The Experiential Nature of Coach Education Within a Positive Youth Development Perspective: Implications for Practice and Research

Coaches’ role in positive youth development (PYD) has been extensively studied around the globe. Coach education has been considered crucial in helping foster PYD outcomes, such as emotional regulation, goal setting, and leadership. Thus, several researchers have attempted to provide a comprehensive understanding about how experiential learning could be utilized within PYD-focused coach education programs. The purpose of this article was to provide insight on the implications for research and practice associated with the integration of experiential learning opportunities within PYD-focused coach education. The authors shed light on how the existent literature on experiential learning may help bridge the gap between the delivery of PYD-focused coach education programs and actual coaching practices. Implications for research and practice are discussed in order to provide insight on how PYD-focused coach education programs could be configured to effectively train coaches and enhance their ability to promote PYD outcomes, such as life skill development, among youth athletes across a range of contexts.