Ninth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to better understand how a coach’s philosophy may affect the transferability of life skills onto their athletes. Effective coaches have been found to look beyond the idea of winning or losing and have a tendency to develop coaching models based off of improving life skills within an athlete. There is a gap in the literature regarding which contextual factors are linked to the characteristics of a coach’s ability, as well as a coach’s philosophy, in imparting life skills to athletes. Ultimately, the impact of both a coach’s perceived role and expectations regarding how to effectively coach, and their coaching style/philosophy on influencing the development of life skills within their athletes is examined. A combination of content analysis and semi-structured interviews were used to explore both the coaches’ and athletes’ perspectives on the impact of sport participation on areas that move beyond the sport itself. The results of this research conclude with specific techniques coaches can use to impact their athletes both in sport and in life.