The Effect of a 6-Month Coach Educational Program on Strengthening Coach-Athlete Interpersonal Relationships in Individual Youth Sport.

The purpose of this intervention study was to develop an educational program for coaches to strengthen the coach⁻athlete interpersonal relationship in individual youth sport. To obtain data in the qualitative interpretative phenomenology phase, 10 youth sports coaches took part in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The educational program was developed by integrating psychological, educational and social skills into the educational coaching sessions. The program involved a detailed video analysis, theoretical classes, and individual consultations. The qualitative interpretative phenomenology research design was used and enabled to evaluate the program. The study results revealed that the program had a positive impact on the transformation of the coach⁻athlete interpersonal relationship in sport. Behavioural, emotional, cognitive, and social strategies changes occured. The quality of the coach⁻athlete relationship changed: trust, communication, cooperation, encouragement, and a connection between athletes and the coaches appeared. The study's results showed that the educational program for coaches had a positive effect on the quality of interpersonal relationships between athletes and the coaches and increased positive coaching strategies in youth sport.