Coaching Strategies for Youth Sports: Part 1: Athlete Behavior and Athlete Performance

Millions of young people participate in organized sports during a period oftheir lives that is critical to their personal development. Thus, the role of the sport coach is very important to society. Yet this challenging and complex position is often assumed by volunteers with limited training (Campbell, 1993; Ewing, Seefeldt, & Brown, 1996). Although comprehensive coach-education programs are available, direct coaching experience is frequently cited as the most effective means of learning how to coach (Gilbert & Trudel, 2000). However, because of the high turnover rate in youth sport coaching, the valuable lessons learned through experience are rarely shared within the profession. The purpose of this two-part article is to share the experiences of youth sport coaches. Three questions will be