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Teaching values and promoting prosociality. What coaches promote and what athletes internalize

Abstract:

There is increasing evidence of the relationship between sports practice and the transmission of values at an early age, but the specific effect of coaches and their own values on the development of these values in athletes is unknown. The objective of this study was to identify the influence of values coaches consider important on the prosocial reasoning of young athletes. A cross-sectional, multi-group explanatory design was used on a sample of 318 young athletes between the ages of 8 and 17 (MAge = 11.89; SD = 2.18), of whom 221 were male (68.8%) and their coaches (n= 38), aged between 19 and 35 (MAge = 28.4; SD = 6.62). Results reveal that coaches exercise a significant effect on the levels of prosocial reasoning of young athletes. Positive effect on prosocial reasoning of coaches' values related to respect for agreements, public image, and tolerance was demonstrated in contrast to the negative effect of coaches' values related to agreement, enjoyment, play, achievement, and victory. Discussion focuses on the usefulness of the findings for improving interactions between coaches and young athletes where joint development of competitiveness and value formation can be brought together.