Youth Football Coaches Research Articles

COMPETENCIES OF SERBIAN YOUTH FOOTBALL COACHES

Although there is an organized training system for coaches in the Football Association of Serbia (FAS), their careers are governed to a much greater extent by the merciless market, which forms a unique combination of the influence of the environment, age, previous competitive experience and level of success, as well as coaching experience. For the stated reason, the FAS Youth Commission, which takes care of the future of Serbian football, launched a survey on the professional profile of youth football coaches in Serbia. The analysis includes the work of 161 coaches of youth schools in the Super League, the First League and the Serbian League. Most coaches come from Western Serbia, followed by Belgrade, then Eastern Serbia, with Vojvodina at the back. The age structure of the coaches seems to meet the current needs of the Association. The coaching assotiation are also satisfying with a high percentage of licensed coaches. The coach’s previous playing experience is also satisfactory. A relatively small number of coaches have playing experience at the highest level. The question arises whether the structure of the average coaching tenure is sufficient for the results that are set as goals for the FAS? A small number of trainers worked with only one age group, while the largest number of trainers worked with 4 ages between 10 and 18 years old. Half of the coaches tried their hand at the senior competition. A seemingly simple analysis raises questions that mostly concern the unused resource for the advancement of the FAS, and which are precisely found in the strategic approach to the development of football personnel and the systematic management of the aforementioned variables, which, with the correct relationship, sequence and combination, can lead to more experienced and successful football experts in Serbia. Based on the results, FAS will launch a joint development program for youth.

Comparison of training activities and coaching behaviours in youth football coaches from Spain and China: a case study

ABSTRACT Youth football training should ensure proper player development. However, coaches worldwide behave differently during their coaching process. Thus, this study aims to: a) compare the coaching behaviour and training activities of the football coaches from China and Spain, and b) explore the impact of different pedagogy on coach’s behaviour and players’ perceptions. Systematic observations and semi-structured interviews were developed for 6 youth coaches from Madrid (n = 3) and Beijing (n = 3). And 16 players randomly selected from each academy were queried their perception. The results showed significant differences in coaching behaviours and training activities between both groups. Madrid coaches used more “playing form” (PF) and achieved greater times of activation (motor participation) during practices, compared to Beijing coaches. Concurrent-instruction was the most used behaviour among coaches from both groups. Moreover, Madrid coaches applied more “positive feedback” whereas Beijing coaches used more “negative feedback”. This phenomenon is related to different educational and pedagogical backgrounds. Positive feedback is recommended to Beijing coaches and “silence” should also be properly used while “instruction” and “hustle” should be carefully used to help players learn to “think” (e.g. decision-making). This study offers a comparative analysis to develop proper strategies for a better player’s development.

Assessing the Irish Football Association’s “Ahead of the Game” Coach Education Training Programme on Raising Mental Health Literacy in Youth Football Coaches

The purpose of the present study was to assess the influence of the Irish Football Association’s “Ahead of the Game” coach education training programme on mental health literacy of youth football coaches in Northern Ireland, and to gain insights into coaches’ own role perceptions of providing mental health support for athletes. A total of 105 coaches (90% male and 10% female; Mage = 37.84, SD = 8.81, Mexperience = 9.53, SD = 6.59) completed an online survey examining mental health literacy and role perceptions of providing mental health support for athletes. A total of 40% of the sample completed the “Ahead of the Game” mental health literacy training programme, while 60% of the sample served as the comparison group. Results showed that participants who had completed the training programme demonstrated significantly higher mental health literacy in comparison to those who had not yet undertaken the programme. Thus, the “Ahead of the Game” programme may be useful for increasing mental health literacy. Youth sport coaches are an accessible and trusted outlet as a first point of contact to provide initial mental health support for athletes, thus advocating for the integration of mental health literacy training as a key part of coach education.

To Excel in Sport, Take Care of Your 5Cs!

