Résumé
The concept of Contribution – a thriving individual giving back to their community and society – is posited as the ultimate stage of Positive Youth Development (Lerner, 2005). In youth sport, coaching is a direct example of such “giving back”, whereby former youth sport participants devote their time and energy to providing positive sport experiences for the next generation. Yet pragmatically, recruiting and retaining coaches remains one of the biggest challenges faced by youth sport organizations. This research examines the developmental experiences and pathways by which youth sport participants contribute back to the youth sport community via coaching.
This qualitative study used a critical realist Grounded Theory approach (Kempster & Parry, 2015). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 current youth sport coaches across 12 sports who had successfully transitioned from youth sport athlete to coach, seeking to identify key experiences, relationships, and program characteristics that facilitated their transitions into coaching. Results suggest a self-sustaining developmental cycle that can be leveraged by youth sport organizations, revolving around four core mechanisms: 1) Elements of a positive youth experience that sparked desire to give back to youth sport; 2) Opportunities for early coaching involvement- often beginning with small-scale involvement or a personalized call to action; 3) Supported and rewarding experiences while coaching; and 4) Current coaches aiding the development of the next generation of coaches. This developmental cycle is facilitated at every stage by coach mentors, recognition of positive coaching attributes, and belongingness to a greater sport community.
