A Coach Perspective on a Mastery Motivational Climate in the Competitive Youth Soccer Context

This study examined how coaches working in Norwegian competitive youth soccer viewed a mastery motivational climate and how they worked to create such a climate. Seven coaches participated in semistructured interviews (six men and one woman; M age = 27.43, SD = 4.50, average coaching experience = 8 years). A reflexive thematic analysis was used, and results yielded three higher order themes, namely (a) providing opportunities for skill development, (b) interpersonal relationships as a vehicle, and (c) contextual barriers and facilitators. The overall results indicated that while creating a mastery climate seemed to be an ambition for the coaches, they narrowly defined it as balancing the level of mastery and challenge for their players. They found it challenging to maintain a mastery focus when competitive results had real-life consequences for them, and contextual aspects, such as working conditions and the peer climate, could function as either barriers or facilitators.