The Impact Of Coaching Behaviours On The Sustainable Development Of Youth Athletes

Abstract

The development of youth athletes is the foundation of sports advancement. It is imperative to assist youth athletes in maintaining a positive mindset and motivation throughout their athletic career, overcoming challenges and setbacks, striking a balance between sports development and other domains, and achieving comprehensive personal growth. The coach's conduct plays a crucial role in the developmental journey of youth athletes, as they serve as the primary mentor and influencer. Therefore, this study adopts the self-determination theory as a theoretical framework and investigates the association between coaching behaviours and the sustainable development of youth athletes. It aims to explore which coaching behaviours can facilitate the cultivation of self-determination ability among youth athletes through questionnaire surveys, thereby fostering their long-term athletic career progression. The data for this study were collected from a research questionnaire administered to 321 youth athletes. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) of AMOS was employed for data analysis. The study's findings suggest that coaching behaviours significantly impact youth athletes' self-determination ability and sustainable development. Moreover, it was found that the self-determination ability of youth athletes plays a mediating role in this relationship. These results offer valuable insights for regulating coaching behaviours.