Youth sport offers an important opportunity for young people to develop their technical and physical skills. However, these are not the only important elements of performance. A young athlete’s mental and social skills are vital for coping with some of the challenges that sport brings. In this article, we introduce you to the 5Cs—a new method used by coaches to help develop mental and social skills in their athletes. We describe the behaviors that we see in athletes who show high levels of the 5Cs: commitment, communication, concentration, control, and confidence. We discuss how recent research with youth football coaches has helped them to apply coaching strategies and techniques to aid the development of these important qualities in young athletes and their teammates.

Exploring how the experiences of English youth football coaches have shaped their approach to player learning

Exploring how the experiences of English youth football coaches have shaped their approach to player learning

A Qualitative Study of Youth Football Coaches' Perception of Concussion Safety in American Youth Football and Their Experiences With Implementing Tackling Interventions.

Due in part to concern about the potential long-term effects of concussion and repetitive head injuries in football, some programs have implemented tackling interventions. This paper explores youth football coaches' perception of football safety and their experiences implementing these interventions aimed at athlete safety. Using a qualitative approach, coaches were interviewed by means of a semi-structured protocol that covered: (a) demographics; (b) background and experiences; (c) personal relevance risks, safety, and benefits of youth football; (d) experiences with tackling technique; (e) experiences with mouth guard sensors; and (f) opinions on disseminating information on football safety. Most coaches felt that learning tackling at a young age helped prepare them for their playing later in life and believed that youth should begin playing tackle football at a young age. Coaches were mixed regarding their concerns about the risk for concussion and subconcussive head impacts. Still, most were receptive to changes in rules and policies aimed at making football safer. Findings from this study demonstrate that youth football coaches are important stakeholders to consider when implementing changes to youth football. Understanding coach perceptions and experiences may inform future efforts aimed to educate coaches on rules and policies to make the game safer for youth athletes.

‘Zooming in’ on the antecedents of youth sport coaches’ autonomy-supportive and controlling interpersonal behaviours: a multimethod study

Grounded in self-determination theory and the motivational model of the coach-athlete relationship, the purpose of this study was to explore the antecedents of youth sport coaches’ autonomy-supportive and controlling behaviours using a multimethod approach. Recreational level youth swimming and football coaches (N = 12) participated in semi-structured interviews and were observed leading a coaching session. Interviews were thematically analysed and coaching sessions were analysed using the multidimensional motivational climate observation system. Analysis of the triangulated data revealed that the coaches were both autonomy-supportive and controlling in their interactions with athletes, but predominantly autonomy-supportive. Coaches reported that they coached in this way due to factors associated with their personal orientation (significant others’ influence, learning experiences, and beliefs about the role of the coach), the coaching context (time pressure), and perceptions of athletes’ characteristics (readiness for autonomy, gender, and quality of motivation). The findings are discussed in relation to personal and social processes that may determine coaching behaviours, and suggestions for coach development and future research are noted.

Athletes’ Perceptions of Pragmatic Leadership in Youth Football Coaches

The overall purpose of this study was to explore athletes’ perceptions of pragmatic leadership in award-winning Canadian youth football coaches. Using a qualitative description methodology, semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 men who had been coached by 5 award-winning youth football coaches. The coaches were classified as pragmatic leaders. Participants’ perceptions of the coaches’ leadership were grouped into 3 main themes: individualized consideration, accountability/responsibility, and solving problems by valuing unique contributions. Because leadership is a process of interpersonal influence, on a practical level these themes may account for key features of the coach–athlete relationship that arise from pragmatic leadership.

Science or Coaches' Eye? - Both! Beneficial Collaboration of Multidimensional Measurements and Coach Assessments for Efficient Talent Selection in Elite Youth Football.

