Development and transfer of life skills in figure skating: Experiences of athletes and their coaches

ABSTRACT

Sport coaches play an influential role in facilitating the development and transfer of life skills of their athletes. In individual sports this influence may be particularly prevalent given the frequency and nature of coach-athlete interactions, which are central to the development of life skills. Yet, studies examining the development of life skills have mainly focused on team sports in school settings and with male participants. Thus, examining individual sports in community settings with female coaches and athletes can provide a unique understanding of the development and transfer of life skills within a little explored setting. The purpose of the present study was to examine the experiences of figure skating coaches and their skaters regarding the development and transfer of life skills. A multiple-case study design was used with four cases, each composed of one coach and two of their athletes. The coaches averaged more than 30 years of coaching experience and skaters competed at the provincial or national level, practicing their sport for an average of 12 years. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant. A content analysis revealed that skaters learned a wide range of life skills, including perseverance, goal setting, emotional regulation, and respect mostly because of their sports’ demands. The transfer of these life skills occurred implicitly through changes in skaters’ personality reinforced by explicit discussions with coaches, parents, and sport psychologists. These findings suggest that the complexity of life skills development and transfer requires an integrative approach between the key actors in the athlete’s sport setting.

KEYWORDS:

• Figure skating
• life skill
• transfer
• community sport
• multiple-case study

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Élise Marsollier

Élise Marsollier is a mental performance consultant with over ten years of experience and a certified trampoline coach. Her research interests include sport psychology, positive youth development and yoga for athletes.

Christiane Trottier

Christiane Trottier is a full professor of Sport Psychology at the Department of Physical Education, Laval University, Canada. Her research expertise includes life skills development in sport and the stakeholders’ role in fostering positive youth development. Recognized by several sport organizations, she has been working for over 20 years in mental performance consulting with several coaches as well as hundreds of athletes ranging from young children to Olympians.

William R. Falcão

William R. Falcão is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Management at HEC University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His research interests include coach learning and athlete development through sport participation. He is focused on the development, implementation, and assessment of a coach training protocol that fosters the personal development, health, and well-being of young athletes.