Effective management of athlete development and program competitiveness in an overmanned sport setting

Sport has been attributed as being a developmental out-of-school activity which can result in positive youth development, hence its promotion in educational districts nationwide as a school sponsored extracurricular activity. However, there are negative consequences that can occur when the number of participants far exceeds the optimal number necessary to maintain that setting. Coaches working in these overmanned settings are confronted with a dual pressure between athlete development and winning. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine how coaches with overmanned teams manage the development of their athletes while continuing to cultivate a winning tradition. Participants in this study were eight varsity head coaches from a school in the Central Section of the California Interscholastic Federation. A qualitative approach focusing on thematic analysis was used to treat and code the data. There were three main themes that manifested into unique coaching practices meant to meet the needs of the athletic population: (1) creation of a fair and accountable team culture, (2) relatability of the coaches to their athletes, (3) and a realistic approach that takes into consideration the societal and cultural influences. Each of these coaching strategies correlate to the overarching themes of ‘teaching winning’ and ‘opportunity with development’.