Athletic Coaches’ Subjective Theories Regarding the Goals of Competitive Sport for Preadolescent Children

Lea Železnik Mežan

Summary:  The quality of sports activities is defined, among other things, by the number of objectives in different categories achieved by as many children as possible. Under appropriate educational conditions, physical education enables pupils to develop physically, psycho-socially and cognitively. Furthermore, elite sport for children should be based on quality physical education. The aim of the study was to find out what training goals should be pursued in competitive children’s sport. We tested the subjective theories of Slovenian sports coaches about the goals in competitive youth sports. Eight coaches who train nine- to eleven-year-old children were included. A semi-structured interview was conducted with each coach. The data were analysed using content analysis. We found that, according to the coaches studied, children’s athletics must be based on physical, cognitive and psychosocial development. In terms of responses, the coaches want to influence children’s interpersonal relationships, but they do not have enough knowledge to choose an appropriate pedagogical model in each situation. Considering that the coaches working with young athletes have a very good opinion about cooperative skills and peer communication, we propose that coaches receive additional training in pedagogical approaches. To plan activities according to the different objectives and, consequently, to choose appropriate pedagogical models, it seems necessary to create some kind of technical guidelines for coaches, also for the competitive sport of pre-adolescent children.