| Abstrakt: |
Sport has enormous potential to facilitate positive youth development in underserved populations (Danish, Forneris, Hodge, & Heke, 2004; Gould & Carson, 2008b). Volunteer coaches play a critical role in developing youth and yet many of these coaches have limited experience and training. The purpose of this study was to better understand two things: the beliefs and behaviors of volunteer coaches in underserved settings; and what skills experienced coaches develop that less experienced coaches lack. To meet these objectives, in-depth interviews and ethnographic observations were conducted with 12 coaches from six different sports in inner-city Detroit. The sample included an equal number of male and female coaches—most of whom worked with youth ages 10-13. Hierarchical content analysis (Miles & Huberman, 1994) was conducted and the support for each theme was compared between the six more experienced (7-10 years) and six less experienced (2-4 years) participants. Experienced coaches described positive relationships with their players' parents and valued organization and administrative responsibilities, whereas inexperienced coaches described more conflict with parents and overlooked the importance of organizational skills for coaches. More so than for novice coaches, experienced coaches emphasized positive, individualized, autonomy-building strategies that promoted a supportive team climate. Understandably, experienced coaches' approaches seemed to be more pragmatic (realistic), efficient (they do more without investing more time), and sustainable (less likely to cause burnout). These results may identify attributes that could promote long-term coaching development and reduce attrition in volunteer coaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
