Research demonstrates support for life skill development and in some instances the life skill transfer. However, coaching practices used to teach life skills are still being understood. This scoping review was designed to identify (a) the facilitative coaching practices related to the development and/or transfer of life skills in youth sport settings and (b) theories used to ground our understanding of coaching of life skills. As a secondary study purpose and way to promote social justice in youth sport, this scoping review was designed to highlight the inclusion of youth populations who are recognized as being socially vulnerable. In total, 51 articles were reviewed, including 25 articles that were guided by a specific theoretical orientation and 19 articles related to socially vulnerable populations. Findings identified implicit and explicit coaching practices for coaching life skills. Implicit coaching practices included developing a PYD-focused coaching philosophy, using a strength-based approach, establishing a prosocial team culture, fostering positive relationships, and supporting youth autonomy. Explicit coaching practices included discussing and teaching life skills, creating opportunities to practice life skills in sport, supplying direct feedback related to using life skills, debriefing sport experiences to enhance life skill transfer, and providing opportunities to transfer outside of sport.

Researchers have examined youth sport coaches’ role in facilitating positive youth development (PYD). This past research demonstrates that when coaches use an intentional approach to development, they can play an important part in helping young people to reach adulthood with the necessary competencies to face the social challenges ahead. However, studies within the area of PYD through sport have predominantly emanated from English-speaking countries and there remains a need to better understand coaches’ views on PYD within different countries’ sport systems. The purpose of this study was to examine Portuguese coaches’ perspectives on their role in facilitating PYD in youth field hockey. The participants were 11 youth field hockey coaches (2 females and 9 males) who coached athletes between 6 and 18 years of age. Findings showed how the coaches believed PYD could be fostered as they discussed several PYD-related concepts (e.g. life skills) they deemed were being developed in field hockey. However, creating enjoyable environments and talking about life skills with players were the only explicit initiatives discussed by the coaches with the intent of fostering PYD. Coach education was perceived by half the sample as an important learning situation to gain competencies to facilitate PYD, while the other half emphasised that coach education courses were lacking in material associated with this topic. Those who saw value in coach education presented a narrow view of PYD as being solely associated with the psychological aspects of coaching. Moving forward, coach education courses should first be designed to have coaches understand the full spectrum of the concept of PYD and be framed as suitable learning environments where coaches can learn how to foster PYD.

Positive youth development (PYD) is a framework that has been widely used within sport research to outline sport’s potential as a developmental context. Past research has indicated how coaches play important roles in facilitating PYD through sport and yet, PYD-related material remains largely absent from mainstream coach education courses (CEC). The purpose of the current study was to examine youth sport coaches’ perspective on PYD and its worth in mainstream coach education courses. The participants were twelve Portuguese youth field hockey coaches (one female and eleven males) who coached athletes between four and eighteen years of age. Findings indicated that coaches valued PYD within their coaching philosophy, but were also highly motivated by performance and improving their players’ motor skills. The participants deemed that CEC generally lack PYD-related material, adding that practical strategies informed by the PYD approach should be inherently part of CEC delivery. The findings have practical implications for coach educators, indicating a need and a desire on the part of coaches to have PYD-related content in mainstream CEC.

Literature discussing youth sport coaching indicates the importance of a holistic coaching approach, particularly related to the use of positive youth development (PYD) approaches promoting the development and transfer of life skills. However, in the shadow of recent sociopolitical movements such as Black Lives Matter and Me Too, raised awareness of mental health concerns and an ongoing global pandemic, there are calls for a reimagined perspective of PYD through a social justice worldview. The purpose of the current article is to posit how coach education programs and coach development systems can inclusively meet the diverse needs of coaches, youth athletes, and society alike. Specifically, two questions guided the development of this article: 1) Why should coach education and coach development integrate social justice life skills? and 2) How may social justice life skills be integrated into coach education and coach development? Ultimately, as researchers and coach developers, we must not only be advocates for social justice in youth sports, but critically engaged activists who progress youth – and societal – development forward.

The purpose of this article is three-fold: (1) revisit the concept of life skills to position physical literacy as a social justice life skill; (2) make the argument that physical literacy is particularly relevant within a critical positive youth development perspective; and (3) propose a novel critical praxis for developing physical literacy amongst youth. When considering emergent social issues, youth programming has the potential to integrate concepts from a range of theoretical frameworks, which may help youth transform into social change activists and competent movers. Such critical perspectives may guide sport and physical education programming as contemporary society poses numerous challenges concerning youths' diverse emotional, mental, physical, and social needs. In order to advance knowledge and practice, we urge researchers and practitioners to rethink the way sport and physical education has been traditionally conceptualized. Ultimately, we propose that educating individuals to recognize and then confront neoliberal values within a post-pandemic landscape is critical. These notions may help researchers (re)frame their positionality and readiness to tackle physical literacy through broader theoretical lenses which—as alluded to in this article—may equip practitioners and researchers to meaningfully advance social justice.