Coaching Practices and Experiences of Youth Goalball Coaches

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the training and education experiences of goalball coaches who train young athletes with vision impairment (VI). Using Coaching Model as a theoretical framework, semi structured interviews were conducted with four male and six female coaches (mean age 36,30 ± 6,18 years) with a 4,7 ±2,6 years of youth goalball. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and were subjected to a thematic analysis procedure in which raw meaning units were developed into relevant themes. Two themes were constructed based on the participants’ responses: lack of sport-specific coaching manuals and guides and information pertaining to the coaches’ backgrounds. The findings emphasize the need to consider new formal coach development programmes. Coaching youth with VI is challenging especially when there is no disability sport specific coaching literature. Yet, coaches reported their experiences as being tremendously positive.