Mirroring Empowerment: Exploring Structural Barriers to Volunteer Motivation Fulfillment in an All-Female Youth Sport Program

This study utilizes structuration theory to reveal how volunteer coaches in an all-female youth sport program describe barriers and agency to their organizational mission of athlete empowerment. The dataset in this ethnographic case study comes from volunteer coaching experiences within two youth sport teams. Ethnographic data included field notes from four volunteer coaches, collaborative interviews, archival organizational documents, as well as athlete and parent interviews. A qualitative analysis, informed by structuration theory, revealed specific legitimate, dominant, and symbolic structures that enabled and constrained volunteer and youth athlete empowerment within the teams. The analysis also revealed a process of mirroring empowerment, a novel theoretical concept, which describes how athletes reflected back their own empowerment to empower volunteer coaches. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Female Volunteer Coaches in Community Sport: A Scoping Review and Research Agenda

Over the past two decades there has been an increase in female sport participation in countries around the world, however, this has not been matched with an increase in the number of females volunteering to coach at the community level of sport. This paper uses a scoping review methodology to synthesize and analyze the extant research published on female volunteer community sport coaches, to identify gaps in the existing literature, and to provide directions for future research. It identifies a general lack of reported research on female volunteer coaches within community levels of sport and reports that existing research has focused on five themes: female volunteer coach motives, barriers, values, supports, and retention. The paper proposes a research agenda focused on seven key themes: policy and governance, coaching pathways, recruitment, retention, performance, stress and wellbeing, and support, as well as suggestions for research methods to explore these themes.

A novel approach to increasing community capacity for weight management a volunteer-delivered programme (ActWELL) initiated within breast screening clinics: a randomised controlled trial

Background It is estimated that around 30% of breast cancers in post-menopausal women are related to lifestyle. The breast cancer-pooling project demonstrated that sustained weight loss of 2 to 4.5 kg is associated with an 18% lower risk of breast cancer, highlighting the importance of small changes in body weight. Our study aimed to assess the effectiveness a volunteer-delivered, community based, weight management programme (ActWELL) for women with a BMI > 25 kg/m2 attending NHS Scotland Breast Screening clinics. Methods A multicentre, 1:1 parallel group, randomised controlled trial was undertaken in 560 women aged 50 to 70 years with BMI > 25 kg/m2. On completion of baseline measures, all participants received a breast cancer prevention leaflet. Intervention group participants received the ActWELL intervention which focussed on personalised diet advice and pedometer walking plans. The programme was delivered in leisure centres by (the charity) Breast Cancer Now volunteer coaches. Primary outcomes were changes between groups at 12 months in body weight (kg) and physical activity (accelerometer measured step count). Results Two hundred seventy-nine women were allocated to the intervention group and 281 to the comparison group. Twelve-month data were available from 240 (81%) intervention and 227 (85%) comparison group participants. Coaches delivered 523 coaching sessions and 1915 support calls to 279 intervention participants. Mean weight change was − 2.5 kg (95% CI − 3.1 to − 1.9) in the intervention group and − 1.2 kg (− 1.8 to 0.6) in the comparison group. The adjusted mean difference was − 1.3 kg (95% CI − 2.2 to − 0.4, P = 0.003). The odds ratio for losing 5% weight was 2.20 (95% CI 1.4 to 3.4, p = 0.0005) in favour of the intervention. The adjusted mean difference in step counts between groups was 483 steps/day (95% CI − 635 to 1602) (NS). Conclusions A community weight management intervention initiated at breast screening clinics and delivered by volunteer coaches doubled the likelihood of clinically significant weight loss at 12 months (compared with usual care) offering significant potential to decrease breast cancer risk. Trial registration Database of registration: ISCRTN. Registration number:11057518. Date trial registered:21.07.2017. Date of enrolment of first participant: 01.09.2017.

Perceptions of Stress of Swedish Volunteer Youth Soccer Coaches

Background: The work of a coach can be stressful, and little is known about how volunteer coaches in child and youth soccer perceive stress. Therefore, the overall aim of this study was to explore perceptions of stress among Swedish volunteer youth soccer coaches. Methods: An online questionnaire was distributed to 1514 soccer coaches of which 688 (78% men and 22% women; 4% < 30 years, 34% 31–40 years; 57% 41–50 years and 5% > 51 years) with non-profit positions responded. Results: Findings indicate that participants in general do not feel excessively stressed by being a volunteer youth soccer coach (M = 2.20; SD = 0.93; Min = 1; Max = 5), and no significant differences in perceived stress level were found based on gender, age, ethnicity, educational level or occupation. Multiple regression analysis showed that demands from employment (β = 0.24, p < 0.001), difficulty catching up with the family (β = 0.22, p < 0.001), not having enough time to plan activities (β = 0.13, p < 0.001), feeling pressured when selecting the team (β = 0.09, p = 0.013) and own demands to achieve good results (β = 0.07, p = 0.045), significantly contributed to perceptions of stress among the investigated youth sport coaches. Conclusions: The results shed light on the important aim that sport clubs develop holistic strategies when recruiting and retaining coaches and for other functions concerning child and youth soccer teams.

Incomplete utterances as critical assessments

Using video recordings of draft meetings conducted as part of an intramural basketball program as data, this conversation analytic study examines the use of an incomplete utterance in a joint evaluative activity. In particular, we focus on how the participants, volunteer coaches, who meet to draft players for their respective teams, produce a syntactically incomplete utterance as a means to critically assess a player, a non-present third party to the interaction. Analysis reveals that the participants use an incomplete utterance as part of dispreferred design; it allows them to withhold articulating overt criticism of others. By trailing off where the criticism is due, the participants display reluctance to verbalize what is to be said and treat its articulation as delicate. The syntactic structure of the utterance that includes a contrastive conjunction (‘but’) and accompanying embodied actions such as head shakes help them convey a critical stance. We examine the use of incomplete utterances in both agreement and disagreement sequences; the recipients display their unproblematic understanding of the critical assessment and respond by providing their own assessments that either affiliate or disaffiliate with the conveyed critical stance.

‘Everyone gets a kick’: Coach characteristics and approaches to inclusion in an Australian Rules Football program for children

This study aimed to understand coaches’ approaches to including children with disabilities in a community-based Australian rules football program for children. Football coaches for the program, called Auskick, completed an online survey providing qualitative and quantitative information about their experiences of inclusive coaching. Coaches (N = 130) completed the survey over 2016/2017. The average years of coaching experience was 3.3 (range 0–19 years). While 79% of coaches had experienced a child with a disability attending their football centre, only 31% of coaches (56% of paid coaches and 27% of volunteer coaches) had completed disability training. Autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and intellectual disability were the most common types of developmental disabilities, and asthma, vision and hearing problems were the most common physical disabilities of children attending the coaches’ centres. Eighty-nine coaches provided examples of inclusive approaches. The most common was having an inclusive attitude, asking the parents for help, making adaptations to suit the child, giving extra time, getting additional help and staff training. Community football coaches frequently work with children who have a broad range of developmental and physical disabilities. Coach disability training is needed to support children with disabilities attending these types of sporting programs in the community.