The role of municipal park and recreation agencies in enacting coach and parent training in a loosely coupled youth sport system

Abstract

Over a decade ago, Vail and Carmichael [More than just facilities: the role of municipal recreation in community sport development, Recreation Canada, 51(1), 24–44, 1993] challenged municipal recreation providers to clarify and recognize the role they play in youth sport delivery. Similarly, more recent calls for youth sport reform have identified the municipal park and recreation agency as perhaps the key player in the youth sports delivery system in the USA [National Alliance for Youth Sports and National Recreation and Parks Association, Recommendations for Communities: National Summit on Raising Community Standards in Children's Sports, West Palm Beach, FL, National Alliance for Youth Sports, 2001]. The research suggests that volunteer coaches and youth sport parents often lack training and are unprepared for the roles that they play in the lives of youth sport participants. Because municipal park and recreation organizations often provide resources and leadership, such as facilities and programmatic support, to voluntary youth sport organizations (VSOs), park and recreation departments are in a unique position to lead on the issue of coach and parent training. This study demonstrated a ‘loose coupling’ relationship between municipal park and recreation agencies in the USA and VSOs involved in youth sport delivery. The research reveals that while the level of influence of municipal agencies over VSOs is positively related to the prevalence of mandatory coach training, no such relationship exists with the prevalence of mandatory parent training. It recommends that municipal agencies could leverage their influence with affiliated VSOs in order to achieve more consistent training of coaches and parents.