This study investigated whether a large sample of youth participants’ life skills development through sport was impacted by demographic variables and/or variables based on self-determination theory. Participants were 461 Brazilian youth sport (325 boys; 136 girls) aged 10–17 years ( M_age = 15.12, SD = 1.44). Participants completed a self-report research survey to assess demographic variables, coach autonomy support, basic need satisfaction, and sport motivation. We analyzed data using cluster analysis, a chi-square test and multivariate analysis of variance. We found that sport participants in the high life skills development cluster were older ( p = .007) and had more years of sport experience ( p = .032). Compared to the low life skills development cluster, sports participants in the high life skills development cluster displayed higher scores for coach’s autonomy support ( p = .001), autonomy satisfaction ( p = .002), competence satisfaction ( p = .001), relatedness satisfaction ( p = .001), and identified regulation ( p = .023). In practice, these findings indicate that coaches should seek to satisfy participants’ three basic psychological needs and encourage an identified regulation form of motivation when trying to promote participants’ life skills development through sport.

The holistic development of talented sportspersons through dual-career

We aimed to explore life skills development among medical student-athletes who participated in a university basketball team. We conducted qualitative constructivist research based on the life skills approach. Medical students from the college basketball team were interviewed in-depth. Using inductive thematic analysis, two independent researchers generated codes and themes. Methodological integrity and self-reflection process were carefully followed. Our analyses revealed that the medical students involved as athletes in college basketball were likely to perceive life skills development to contribute to their future medical careers. Several life skills were mentioned, such as time management, leadership, teamwork, learning improvement and mental performance. The coach was the one mentioned as the essential agent in developing life skills. This study highlighted how a rational and responsible commitment to sports could contribute to developing life skills that might be transferable to a future medical career.

The study aimed to develop and validate the Coach Knowledge Questionnaire (CKQ). Study 1 included the CKQ development and content validity, using an expert panel. In this study, acceptable values of content validity were found. In Study 2, the Exploratory Factor Analysis with 230 Brazilian coaches was tested. Within this study, evidence for a preliminary construct validity was provided. Study 3 included 164 Brazilian coaches who completed the CKQ. Evidences for the construct validity through Confirmatory Factor Analysis and acceptable values for convergent validity, discriminant validity and internal reliability were found in this study. Study 4 included 45 Brazilian coaches that completed the CKQ. Within this study, acceptable values for the concurrent validity and test–retest reliability were provided. In Study 5, multilevel regressions were used to verify the CKQ dimensions’ sensitiveness as a part of the validation process based on the responses of 394 Brazilian coaches. Multilevel models suggest a substantial effect size considering coaches’ competitive level and years of experience in the professional & interpersonal knowledge dimension and low effect size of years of experience in the intrapersonal knowledge dimension. The present study highlights the validity of the Coach Knowledge Questionnaire, which could be considered an important instrument to understand sports coaches’ knowledge.

The present longitudinal meta-analysis aimed to estimate the growth curves and age at peak height velocity (PHV) in young male athletes, considering anthropometric data from available longitudinal studies. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, studies with repeated measurements in young male athletes were identified from searches across four databases (MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, and SCOPUS). Estimations were based on multilevel polynomial models using a fully Bayesian framework. After a full-text screening of 317 studies meeting the eligibility criteria, 31 studies were considered. Studies were excluded mainly due to study design, repeated reporting, and incomplete reporting of the outcomes. Of the 31 studies analysed, 26 (84%) focused on young European athletes. The average age at PHV for the total sample of studies with young athletes was 13.1 years (90% credible interval: 12.9; 13.4). When considering data by sport, there was substantial variation in the age at PHV estimates (range: 12.4 to 13.5 years). As most studies in the meta-analysis focused on young European football players (52%), predictions for young athletes from other sports may be limited. The age at PHV in the available data occurred earlier than in general paediatric populations.