Athlete-Centred coaching using the Sport Education model in youth soccer

While Sport Education has shown to be effective in promoting students' participation in the student-centred learning tasks in teaching physical education, there have been no studies reporting the use of this pedagogical model in youth sport settings. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe and understand players', coaches' and parents' perceptions and experiences of a soccer season when using the model in a Finnish junior sport club. Twenty-three players, their three coaches and four parents from one junior sport club participated in the study. The Sport Education season consisted of 11 practice sessions over eight weeks. Within that season, the players had additional roles as fitness trainers, skill coaches, captains and referees. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis. Results suggested that players were successfully affiliated within their small teams and that they enjoyed having the autonomy and responsibility. Most of the players took their roles seriously and were prepared to instruct their peers. Based on our results, we conclude that this first attempt to implement Sport Education in sport clubs showed promising results in making the environment more player friendly.