Black Canadian university football players’ perspectives on the coach-athlete relationship

Abstract

To develop positive coach-athlete relationships, coaches can acknowledge and support their players’ sociocultural backgrounds (e.g., ethnicities, genders, races). This is particularly important in connecting with marginalized athletes as the history of sport is intertwined with identity politics, racism, and exclusion. To date, little is known about the role of race in coach-athlete relationships from the perspectives of marginalized individuals. The purpose of the current study was to explore the coach-athlete relationships of Black, Canadian university football players and their coaches from the players’ perspectives. We conducted semi-structured interviews with nine Black football players from five Canadian universities coached by individuals of different racial backgrounds. Using a reflexive thematic analysis, we co-created two overarching themes addressing participants’ racialized experiences inside and outside of sport, including their understanding of Blackness, as well as perceptions on how to improve coaches’ cultural literacies. From our findings, we understood that most Black athletes developed strong connections with their Black coaches compared to White or non-Black coaches of color that were characterized by feelings of trust and the ability to express their cultural identity freely. Athletes highlighted the importance of coaches acquiring or strengthening their cultural competency, and provided examples, advice, and descriptions of what they believed constituted an effective coach. By exploring racial aspects of coach-athlete relationships, this study contributes to coaching science literature and cultural sport psychology by emphasizing the need for coaches to develop cultural competency aptitudes when working with diverse athletes.