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Access Type

WSU Access

Date of Award

January 2022

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Health Education

First Advisor

Whitney Moore

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected coach-athlete relationships for coaches of Ontario, Canada-based adolescent travel sports teams. From March of 2020 until May 2021 multiple Ontario youth travel sports organizations canceled/postponed their 2020-2021 seasons because of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is expected that the stoppage of travel adolescent sports in Ontario affected coaches' ability to develop quality coach-athlete relationships. Developing high-quality coach-athlete relationships for coaches and athletes have been positively associated with satisfaction, happiness, and lower levels of burnout within sports. Therefore, qualitatively understanding if and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected coach-athlete relationship development from coaches’ perceptions is valuable information for youth sports organizations so that they can provide positive sporting experiences for coaches and athletes. Six to 15 adolescent travel sport coaches will be recruited from provincial sport organizations (e.g., Dive Ontario) in Ontario. Coaches will be asked to complete a 60–90-minute semi-structured interview via Zoom technology to: explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their ability to develop their coach-athlete relationships, what strategies they used to cultivate relationships with their athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic and what were the differences and similarities of developing coach-athlete relationships before and during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of the coaches.

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