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Abstract

While life skill development opportunities in sport and the coach’s essential role in facilitating the process have received much support, coaches often report they lack the tools and confidence necessary to integrate life skill development strategies into practice. Additionally, while life skill development focused coach education programming exists, few have been formally documented and systematically evaluated for effectiveness. The present study aimed to describe an accessible (online, free, asynchronous) and evidence- informed course while assessing the program’s fidelity and utility using the utilization-focused evaluation model (Patton & Campbell-Patton, 2021). The developed Coaching Life Skills Through Sport (CLSTS) course covers empirically derived life skills development approaches (e.g., Bean et al., 2018; Pierce et al., 2017) and applies adult learner-focused pedagogical methods (e.g., Knowles et al., 2012) supporting fidelity. To evaluate utility, 32 coaches completed pre- and post-course surveys assessing current and intended use of life skill development strategies, knowledge and relevance of the course lessons, and perceived functionality/ quality of the course. Most coaches reported increased intention to apply several life skills, improved knowledge, and perceptions that course content was relevant. Content delivery was also positively rated. While participants’ suggestions for improvements should be considered, results suggest the CLSTS course may help coaches integrate life skills development strategies into their work with athletes.

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