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

Sammanfattning: The study was aimed to (1) explore how coaches and youth golfers perceive a healthy coach-athlete relationship and (2) what they do to facilitate such a relationship. This was made by doing a qualitative small-q study, interviewing coaches and youth-golfers using semi-structured interview guides. Two interview guides were formed to give the study both coach and athlete perspectives; the number of interviews was 10, with 5 coaches and 5 athletes participating. The coaches had between 20 to 37 years of experience coaching golfers and the athletes had been competing between 5 to 15 years nationally and internationally. The interviews resulted in two main themes reflecting the two objectives, (1) defining a healthy coach-athlete relationship and (2) strategies to facilitate such a relationship.  As the study hade both perspectives the conclusion could be made resulting with a definition of healthy coach-athlete relationship. The definition was as follows, 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 wellbeing, professional/athletic and personal development. There were nine strategies, such as, commit by doing what is agreed, dialogues contribute to learning and relationship, and skilfully balance serious work and fun. Both main themes reflected the 4C framework (Jowett & Shanmugam, 2016), which proves a connection between healthy and effective coach-athlete relationship. The discussion connects and compares the result to former research, such as the 4C-framwork and discuss, method, future research, implications, and sums it with a conclusion.