Abstract
From grassroots participation to elite competition, athletes' personal development is fundamentally shaped by coaches (Bloom, 2016). Interestingly, whereas an extensive body of literature pertaining to coaching effectiveness exists (Côté & Gilbert, 2009), these efforts seldom extend beyond the head coach. However, an emerging trend in professional sport is the designation of Player Development Coaches (PDC). While this signifies recognition of the importance of properly developing athletes, the processes by which PDC's go about enabling athletes' development are largely unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions, experiences, roles, and responsibilities of current and former National Hockey League (NHL) PDC's. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight NHL PDC's (Mage = 50.5, SD = 9.65), with a combined 57 years of experience (M = 7.13, SD = 7.1). Generally, it was discovered that PDC's worked closely with athletes to oversee their development, which involved frequent meetings/discussions, traveling to evaluate performances, and being available to provide support. The PDC's also described the necessity of establishing trust and ensuring complete transparency with their athletes. Finally, the specific strategies or behaviours implemented to facilitate development were contingent on various outcomes ranging from tangible (e.g., performance objectives) to more process-based (e.g., maturity). Interestingly, the findings indicate that PDC's act in ways that bare similarities to the mentoring process. For instance, the pillars of the mentoring relationship are trust and respect (Bloom, 2013), which were reportedly crucial for PDC's to effectively form bonds with their players, thus allowing greater impact on player development.
