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Coach education notes the importance of effective transitions between life and sport, yet research evidence supporting coaches to make such transitions is lacking. The present study used a mixed-methods design to explore 41 highly qualified coaches’ perceptions of how responsibilities in life beyond sport spill over to coaching practice. Additionally, we examined coaches’ transitions between roles in life and sport and the implications for their health and coaching practice. Coaches completed questionnaires measuring perceived stress and emotion regulation, and a writing task about how roles outside of sport impacted their coaching practice. Linguistic analyses using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software revealed that coaches with lower levels of perceived stress expressed more positive emotions when writing about the influence of life commitments on their coaching practice. The findings also suggest that coaches’ perceptions of the coaching process can be both positively and negatively influenced by life commitments spilling over into sport. Further, coaches reported challenges with the process of undertaking micro role transitions and highlighted implications for their mental health, coaching effectiveness, and relationships in both sport and life. Integrating organizational and sport psychology research, we offer guidance to optimize coaches’ transitions between roles to promote health and optimal performance.

This chapter focuses on the use of questionnaires as a method of collecting coaching data. The chapter begins with an introduction and critical overview of two categories of questionnaires, surveys and scales. The advantages and disadvantages of using questionnaires and surveys in coaching research are presented alongside the key concepts of reliability and validity. The chapter then moves on to applied issues by outlining ten questions to facilitate the students’ level of critical thinking about the use of questionnaires in a research project. This includes questions that aim to prompt the students’ thoughts regarding target populations, response formats, the layout of the questionnaire, the administration of the questionnaire and data analysis. Additionally, this chapter provides some reflections from the authors’ broad experiences of working with questionnaires in the field of coaching and offers some key discussion questions.

Coaching is a process that guides development and is shaped by sound relationships between athletes and coaches. Interpersonal communication represents a mechanism for developing functional relationships. However, not all interactions between coaches and athletes are optimal, and limited research has attempted to understand the factors that impede the ability to engage in effective communication. This study aimed to contribute to the literature by exploring the barriers experienced by high-performance coaches and athletes that hinder interpersonal communication within the coach-athlete relationship. A qualitative design grounded in a pragmatic philosophical position was utilised, and 20 semistructured interviews with 12 coaches and eight athletes participating in elite team sports were carried out. Interviews were conducted either in person or digitally via an online platform and analysed through content analysis. Barriers were identified for either coaches, athletes, or both and categorised as follows: (a) intrapersonal (e.g., lack of skills and negative experiences), (b) interpersonal (e.g., lack of concern/interest and power imbalance), and (c) environmental factors (e.g., hierarchy and toxic culture). These results suggest efforts should be focused on equipping coaches and athletes with intra- and interpersonal skills and empowering them to co-create a safe and united culture for themselves and their sport.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of crisis leadership by discussing conceptual and empirical research, as well as practical suggestions. As such in this chapter, we offer a conceptual classification of crises, definitions of crisis leadership, indicative empirical studies conducted in sport, and recommendations of how sport leaders (e.g., coaches, performance directors, team leaders) can deal with crisis events. Moreover, we highlight that there is a great deal of scope for empirical research to grow the knowledge-base of leadership crisis in sport. The generated knowledge would aim to support sport leaders to better prepare for, deal with, and even benefit from crisis events.

The notion of secure base explains how a child can grow and become independent through access to a significant other (i.e., parent) who is available, encouraging, and noninterfering. The purpose of the current study was to develop an understanding of parental secure base support within the context of youth sport in Sweden, with a specific focus on: (a) what parental behaviors constitute a secure base, and (b) how these behaviors differ across contexts (at home before and after sport, at practice and during competitions). An interpretive descriptive methodology (Thorne, 2016) was used. Interviews were conducted with 13 family triads (children aged 12–15 years) and 1 dyad living in Sweden. Analysis was conducted to illuminate associations, patterns, and relationships within the sample. Analysis led to the development of nine categories of parental behaviors that were perceived to underpin a secure base. Availability was seen to comprise physical presence and support provision, being responsive, and developing positive mental representations. Encouragement encompassed demonstrating that sport participation is valued, motivating to explore sporting endeavors, and reinforcing and rewarding persistence in sports. Interference was described as unrequested interference, requested interference, and intentionally constrained involvement. Additionally, influencing factors such as communication, family structure and culture, were identified. The findings provide an empirical illustration for several behaviors that have been perceived as positive in previous literature, as well as highlighting numerous further complexities, particularly as it relates to interference.

Introduction: Women's sport has been experiencing continuous growth, yet the low levels of women coaches in the United Kingdom (UK) suggests that the sport is missing out on potential talent. Guided by empirical research, a women-only leadership development programme was designed and implemented by UK Sport to a cohort of 20 coaches from January to June 2021. The main characteristics of the programme included raising awareness of gender bias while at the same time focusing on women coaches' leadership purpose and skills within a safe environment that supports coaches to build their leader identity.

Methods: Kirkpatrick's (1998) four-level model was employed to guide the evaluation of programme effectiveness: reactions, learnings, applications and results. Interviews were conducted with 17 participating coaches.

Results: Content analysis of the qualitative data revealed five general categories (a) evaluations were mainly positive highlighting the aspects of the programme they liked, enjoyed and made most impression onto them; (b) learnings that impacted their work directly and immediately emerged as was the importance of on-going development; and (c) the majority of the women desired progression and transitioning to senior coach leadership positions was felt within their grasp; nonetheless, (d) challenges emerged and were described as organisational (e.g., recruitment, remuneration) and personal (e.g., work-life balance, childcare).

Discussion: Overall, the effectiveness of the programme was captured in its capacity to raise awareness, develop knowledge, build connections, and inspire so much so that its effects translated to many of these women moving to more senior leadership positions post-programme. Practically, this evaluation highlights that investment in individual coaches is part of the systemic change required to bring about gender balance in the coach workforce.