The purpose of this study was to evaluate coaches’ experience of the reROOT program, a program aiming to increase coaches’ autonomy-supportive skills, structure, and involvement. We delivered the program to 32 university sports coaches, and of these coaches, 13 participated in three semistructured focus groups 2 weeks postprogram and discussed their experience of the program. Guiding questions aimed at assessing participants’ responsiveness to the program and its perceived usefulness. Classical content analyses were performed and organized based on the guiding questions when applicable. Results suggest that coaches appreciated the program, believed that they could implement its skills in their day-to-day coaching, and observed positive impacts on themselves and their athletes despite the COVID-19 pandemic. It thus appears that coaches are responsive to the reROOT program and that it could be a useful part of their training.
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How to Support Athlete Autonomy in University Sports: Coaches’ Experience of the reROOT Program
Emilie Lemelin, Hali Kil, Élodie Petit, Joëlle Carpentier, Jacques Forest, Sophie Gadoury, Jean-Paul Richard, Mireille Joussemet, and Geneviève A. Mageau
The reROOT Coaching Program: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating Its Impact on Coaching Style and Athlete Sports Development
Emilie Lemelin, Joëlle Carpentier, Sophie Gadoury, Élodie Petit, Jacques Forest, Jean-Paul Richard, Mireille Joussemet, and Geneviève A. Mageau
The reROOT program teaches coaches 40 behaviors belonging to a need-supportive coaching style (including structure, involvement, and autonomy support), as defined by self-determination theory. This pilot randomized controlled trial, conducted during the COVID-19-related lockdown, evaluated the impact of this 18-hr program on coaching style (e.g., Problems in Sports Questionnaire) and on athlete motivation (Motivation Underlying Achievement Goals Questionnaire), performance (tactical, technical, physical, and psychological skills), and well-being (Satisfaction with Life Scale; Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). Twenty-three sports teams from two universities were randomized in the experimental or the wait-list control condition. Coaches in the experimental condition evaluated autonomy-supportive coaching styles more favorably than those in the control condition at the 1-year follow-up, but not 2 months after the end of the program. Athletes whose coaches participated in the program did not rate them as having a higher need-supportive coaching style, but experienced greater autonomous motivation and (potentially) performance, and under certain circumstances greater well-being and less controlled motivation 2 months after the end of the program compared with the wait-list condition. These findings suggest that the reROOT program could potentially improve readiness to rely on more autonomy-supportive skills and promote some aspects of sports development in athletes.
