Assertiveness as a positive developmental outcome of interscholastic sport participation

Interscholastic sport participation has been identified as a means through which adolescents are provided an opportunity to develop transferrable life skills such as teamwork, time management, setting goals, and effective... [ view full abstract ]

Interscholastic sport participation has been identified as a means through which adolescents are provided an opportunity to develop transferrable life skills such as teamwork, time management, setting goals, and effective communication. While most coaches indicate a strong desire to create a sport environment in which the development of transferrable life skills is promoted, many coaches fail to foster the development and effective transfer of specific life skills into other areas of life.

Assertiveness has been identified as playing a role in the protection of individual rights, as a means of maximizing human potential, and as a critical skill demonstrated by effective leaders. Assertiveness involves the ability to express one’s beliefs, wants, or feelings in a self-assured, direct, yet respectful manner. Despite its value within sport and beyond, assertiveness has not been widely adopted or explored as a positive developmental outcome of interscholastic sport participation.

Through retrospective interviews with former interscholastic sport participants, reported behaviors of coaches that were perceived to have implicitly or explicitly contributed to the development of appropriate and transferrable assertiveness skills were explored. Coaching behaviors and contextual variables that were perceived to have supported and inhibited the development of assertiveness, as well as recommended strategies for promoting transferable assertiveness skills in interscholastic sport contexts will be presented.