Jenelle N. Gilbert

Developmental profiles of successful high school coaches.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to compare the developmental profiles of successful high-school sport coaches, and to determine if elements of a coachs developmental profile were associated with coaching success. Sixteen high-school coaches in the United States – nine who coach basketball and seven cross-country running – participated in structured retrospective quantitative interviews. All coaches had accumulated extensive experience as an athlete (M = 19.6 seasons; 2,428.8 hours) and were better than average athletes in relation to their peers. Positive significant relationships were found between time (seasons and hours) spent as an athlete in the sport that the participants now coach and five measures of coaching success. The results are discussed in relation to the ongoing dialogue about coach development, coaching effectiveness, and coach education.

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

Teaching Sport Psychology to High School Student-Athletes: The Psychological UNIFORM and the Game Plan Format

The purpose of this article is to share a sport psychology program (the Psychological UNIFORM) and its unique teaching system (the Game Plan Format) designed specifically for high school (HS) student-athletes. The Game Plan Format uses sport terms (Warm-up, Conditioning, Films, etc.) and includes a multi-method approach (interactive lectures, in-class assignments, films, homework, physical activities, and journaling) to help participants make connections between the sport context and using sport psychology skills. Empirical and anecdotal data support the effectiveness of the Psychological UNIFORM and the Game Plan Format (Gilbert et al., 2008; Gilbert, Gilbert, Loney, Wahl, & Michel, 2006).

Part 2: Personal Characteristics, Parental Influence, and Team Organization

cussion on youth sport coach ing issues and strategies. In the previous issue of jOPERD, strategies used to address athlete behavior and athlete performance were discussed at length, based on interview data from a study involving 19 youth sport coaches. This concluding part of the article describes the various strategies that these same coaches use to address three other major issues in the profession: personal characteristics, parental influence, and team organization (table 1).

Coaching Strategies for Helping Adolescent Athletes Cope with Stress

JOPERD • Volume 78 No. 2 • February 2007 P articipation in sport has numerous benefi ts for young athletes, including improved skill development, fi tness, and self-esteem. Nevertheless, sport is also known to be a stressful environment for some of its participants (Voight, 2002; Weinberg & Gould, 2007). What is it about the sport environment that young athletes fi nd stressful? This question was asked in a recent study that the authors conducted with a competitive adolescent soccer team and its two coaches over an eight-month period. To ensure a comprehensive picture of the types of stress that young athletes may encounter, data were collected in all parts of a season (i.e., indoor and outdoor seasons, spring training, playoffs, and tournaments). The purpose of this article is to describe common stressors related to sport competition and strategies that coaches can use to help their young athletes cope with stress. These strategies are based on suggestions provided by the coaches and athletes involved in the study and are supported by the coaching and sport psychology literature. See table 1 for a list of the stressors and suggested coaching strategies that will be reviewed in this article.

Sport Psychology in an Urban High School: Overview of Two-Year Collaboration.

The purpose of the article is to provide an overview of an applied sport psychology intervention designed for high school student-athletes. To illustrate the process, as well as the product, each year of the two-year project is presented separately. Problems encountered with this type of intervention, such as working in the high school environment, as well as the lessons learned, are discussed so that others interested in working with high school student-athletes can benefit. Finally, the authors provide suggestions for future directions related to sport psychology in the high school setting.

Sport Psychology Teaching Approaches for High School Coaches and Their Student-Athletes

Coaches lacking a formal background in sport psychology may shy away from teaching these skills in favor of teaching physical skills with which they are more familiar. Other coaches may assume that athletes will learn sport psychology skills as a byproduct of their coaching pedagogy. Regardless, high school coaches are responsible for teaching sport psychology skills to the student-athletes in their charge. The purpose of this article is to describe three different approaches to teach sport psychology skills to high school student-athletes. Based in the psychological UNIFORM curriculum, athletes will benefit from the intentional nature of the approaches, while the teaching formats will assist coaches pedagogically. Modifications and appropriate shortcuts are also suggested for coaches who want to teach sport psychology skills, but may lack the resources and/or time to create these materials.