Due to the tremendous popularity of youth football, practitioners in this domain face the ongoing question of the most effective solutions in early talent selection. Although the scientific community has suggested multidimensional models for some time, coach assessments and motor performance tests remain common. Earlier research has determined the strengths and weaknesses within these different approaches. The current investigation directly compared the effectiveness of each approach in talent selection (coach assessment vs. motor performance tests vs. multidimensional data). A sample of 117 youth football players, their parents, and coaches participated in multidimensional measurements in the U14 age category (coach assessments, motor performance tests, psychological characteristics, familial support, training history, and biological maturation). The area under the curve (AUC [95% CI]) from receiver operating characteristic indicated the prognostic validity of each approach in predicting U19 player status five years after the assessments (professional vs. non-professional). Motor performance tests (0.71 [0.58; 0.84]) showed a lower AUC than the multidimensional data (0.85 [0.76; 0.94], p = 0.02), whilst coach assessments did not differ from the two others (.82 [.74; .90]). Further, combined talent selection approaches, especially the use of coach assessments and multidimensional data together, were significantly better at predicting U19 player status (0.93 [0.87; 0.98], p = 0.02 vs. multidimensional data only). Although certain limitations may impede further insights (summation of data, skipped use of non-linear statistics), scientific claims for using multidimensionality within talent selection were confirmed to be fruitful. In particular, the combination of the subjective coaches' eye with scientific data may buffer the mutual weaknesses of these different approaches. Future research should focus on optimizing the output of promising multidimensional models. Knowledge of detailed values relating to specific dimensions within these models and the implementation of enhanced non-linear statistics may enable further improvements in the field of talent selection.

The Development of Leadership in Model Youth Football Coaches

The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of leadership styles in model youth football coaches. Six award-winning youth football coaches participated, and each was interviewed twice. Within a qualitative descriptive framework, deductive analysis was completed to identify the coaches’ leadership styles, using the charismatic, ideological, and pragmatic model of outstanding leadership. Whereas pragmatic leadership behaviors were most frequently identified, all coaches appeared to have mixed leadership styles. Inductive analysis was then used to examine factors that influenced the coaches’ leadership development. Identified themes were role models, networks of coaches, experience and reflection, and formal, nonformal, and informal learning. These were consistent across all the coaches, regardless of leadership style. This study therefore provides new insights into the perceived use of pragmatic behaviors in mixed leadership styles in model youth sport coaches and indicates that similar factors contributed to their leadership development.

A life skills development programme for youth football coaches: Programme development and preliminary evaluation

This manuscript presents two linked studies that together aimed to design, deliver and evaluate a service user informed education programme that focused on improving coaches’ understanding of, and ability to facilitate, life skill development through grassroots football in the UK. First, focus groups (n = 14) were conducted with key stakeholders (n = 56) to explore their perceptions of life skills and how they might be developed within grassroots football. The findings revealed six life skill themes, with social skills emerging as the most pertinent for the context. Further, the role of the coach in formally facilitating life skill development was expressed, suggesting that they are not developed implicitly through sport participation alone. Second, using the findings from study 1, a coach education programme was designed and subsequently delivered to a total of 45 coaches. Preliminary evaluation, using a triangulation of sources, revealed that the programme was successful in developing participants’ knowledge and understanding of life skills as well as improving their competence and confidence to integrate life skill development into their coaching practice. Support is therefore offered for the development of context specific life skill development programmes that are based on key stakeholder needs and expectations.

Youth Sport Coaches’ Well-Being Across the Season: The Psychological Costs and Benefits of Giving Empowering and Disempowering Sports Coaching to Athletes

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between giving empowering and disempowering sports coaching to young athletes and coaches’ well-being across the season. The sample comprised 169 Norwegian youth football (i.e., European soccer) coaches with a mean age of 41.99 (SD = 6.32). Moreover, we were interested in examining heterogeneous groups of coaches showing variability in their self-reporting of empowering and disempowering behaviors towards their athletes. Thus, a person-centered approach was used. The latent profile analysis revealed three distinct profiles and the association between these profiles and coaches’ well-being was in line with the outlined hypotheses. Specifically, coaches who gave higher levels of empowering and lower levels of disempowering sports coaching to their athletes at the beginning of the season also reported higher levels of well-being at the end of the season. The results indicate that there exists an intrinsic value as to why coaches should give empowering sports coaching, as opposed to disempowering sports coaching, to their athletes; namely, these actions may be advantageous in terms of improving their own well-being. In practical terms, future coach education may take advantage of these findings by providing coaches another reason for coaching in an empowering manner.

