Exploring How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted the Coach–Athlete Relationship for Travel Sport Coaches: A Qualitative Study

During the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining the quality of the coach–athlete relationship (CAR) became a significant challenge for travel sport coaches. The first aim of this study was to explore the coaches’ perceptions of how the CAR’s characteristics (i.e., closeness, commitment, and complementarity) were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The second aim was to explore the differences before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in CAR quality from the coaches’ perspective. Fourteen travel/club coaches from Ontario took part in 90-min semistructured interviews. Generally, coaches believed that their closeness was maintained, commitment levels improved, and complementarity decreased within their CAR. Past relationships between the coach and athletes helped to maintain their closeness. The resiliency of athletes was thought to aid in the increased commitment. Lack of face-to-face interactions hampered complementarity. Three themes—barriers, variability, and benefits—emerged as differences within the CAR during the pandemic. Recommendations from this study are that coaches focus on the characteristic of complementarity to enhance their CAR quality following the COVID-19 pandemic.