“Think about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it”: Coach feedback, athlete self-regulation, and male youth hockey players

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine athlete experiences of feedback within the context of male youth ice hockey in order to provide insight into the delivery of feedback from coaches to athletes in the sport of hockey. Boekaerts’ model of self-regulated learning served as the theoretical lens. Thirteen athletes from a AAA hockey team of players born in 2003 participated in the study. Four observations–two practices and two games–were completed followed by one-on-one interviews with each of the participants. The findings of the study were presented in three themes: (1) nature of feedback, (2) feeling feedback and (3) taking ownership. The findings revealed a number of considerations that affected athletes’ level of engagement with feedback, most notably the specificity and purpose of feedback, as athletes communicated a preference for constructive feedback. Self-regulation was practiced by athletes through various cognitive strategies such as selective attention, however effective goal-setting behaviors were not a prominent finding in the current study. The findings of this study add to knowledge of how coach feedback is received, as well as self-regulation in youth sport.

Lay summary

This research explored coach feedback and athlete self-regulation from the perspective of youth hockey athletes. Observations and interviews were used to determine how athletes described the content and delivery of feedback received from their coaches, as well as how they tracked their own progress when no feedback was received.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

• Athletes should be taught to think critically about their own performance.

• Athletes should be willing to look to parents, coaches, or teammates as sources of feedback in order to expedite their performance improvement.

• Coaches should attempt to be candid with the feedback they provide.