A creative non-fiction exploration of being a parent-coach as an antecedent of coaching behaviours through the lens of self-determination theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19560462 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mark J Carroll (0000-0001-7849-925X, University of the West of Scotland, corresponding author), Justine Allen (0000-0001-9918-9330, Northumbria University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-18 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1939-8441 • E-ISSN: 1939-845X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/2159676x.2026.2660288 |
| OpenAlex | W7155102422 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 50 |
Parents who coach their children play a key role in facilitating organised community youth sport participation, and parenting behaviour can have notable effects on youth sport motivation. Yet little is known about the factors influencing parent-coaches’ behaviours. Embedded in self-determination theory, this study qualitatively explored the antecedents of parent-coaches’ need-supportive, -depriving and -thwarting behaviours to generate insight on training and support measures for parent-coaches that could help improve the quality of community youth sport participants’ motivational outcomes. Eight male community youth football parent-coaches participated in coach observations, interviews and focus groups over 5 months. Through reflexive thematic analysis, three major themes were developed: parent-coaches are not a blank slate – biographies influence coaching behaviours; the social context exacerbates parent-coaches’ challenges with managing the dual role; and coach’s child is stuck in the middle between parent-coach and teammates. The parent-coaches’ experiences were illustrated through a creative non-fiction story using a composite character named Dennis. The findings and story offer explanations for parent-coaches’ behaviours and shed light on the emotionality and interpersonal challenges of being a parent-coach
Coaching · Through-the-lens metering · Coaching Methods and Impact · Psychology, Coaching, and Therapy · Sport Psychology and Performance
Associations Among Perceived Autonomy Support, Forms of Self-Regulation, and Persistence
On psychological growth and vulnerability
The coach–athlete relationship
Developing rigor in qualitative research
Recommendations for designing and reviewing qualitative research in psychology
Bringing Sports Coaches’ Experiences of Primary Appraisals and Psychological Well-being to Life using Composite Vignettes
Lifting the veil of depression and alcoholism in sport coaching
Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being
Focus Groups Can Be Fun”
Ethical dilemmas in the field
One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis
Experiences of a parent-coach
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of naturalistic inquiries
Maintaining professional face
Teachers' Perception of Their Code-Switching Practices in English as a Foreign Language Classes
Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis
Qualitative Quality
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |