ABSTRACT
One way that sport psychology practitioners can facilitate sustained and health-conducive youth sport participation is to work with coaches so that they can more effectively develop a motivational climate that is engaging, enjoyable, and enabling for young people. Underpinned by contemporary theories of motivation, this chapter overviews the important features of the motivational climates that coaches create. We then describe the processes by which these differential motivational climates hold implications for young athlete motivation and whether the youth sport experience is optimal or compromised. Drawing from our theoretical understanding of the key concepts at hand, suggestions are provided regarding what could be assessed and how to better appreciate differences and ascertain changes in the coach-created environment and its implications for athlete motivation. We conclude with a brief description of the training programme we deliver (i.e. Empowering Coaching TM) and provide some theory-based coaching strategies that could facilitate a positive ‘climate change’ in the context of youth sport.