Coaching effectiveness within competitive youth football: youth football coaches’ and athletes’ perceptions and practices

Competitive youth sport can provide solid grounds for positive youth development (PYD). However, there is need to understand if coaches are facilitating these types of outcomes. The purpose of this study was to analyze how competitive youth sport is used to facilitate PYD. The participants in this study were four youth football coaches and 19 adolescent athletes from competitive leagues at north of Portugal. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, field notes and nonparticipant observations. The majority of the coaches communicated appropriately and facilitated positive interactions with youth athletes. Nevertheless, the participants did not implement an explicit approach towards the development of confidence, character, connection and competence (i.e., 4 C’s) which has been linked to less PYD outcomes. Performance outcomes in certain moments superseded PYD ones. Moving forward, coaches need to comprehend how they can use their interpersonal knowledge to integrate the 4 C’s within competitive youth sport.

Pre- to post-season differences in empowering and disempowering behaviours among youth football coaches: a sequential mixed-methods study

The aim of this study was to investigate differences in self-reported behaviours among youth football (i.e. European soccer) coaches from pre- to post-season, and additionally, their evaluative reactions to participation in the Norwegian arm of the Empowering Coaching™ Training Programme (ECTP). A total of 193 coaches (174 males; 19 females; M = 41.99; SD = 6.32) completed a questionnaire concerning their use of empowering and disempowering behaviours at the beginning and end of the sport season. Moreover, 12 of these coaches (10 males; 2 females; M = 41.67; SD = 5.68) were interviewed at the end of the sport season using semi-structured interviews. Whereas coaches’ empowering and disempowering behaviours did not differ from pre- to post-season, post-season interviews showed that participation in the ECTP led coaches to reflect on their coaching practises, facilitating an increased focus on enabling autonomy and involvement for the athletes and more attention paid to the athletes’ feelings of mastery.

Information for CME Credit—Community-Level Inequalities in Concussion Education of Youth Football Coaches

Information for CME Credit—Community-Level Inequalities in Concussion Education of Youth Football Coaches

Coaches' Implementation of the USA Football "Heads Up Football" Educational Program.

An integral part of the Heads Up Football (HUF) educational program is the Player Safety Coach (PSC), who is responsible for teaching other coaches within a youth football league about safer blocking/tackling and injury prevention. This study examines the association between youth football coaches' interactions with the PSC (i.e., attending the PSC clinic at the beginning of the season and seeing the PSC on-field during practices) and their subsequent implementation of the HUF educational program. Data were collected via online questionnaire completed by 1,316 youth football coaches from HUF leagues. Data were analyzed with frequencies and logistic regression. Nearly half of coaches (44.8%) did not attend the PSC clinic; 25.9% reported not seeing their league's PSC on the field on a regular basis. The lack of PSC on-site presence was significantly associated with worse implementation for "concussion recognition and response," "heat preparedness and hydration," and "sudden cardiac event preparedness." PSC clinic attendance was not associated with implementation. Opportunities exist for improvement in the HUF educational program as there appears to be inconsistent implementation. Further research is warranted to understand how to optimize the role of the PSC in the youth sports context.

Community-Level Inequalities in Concussion Education of Youth Football Coaches.

