Enhancing the youth sports experience through coaching.

Children are active, and sports provide them with an outlet for their energies. This physical activity is essential to the growth of the U child, and it benefits them far beyond the childhood years. Children are participating in non-school organized sports at astonishing rates. As of 1990, over 30 million youngsters were involved in these sports (Micheli, 1990). The role of organized sports should be to provide positive, enjoyable experiences for children that will last for a lifetime.

Unfortunately, athletic burnout has become common for many youth sports participants. This "burnout" can be attributed to factors including competitive pressure, boredom, low autonomy, or external pressures from coaches or parents (Smith, 1986). Research has indicated that nearly 70% of children drop out of organized sports by the age of fifteen (Micheli, 1990). Coaches may not be the individuals that initiate getting children into sports, but their relationship with youngsters may be a reason for continued participation.

The overall purpose of the coach is to be an effective leader for the child who participates in sports, not only on the playing field, but in life as well. Coaches take on many roles such as organizer, teacher, motivator, disciplinarian, parent, and friend. Although being a youth sports coach is not a full-time occupation, it is a job that impacts the lives of children. The youth sports coach may be the most important figure in socializing children in the area of sports. Because of the importance of coaching, a trend has developed toward certification requirements for youth sports coaches. By going through training, the coaches may be able to interpret the needs of the children in a more effective way and increase the retention rates. Gould (1987) found that effective coaches take the time to develop relationships with kids and parents, and they evaluate their performance in regard to the goals of the program.

Research on the youth sports coach/player relationship is becoming more prevalent. Several studies have been conducted to examine the development of relationships between coaches and youth sports participants. This review of research looks at the issues related to the youth sports coach and their implications for future programs.

Stress in Coaching

Coaching is stressful, and one must learn to deal with stress to be effective. Although research on coaching stress is limited, environmental and personal factors indicate the presence of stress for coaches. Taylor (1992) classified the stressors for coaches into three areas. Social stressors involve difficulties that arise due to interactions with others, which may occur within or outside of the team. Personal stressors deal with feelings of self-doubt, physical health, or inadequate training. Organizational stressors involve long hours, overload of responsibilities, and team performance concerns. Since most youth sports coaches are volunteers, the level of stress can be high, so the identification of stressors is important. Once coaches are aware of the symptoms of stress, they may be better equipped to develop coping skills that are beneficial to their physical and emotional health, while providing the opportunity to increase coaching performance.

Youth sport coaches operate under stressful conditions, with responsibilities that transcend the lines of the sport itself. Therefore, it is important that cooperative relationships between coaches and recreation professionals exist to take some of the burden from the youth sports coach. Rees, Feingold, and Barrette (1991) illustrated the benefits of cooperative relationships through a 12-year project involving college faculty and the youth sports coach in the Queens District 27 Little League program. This study indicated a strong correlation between positive interactions and reduced coaching stress. This reduced stress can only take place, the authors noted, when a cooperative spirit exists. Both parties should throw out any preconceived stereotypes that may be in place prior to the partnership. In the case of Queens District 27, the relationship between the college faculty and the youth sports coaches brought about a renewed sense of purpose for the coaches, while offering the faculty members a chance to initiate a model for the volunteer coach. When negative stereotyping was eliminated, both sides benefited.

Weiss and Sisler (1984) reiterated the role of the coaches for children and indicated that coaches who remain through the years have a positive impact on the socialization of young people. The authors also mentioned the importance of collaboration between coaches, administrators, and physical educators regarding the overall effectiveness of youth sports programs. Coaching continuity is the bottom line for the youth participants. Young people need positive adult role models to assist them in the socialization process.

Coach Effectiveness Training

Many youth sport participants remember their coaches. Eitzen and Sage (1989) noted that swimmers considered their coaches as the most influential adults in their lives even six to 12 years after competing. Therefore, the role of the youth sports coach is essential to the development of the participant. The growth of the youth sports programs and the needs of the children have changed, however, and the means by which coaches identify the needs have change as well. Coaches can no longer be expected to simply step on the field and know all the answers. They must be a part of a training program so they can become the best leaders and coaches possible.

Parents also have a role in coaching effectiveness training. Many parents simply turn their children over to coaches with no idea if they are qualified, certified, or in any way prepared to work with their child. Parents must be selective in choosing a sports program for their child. At the same time, coaches should be trained in a way that will allow them to better understand the needs of the child and the parents. More research is needed in this area. Although there is debate over issues such as the competitive nature of the sports children play, there is near universal support from administrators, parents, and most coaches, for required training for youth sport coaches.

