Development and transfer of life skills in figure skating: Experiences of athletes and their coaches

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sport coaches play an influential role in facilitating the development and transfer of life skills of their athletes. In individual sports this influence may be particularly prevalent given the frequency and nature of coach-athlete interactions, which are central to the development of life skills. Yet, studies examining the development of life skills have mainly focused on team sports in school settings and with male participants. Thus, examining individual sports in community settings with female coaches and athletes can provide a unique understanding of the development and transfer of life skills within a little explored setting. The purpose of the present study was to examine the experiences of figure skating coaches and their skaters regarding the development and transfer of life skills. A multiple-case study design was used with four cases, each composed of one coach and two of their athletes. The coaches averaged more than 30 years of coaching experience and skaters competed at the provincial or national level, practicing their sport for an average of 12 years. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant. A content analysis revealed that skaters learned a wide range of life skills, including perseverance, goal setting, emotional regulation, and respect mostly because of their sports’ demands. The transfer of these life skills occurred implicitly through changes in skaters’ personality reinforced by explicit discussions with coaches, parents, and sport psychologists. These findings suggest that the complexity of life skills development and transfer requires an integrative approach between the key actors in the athlete’s sport setting.