Experiences of high school stakeholders and student-athletes participating in an ongoing longitudinal life skills training program

Abstract

Life skills training programs have recently received increased attention in the literature, as they have the potential to provide stakeholders with the necessary knowledge and resources to facilitate life skills development and transfer through sports. Nonetheless, few attempts have been made to qualitatively examine the experiences of several groups of participants as these training programs unfold. Yet, doing so could provide a more nuanced understanding of the factors that influence the process of life skills development and transfer over time. The purpose of this study was to explore high school stakeholders’ (i.e., coaches, teachers) and student-athletes’ experiences following their first year of participation in a longitudinal life skills training program. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders (n = 7) and student-athletes (n = 24) at the high school where the program is being implemented. Data were analyzed deductively and inductively following Miles et al.’s (2020) recommendations. The results revealed that stakeholders facilitated life skills teaching and transfer with student-athletes using various strategies in line with the explicit focus of the program (e.g., organizing life skills lessons, using tools from the program, discussing transfer). However, the stakeholders’ and student-athletes’ responses suggested that various factors influenced their ability to successfully develop life skills and transfer them between the school and sport contexts. These results highlight the importance of considering participants’ experiences to improve life skills development and transfer over time and of adjusting training programs as they unfold. Lay summary: High school stakeholders and student-athletes were interviewed to explore their experiences after participating one year in a longitudinal life skills training program. The results shed light on various factors that influenced the stakeholders’ experiences with life skills teaching and transfer and the student-athletes’ experiences with life skills learning and transfer. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE This study provides a nuanced understanding of participants’ experiences to inform future training programs on how to make life skills development and transfer more effective in the high school sport context. High school stakeholders, including teachers, coaches, and administrators, can use recommendations from this study to assist student-athletes in developing and transferring life skills between the school and sport contexts.