"We are a team": Creating a Healthy Coach-Youth Golfer Relationship

Abstract: The research objectives were (1) to explore how coaches and youth golfers perceive a healthy coach-athlete relationship and (2) what they do to facilitate such a relationship. A qualitative small-q study was done by interviewing five experienced coaches and five competitive youth-golfers using two semi-structured interview guides in order to get both coaches’ and athletes’ perspectives. This resulted in a definition of a healthy coach-athlete relationship, reflecting the (1) objective, which was that a healthy coach-athlete relationship is the relationship that is coach-athlete centered, characterized by open and honest communication, mutual trust and respect, work-fun balance and caring- altogether ensuring positive influences on athletes’ and coaches’ mental health and well-being, professional/athletic and personal development. The interviews further resulted in a set strategies to create and maintain such a relationship, thus reflecting the (2) objective. These strategies could be connected to the 4C framework by (Jowett, 2017; Jowett & Shanmugam, 2016). Both coaches and athletes shared strategies that facilitated the 4Cs, such as closeness (e.g., - mutual care and trust), commitment (e.g., - do what is agreed), complementarity (e.g., - having coach-athlete dialogues), and co-orientation (e.g., - being attentive to each other’s needs on and off the season). In the discussion the results were related to the previous research, and methodological reflections, practical implications, and future research directions were provided. Keywords: Coach-athlete relationship, mental health, well-being, youth athlete, golf.