Environmental psychological characteristic: coach capabilities support grassroots football player development in Indonesia and Malaysia

Coach capability is one of the primary keys in sports coaching, especially at the grassroots football level. Coaches are essential in conveying information, motivating, and building positive relationships with young players. This study aims to find out how the capabilities of coaches can help the development of grassroots football players in Indonesia and Malaysia. This research uses a qualitative approach using the Grounded Theory method as the foundation used to formulate the data collection process by meeting with 25 coaches with a coaching license and a minimum of 5 years of experience. Data analysis in the research in this study went through several steps, including open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, to identify emerging themes. In addition, the researcher used NVivo 14, a qualitative analysis program, to assist the researcher in grouping the research data to find the main themes. The results showed that the approach used will be able to help grass players develop into professional players, the expected capabilities of the coach are related to the passion of the coach, trust in the player, patience, and communication of the coach in providing encouragement and motivation and the ability to listen actively to understand the needs and feelings of the player. This study highlights the importance of coach capabilities in shaping the fundamentals of physical, technique, tactics, and sportsmanship values in grassroots football players in Indonesia and Malaysia. In conclusion, the capabilities of coaches can improve the quality of coaching, develop players' potential, and create a positive and inclusive learning environment. Keywords: Environmental, Psychological Characteristic, Grassroots, Football Player, Indonesia, Malaysia