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Sporting participation is believed to aid the development of good social skills and promote positive values such as equality, cooperation, and respect. Nevertheless, some people have negative experiences in the sporting environment. The presence of homophobic bullying in sport has been increasingly acknowledged. The purpose of this paper is to critically discuss current views on coaches’ roles in homophobic bullying prevention in adolescent sport and provide an example of a program designed to upskill coaches in this important area. A review of the prevalence of homophobic bullying in sport is provided. The importance of the role of the coach in addressing bullying in adolescent sport is then discussed. Coach education and learning theory are examined and an example of a coach education workshop on homophobic bullying prevention is detailed. A summary of the evaluation completed by the coach participants of the education workshop is provided, with potential modifications to the workshop noted. The need for intervention is linked back to the literature in the conclusion.

This study offered a first examination of skill development within freeskiing and snowboarding, using semistructured interviews to examine trick progression. Participants were purposefully recruited as performing at world top 8 level in 2014, the most recent Winter Olympic Games. A semi structured interview protocol, using a personalized progress chart, enabled the examination of trick progression across disciplines, with at least one participant from each of the events represented at the Games. Trick progression was achieved intermittently, moving through different stages during the year subject to experiencing the right conditions, training facilities, balancing time for progression with time for consolidation, competition periods and rehabilitating from injuries. There was high variance in the duration of trick progression between individuals and also high variance in the number of repetitions required to land a trick in competition. Imagery was a mental skill widely used and universally supported by our sample. Athletes and coaches should take directionality into consideration when planning their progression, ensuring all four directions are included and that prerequisite manoeuvres are included in an athlete’s training repertoire at the right stage to facilitate the learning of more complex manoeuvres at a later stage of development. Our data found a 60–40 balance between time-spent training on and off-snow, further research is required to determine the best combination of traditional strength and conditioning versus movement conditioning approaches, both from an injury prevention and a performance enhancement perspective.

There is a need to improve concussion education and prevention efforts for youth athletes and those responsible for their care. The purpose of this study was to understand Canadian high school coaches’ insights and perceptions of concussions. Using a case study design, eight high school coaches were interviewed and the data were analysed using a hierarchical content analysis. Findings indicated that participants primarily acquired information about concussions through their own experiences as athletes and parents, and from reports in the sports media. The coaches’ felt their role with concussions was to teach athletes safety techniques during practices and competitions and to encourage them to accurately report their concussion symptoms. In addition, participants forwarded a number of recommendations to improve the dissemination of information to coaches. Results from this study will add to a limited body of concussion research with youth sport coaches. Participants’ insights provide researchers and clinicians with information about coaches’ perceived role with sport-related concussions.