Role of athletic coach mentors in promoting youth academic success: Evidence from the Add Health national longitudinal study

Abstract

Organized sports are among the most common youth activities in the United States, and athletic coaches can often become important mentors to their players. Nonetheless, few studies have examined the characteristics of youth who form mentoring relationships with coaches and whether such relationships are associated with later academic outcomes. This study utilized data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to address these gaps in the literature. Gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and parent marital status were associated with coach mentorship. Coach mentorship was associated with high school and college completion, even after controlling for sports participation and academic grades. Findings highlight the formative role that coach mentors can play in adolescents’ academic success and suggest that differential access to this resource may have long-term consequences for youth.