Weiss and Sisley (1984) found that 65% of dropout coaches and 70% of current coaches would be willing to take part in some form of coaching education program. This training would not only benefit the coach, but it would produce a more complete and positive experience for the child. Some municipalities have implemented some sort of requirements for their coaches. In New York, for example, youth sports coaches must have a working knowledge of the basic philosophy and principles of the sports in which they are directing and how they fit into the overall educational experience of the child (Vogler and Schwartz, 1993).

The relationship between the young participant and the youth sports coach is related to the retention rates of participants (Barnett, Smoll, and Smith, 1992). Because of the high turnover rate in the area of youth sports, these researchers examined the effect that coaching education programs had on youth sports experiences. The intervention known as Coaching Effectiveness Training (CET) was designed to improve the coaches' ability to relate to the athlete. A study was conducted in a Little League baseball setfing, with some coaches given the intervention and some receiving no training. To determine the effects of the training, inquiry sessions were conducted in the players homes both before and after the season. This part of the study indicated increased satisfaction levels for the athletes who were coached by individuals who completed CET, due in part to increased emphasis on positive reinforcement, encouragement, and technical instruction. The participants who were a part of the control group teams did not see their coaches favorably. They indicated a lower level of self-esteem and interpersonal attraction with others on the team.

Part two of the study, which was conducted the following year, sought to determine if the CET had any effect on the retention rates of the children. Barnett et al. (1992) found that 90% of the 80 children who played for CET coaches returned the following year, while only 74% of the 108 children who played for untrained coaches were playing again the next year. Those who chose not to continue the following year were questioned, with the results indicating that control group children attributed their leaving to factors such as a lack of fun, stress, or some other aversive experiences. The drop outs who had been a part of the CET teams indicated a change of preference, lack of interest, or some sort of inconvenience as the main reasons for leaving.

The research conducted by Barnett et al. (1992) was one of few studies to examine the relationship between coaches and athletes and the assessment of training as it is related to the experiences and behaviors of youth sports participants. Though programs such as the American Coaching Effectiveness Program (ACEP) do exist, there is no formal training that is required nationally. This leaves the United States behind countries such as Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, which have required certification exams for their youth sports coaches.

The area of youth sports coaching needs to be more thoroughly examined to help determine the importance of training as it relates to participation rates and satisfaction levels of children. As this area is investigated, it may prove to be beneficial to not only the athletes, but the coaches themselves. Therefore, the area of youth sport coaching in the recreation field is inherent to the future success of recreational sports programs. Micheli (1990) suggested that certification will be required by the year 2000, but that required training may be needed now. Coaches have a unique opportunity to impact the lives of young people throughout the country, and youth sport research must be directed toward exploring the relationship between coaching certification and overall enhancement of the sport experience for the child.

Children have much to gain from the youth sports experience. The recreation professional is responsible for assuring that the best programs are put into place for the children and their parents. The research conducted in this area shows that training can positively impact the programs that are offered by recreation departments. The improvement of these programs can benefit everyone involved with youth sports, from administrators to parents and from coaches to young people.

References

Barnett, N.R. Smoll, F L., & Smith, R.E. (1992). Effects of enhancing coach-athlete relationships on youth sports attrition. The Sports Psychologist, 6(1), 111-125.

Eitzen, D.S. & Sage, G.H. (1989). Sociology of North American Sport, (pp. 77-101). Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown Publishers.

Gould, D. (1987). Your role as a youth sports coach. In V. Seefeldt (Ed. , Handbook for Youth Sports Coaches (pp. 19-32). Reston, VA: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

Micheli, L.J. (1990). Sportswise: An essential guide for young athletes, parents, and coaches (pp. 1-52). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Rees, C.R., Feingold, R.S., & Barrette, G.T. (1991). Benefiting youth sport- college faculty and volunteer coaches working together equally. JOPERD, 62(1), 27-31.

Smith, R.E. (1986). Toward a cognitive-affective model of athletic burnout. Joumal of Sport Psychology, 8(1), 36-49.

Taylor, J. (1992). Coaches are people too: An applied model of stress management for sports coaches. Journal of Applied Sports Psychology, 4(1), 27-45.

Vogler, C.C. & Schwartz, S.E. (1993). The Sociology of Sport. An Introduction, (pp. 66-84). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Weiss, M. & Sisley, B.L. (1984). Where have all the coaches gone? Sociology of Sport Joumal, 1(4),332-347.