USA Football has made the Heads Up Football (HUF) concussion education program available for coaches of youth football players. Existing evidence about the effectiveness of the HUF coach education program is equivocal. For HUF and other programs, there is growing concern that even effective interventions can increase inequalities if there is different uptake or impact by SES or other demographic factors. Understanding how adoption is patterned along these lines is important for understanding equity issues in youth football. This study tested the hypothesis that there will be lower adoption of HUF among coaches of youth football players in lower-SES communities. The authors conducted a cross-sectional study of the association between community-level characteristics and number of USA Football youth league coaches who have completed HUF. Data were collected in 2014 and analyzed in 2015-2016. Implementation of the HUF program was patterned by community-level socioeconomic characteristics. Leagues located in communities with a higher percentage of families with children aged <18 years living below the poverty line and a smaller percentage of non-Hispanic white residents tended to have leagues with smaller percentages of HUF-certified coaches. As interventions are developed that reduce the risks of youth football, it is important to consider not just the effectiveness of these interventions, but also whether they reduce or exacerbate health inequities. These results suggest that relying on voluntary adoption of coach education may result in inequitable implementation. Further study is required to identify and remedy organizational and contextual barriers to implementation of coach education in youth sport.

Personal and social responsibility development: exploring the perceptions of Portuguese Youth football coaches within competitive youth sport

Youth sport is a valuable context to foster the development of personal and social responsibility (PSR). Within competitive youth sport coaches face many challenges promoting PSR while still being required to win. However, information related to the role played by coaches in PSR development within competitive youth sport is scarce and thus additional research is required. The purpose of this study was to analyse the perceptions of youth coaches on delivering, and barriers to delivering PSR in competitive youth sport. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with 17 youth coaches who coached under-15 football teams in Portugal. A thematic analysis was performed which generated high (e.g. coaching practice) and low order categories (e.g. positive transference). The findings showed that coaches considered PSR development important in different developmental stages. The relationship between parents and coaches was identified as a key factor. Coaches experienced constraints to their intervention towards PSR development, such as challenging athlete behaviours which were resolved by implementing negative teaching strategies. Coaches also mentioned a low number of strategies to foster transference of PSR to other life domains.

Evaluating the implementation of the Empowering Coaching™ programme

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the implementation of a theoretically grounded coach education training programme for youth football coaches in Norway, through observational methods. In particular, it focuses on implementation fidelity and programme adaptation, and possible differences between the coach educators (CEs) according to their level of experience. Design/methodology/approach – Implementation fidelity and programme adaptations for seven CEs were explored through the use of a fidelity scale and in-depth qualitative analyses. Participant responsiveness was applied to inform the observational analyses. Findings – Results showed that most of the programme was implemented with moderate to high fidelity, and that it was adapted when delivered. Most of the adaptations seemed to be positive, aligning with the programme’s theoretical foundation and goals. A few negative and neutral adaptations also occurred. The most experienced CEs seemed to deliver the programme with highest fidelity and they also made most positive adaptations. The findings, supported by the participants’ evaluation of the programme delivery, indicate that these CEs also delivered the programme with high quality. Research limitations/implications – In the field of implementation research there is a need for further studies applying observational methods to explore programme effectiveness in relation to implementation fidelity, adaptations made and the quality of programme delivery. Originality/value – This study applies observational methods to evaluate the fidelity of implementation and adaptations made when implementing a coach education programme, and based on these findings quality of delivery is discussed.

An exploration of participation football coaches’ pholosophies from development to expression

The coaching philosophies of elite coaches have been examined widely, and they have been shown to influence the behaviours, communication styles and attitudes of coaches towards their athletes (Bennie &amp; O’Connor, 2010). The influence of philosophies is less clear in participation coaching contexts, where the aims are to promote the ‘taking part’ in sport rather than achieving elite performances. This study uses a qualitative design to examine the coaching philosophies of nine participation youth football coaches. A constant comparative technique was used to analyse the contents of the interviews and a model emerged, which was composed of a number of themes and sub-themes, such as: philosophical expression; coaching objectives; processes; and external pressures. The key findings illustrated that participation coaches adopted aspects of holistic philosophies but, with one exception, were unable to provide evidence of using a coherent philosophical approach. Many of the coaches showed a lack of understanding of what constituted a philosophy, and how to both implement one and deal with the barriers to its implementation. Of concern was that winning was overly prioritised in some coaches’ approaches to youth football. This paper provides an understanding of the nature of participation coaching perspectives and provides a framework to help move the topic forward.