Intercollegiate coaches’ experiences and strategies for coaching first-year athletes

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The coaches discussed the importance of establishing relationships with the first-year athletes early during the year. This ensured that the athletes felt comfortable with reaching out to the coaches later during the season and in their career regarding any issues that may arise. The coaches spoke of the importance of creating and maintaining a supportive team atmosphere. This was done by having senior athletes on the team who were acting as mentors and leaders for the incoming first-year athletes. The coaches also discussed several strategies for attending to specific issues pertaining to the first-year athletes' athletic and academic development, as well as their personal life. The coaches emphasized the need for attending to the athletes' physical (e.g., strength and conditioning, nutrition, injury management) and psychological (e.g., helping them accept lower-status roles, building their confidence) development, as well as providing playing opportunities via exhibition matches and pre-season games to help them feel part of the team. To ensure their academic success, the coaches tried to monitor their academic progress and encouraged the use of seminars and support programs available at the institution. To help ensure the students' adjustments in their personal life, the coaches spoke of the importance of social support. Overall, the current study highlights the various challenges that first-year athletes may experience, and provides insight from highly experienced coaches regarding useful strategies for helping their transition into university.

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