Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Childhood coaching experiences, like parenting, are powerful influences on normal and abnormal and development among athletes across the lifespan. It is quite common for adults to look back on their lives and recall how a coach pushed them toward a life narrative of success, indifference or failure. This presentation examines the likely effects of youth coaching on the development of the “Winner,” “Non-Winner”, and “Loser” Transactional Analysis scripts in children and adolescents. Presenter’s will initially draw from Richard Erskine’s research on relational needs. Youth coaches can hopefully fulfill these needs and contribute to healthy emotional development in players. Sadly, without this information, coaches will continue to contribute negative psychological impacts to their athletes predictably resulting from not meeting these basic relational needs. Then, the presentation will explore how youth coaches teach athletes the “Winner, Non-Winner, or Loser” scripts from a Transactional Analysis point of view. Presenters will address how coaching styles influence young athletes toward a self-image of being “OK” or “Not-OK”. A model will be presented to allow youth coaches to immediately understand their specific coaching style, and its ultimate effects on the growth and development of the young athlete projected across the lifespan.