Enhancing coach-parent relationships in youth sports: Increasing harmony and minimizing hassle: A commentary

Abstract

The “athlete triangle” remains a valuable heuristic to coaches, coach educators and parents. The interactions between coaches, parents and athletes are both mutual and influential. Moreover, the three constituents of the triad are inter-dependent yet the degree of influence, particularly at a social level can vary by situation and across time [1]. Perhaps more importantly it is the status of this triangle that often influences the sport experiences of athletes. Sport often takes on different meanings as young people move from one context to another and from one level to another. As their sporting world unfolds, they establish attitudes and ideas about the values and purposes of participation. The initial playfulness of early games and sport becomes transformed into a more work-like approach at the competitive sport level. It is this type of shift that can see intended benefits and authentic meanings subsumed by some of the negative characteristics of contemporary adult sport forms.