Examining High-Impact Coaching Practice: A Study of Life Skill Development in High School Football Programs Within the Greater Dayton Area

Date of Award

8-1-2024

Degree Name

Ed.D. in Leadership for Organizations

Department

Department of Educational Administration

Advisor/Chair

Matthew Witenstein

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore and identify the high-impact practices that football coaches, within the Greater Dayton Area (GDA), were utilizing to develop life-skills in their athletes. This qualitative study will add to the base of knowledge surrounding life-skill development (LSD) in adolescents, while also supporting local football programs by providing a starting point for the inclusion of LSD in their daily routines. This study utilized the Basic Needs of Coaching Paradigm (BNCP) as the framework to maintain focus on the optimal outcomes for the student-athletes through the behaviors of coaches and the impacts those behaviors have on student-athletes. Through the course of semi-structured interviews, coaches took the time to explain how they viewed their role, how they viewed their relationship with their athletes, and what life-skill development meant to them. What resulted was an opportunity to create something meaningful that could be used as an aid to help the entire coaching community. More specifically, this study will lead to the creation of the Life-Skill Development Toolkit, which will become a valuable resource for coaching staffs to help them learn about LSD and how to implement it within their programs, which will lead to the development of life-skills in high school athletes and further development of coaching staffs.

Keywords

Life Skill Development; Coach Roles; Coach Development

Rights Statement

Copyright © 2024, author.

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