Roles and Responsibilities of a Coach Developer in a Youth Soccer Organization in the United States

Bibliographic Data

ID22411546
AuthorsChristina Villalon (0000-0002-1486-5465, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX, USA, corresponding author), Kristen Dieffenbach (0000-0002-1658-4798, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA), Melissa Thompson (0000-0003-1090-0312, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA)
Year2026
Pages1-24
Publication date2026-04-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueQuest (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-6297 • E-ISSN: 1543-2750
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00336297.2026.2660714
OpenAlexW7155203433
LanguageEN
References cited63

Although coaching has a long history guided by mentorship models, little research explores the role of the coach developer. Existing literature primarily focuses on coach developers outside of the United States working in high performance settings, which may differ from developmental youth sport environments. Therefore, this study explored the roles and responsibilities of a coach developer in a United States youth soccer organization. A two-round modified Delphi approach was employed with eight participants who evaluated 184 tasks. Participants agreed that 108 tasks were the responsibility of the coach developer, 131 tasks were important to the role of the coach developer, and 51 tasks were completed at least weekly. Yet, only 22 tasks were identified in the organization’s onboarding materials, revealing a discrepancy of 86 tasks. This gap highlights opportunities to better define and design the coach developer role, within this organization and across the broader sport industry.

Athletes · Football · Sport management · Athletic Training and Education · Sport Psychology and Performance · Sports, Gender, and Society

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