Examining High School Teacher-Coaches' Perspective on Relationship Building With Student-Athletes

Adult leaders in sport can exert considerable influence on young athletes' development but this influence is mediated by the quality of the relationship that is formed between both parties. The purpose of the current study was to examine high school teacher-coaches' perspective on relationship building with student-athletes. Teacher-coaches (20 men, 5 women, Mage = 37.0 years, age range: 25-56 years) from Canada took part in semistructured interviews. Results indicated how the participants believed being both a teacher and a coach was advantageous because it allowed them to interact regularly with student-athletes. The teacher-coaches devised a number of strategies (e.g., early-season tournaments, regular team meetings) to nurture relationships and believed their recurrent interactions allowed them to exert a more positive influence on student-athletes than adult leaders in a single role. In terms of outcomes, the teacher-coaches believed their dual role helped increase their job satisfaction, positively influenced their identity, and allowed them to help student-athletes through critical family (e.g., alcoholism, divorce) and personal issues (e.g., suicide). The current study suggests that the dual role of teacher-coach is beneficial to both teacher-coaches and student-athletes. However, future work is needed, paying attention to how teacher-coaches can further nurture quality relationships with student-athletes.