“Everybody wants to coach it, but fewer know how to do it”: a qualitative study of stakeholders’ perspectives on mental skill development in youth sports

The results suggest that systematically integrating mental skills development into youth sports requires institutional support, stakeholder engagement, and interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure its application, implementation, and sustainability. Accordingly, mental skills development programs should be embedded in organizational strategies and policies. This clarifies responsibilities and allows for the development of appropriate measures. A key aspect of such integration is providing knowledge about successful, healthy mental skill development pathways and appropriate intervention measures to all stakeholders.