A scoping review of coach-parent interactions and relationships across youth sport settings

Abstract

To foster positive sporting experiences and enable young people to reach their sporting potential, parents and coaches need to have positive relationships. Correspondingly, literature exploring parent-coach relationships is expanding. However, previous studies have yet to be considered as a collective body to identify what characterizes effective and ineffective parent--coach relationships across youth sport settings and potential lines of inquiry for future research in the field. Consequently, this scoping review sought to (1) review published studies about coach-parent interactions and relationships within the context of youth sport; (2) systematically consider and identify the characteristics of effective and ineffective coach-parent relationships; and (3) highlight the existent gaps in the literature as they pertain to coach-parent relationships, and identify future research directions. Ten studies were reviewed. Findings highlighted that previous studies have provided valuable insights about coach--parent relationships, but missed important opportunities to understand context, cultural and relational dynamics across socio-cultural contexts. More research is needed on coach-parent interactions and relationships; particularly studies that can help parents and coaches come together to increase their children’s development and performance.