and athletes. Although stakeholders in general perceive coaches as having the ability to facilitate PYD, scores for coaches were higher than athletes and administrators and scores for athletes were higher than administrators. Furthermore, coaches who participated in coach education perceived themselves as having a greater ability to facilitate PYD compared to coaches with no coach education.

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Coaching Life Skills Development: Best Practices and High School Tennis Coach Exemplar

International Sport Coaching Journal ◽

10.1123/iscj.2016-0080 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 206-219 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Sarah Carson Sackett ◽

Lori A. Gano-Overway

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Best Practices ◽

Youth Development ◽

Life Skills ◽

The Body ◽

Skills Development ◽

Body Of Knowledge ◽

Coaching Strategies ◽

Life Skills Development

Sport has the potential to foster the development of life skills, such as initiative, teamwork, emotion regulation, and goal setting, that transcend the fields and courts on which youth participate (Danish, Forneris, Hodge, & Heke, 2004). However, it is often acknowledged that this growth does not occur on its own. One factor that plays a central role in shaping positive sport experiences is the coach (Hellison & Cutforth, 1997). The purpose of this paper is to review the current literature on coaching strategies considered best practices for life skills development as well as to provide illustrative examples of many of these practices garnered from a case study of a model coach and the strategies he used in his high school tennis program. The paper concludes with additional practical considerations and recommendations for practitioners, coach educators, and scholars who continue to add to the body of knowledge regarding a coach’s role in positive youth development.

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Follow-up evaluation of the Coaching for Life Skills online training program

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching ◽

10.1177/1747954120964075 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 174795412096407

Author(s):

Stéphanie Turgeon ◽

Martin Camiré ◽

Scott Rathwell

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Training Program ◽

Life Skills ◽

Online Training ◽

Positive Influence ◽

Coach Education ◽

School Sport ◽

Final Sample ◽

High School Sport

Coach education has been positioned as an important catalyst in enabling coaches to maximise the positive influence of high school sport on student-athlete development. The purpose of the study was to conduct a subsequent season follow-up evaluation, examining longer-term changes in coach-athlete relationship, coach interpersonal behaviours, and life skills teaching in coaches who completed the Coaching for Life Skills (CLS) online training program. A 2 × 2 prospective causal comparative design was used. Coaches ( n = 285) were asked to complete follow-up measures during the high school sport season that followed their completion of the trial. The response rate was 36.84%, with the final sample consisting of 64 participants. Data were analysed using independent sample t-tests. From baseline to subsequent season follow-up, scores for coach-athlete relationship and coach interpersonal behaviours significantly increased for the CLS group and significantly decreased for the comparison group. No significant differences in scores were found on life skills teaching from baseline to subsequent season follow-up. The results suggest that the intervention may have helped CLS group coaches remain consistent in their use of relational coaching behaviours.

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Coaching and Transferring Life Skills: Philosophies and Strategies Used by Model High School Coaches

The Sport Psychologist ◽

10.1123/tsp.26.2.243 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 243-260 ◽

Cited By ~ 87

Author(s):

Martin Camiré ◽

Pierre Trudel ◽

Tanya Forneris

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Youth Development ◽

Life Skills ◽

Student Athletes ◽

High School Coaches ◽

Development Literature

Whether life skills are developed through sport greatly depends on how coaches create suitable environments that promote the development of youth (Gould & Carson, 2008). The purpose of this study was to examine, using Gould and Carson’s (2008) model of coaching life skills, the philosophies and strategies used by model high school coaches to coach life skills and how to transfer these life skills to other areas of life. Interviews were conducted with both coaches and their student-athletes. Results indicated that coaches understood their student-athletes preexisting make up and had philosophies based on promoting the development of student-athletes. Results also demonstrated that coaches had strategies designed to coach life skills and educate student-athletes about the transferability of the skills they learned in sport. Although variations were reported, coaches and student-athletes generally believed that student-athletes can transfer the skills learned in sport to other areas of life. These results are discussed using Gould and Carson’s model and the youth development literature.

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Examining the roles of coaching experience and coach training on coaches’ perceived life skills teaching

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching ◽

10.1177/1747954120922367 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 576-583

Author(s):

Sara Kramers ◽

Stéphanie Turgeon ◽

Corliss Bean ◽

Camille Sabourin ◽

Martin Camiré

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Interaction Effect ◽

Life Skills ◽

Education Programs ◽

Coach Education ◽

School Sport ◽

Demographic Questionnaire ◽

High School Sport ◽

Sport Coaches ◽

Coach Training

The present study examined the roles of coaching experience and coach training on coaches’ perceived life skills teaching. Canadian high school sport coaches ( N = 1356) completed a demographic questionnaire and the Coaching life skills in sport questionnaire. Results suggested that coaches with more experience perceived themselves to discuss and practice life skills and transfer to a greater extent than coaches with less experience. No significant differences were observed based on whether coaches completed coach training, and the interaction effect between coaching experience and coach training was non-significant. Implications for coach education programs are discussed regarding training coaches to explicitly teach life skills through sport.

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A Case Study of a High School Sport Program Designed to Teach Athletes Life Skills and Values

The Sport Psychologist ◽

10.1123/tsp.27.2.188 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 188-200 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Martin Camiré ◽

Pierre Trudel ◽

Dany Bernard

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Youth Development ◽

Life Skills ◽

Ice Hockey ◽

Comprehensive Approach ◽

School Sport ◽

Teaching Life ◽

Approach To Teaching ◽

Conflicting Goals

A case study of a high school ice hockey program designed to teach players life skills and values was conducted to understand, from the perspective of administrators, coaches, parents, and players, the strengths and challenges of the program. Results indicated that the program’s strengths lied in its comprehensive approach to teaching life skills and values in addition to coaches’ ability to foster relationship with players. However, program members also faced many challenges related to traveling, a lack of resources, and conflicting goals. Results are discussed using the Petitpas et al. (2005) framework and the youth development through sport literature.

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Character Development Through Youth Sport: High School Coaches’ Perspectives about a Character-based Education Program

Journal of Youth Development ◽

10.5195/jyd.2015.13 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 127-140 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kaitlyn A. Ferris ◽

Andrea Vest Ettekal ◽

Jennifer P. Agans ◽

Brian M. Burkhard

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Character Development ◽

Youth Sports ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

High School Sports ◽

Coach Education ◽

High School Coaches ◽

School Sports ◽

Education Workshop ◽

Sports Coaches

This study examined high school sports coaches’ perspectives about a character-based coach education workshop designed to promote positive coaching practices and transform the culture of youth sports. Fifteen coaches (Mage = 42.07, SD = 14.62, 73.3% male) provided feedback about Positive Coaching Alliance’s (PCA) “Double-Goal Coach” training program and what aspects of the workshop they applied to their coaching practices. Results indicated that coaches believed that participation in PCA workshops contributed to the value coaches attributed to individuals, to coach-oriented character development, and to positive relationships within youth sports. The coaches also suggested changes in future PCA workshops. These findings provide preliminary evidence that coaches’ incorporate skills acquired through participation in character-based coach education programs. We discuss implications for coaches and athletes, and for policies aimed at enhancing positive youth attributes developed through sport.

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