| The purpose of this study was to develop a manual for gymnastics coaches of six to eleven year old girls in order to provide guidance for developing an environment in the gym that fosters positive development across multiple domains. More specifically, the goal of the manual is to help coaches integrate concepts of developmental and systemic theories into their daily coaching practices. The manual will help coaches identify developmental issues and address them in order to make the athletic experience one that helps raise well adjusted gymnasts.;The literature review is separated into four major sections. The first section discusses the historical development of sports in our society. The second section is dedicated to the developmental tasks that are associated with the late childhood stage of development for females. The third section discusses the family systems theories and models that are applicable to the development of child athletes. The fourth and final section of the literature review focuses on the coaching profession.;The method involved using a semi-structured interview to obtain information from Massachusetts gymnastics coaches. A mass e-mail was sent out to all coaches registered with the state. Then individual interviews were conducted. Also coaches were interviewed during the Talent Opportunity Program training camp held at the national training center. A consultation was also conducted with a sports consultant. A thematic analysis of the information obtained from the interviews was conducted. Running themes from the interviews, and the literature and my personal experience were formatted into a manual to help coaches create environments that foster positive development across multiple domains.;The results of the semi-structured interviews and the consultation highlighted the lack of structured, child-specific training that gymnastics coaches undergo. While the coaches all spoke about a passion for helping children, none of them had received training in relevant fields such as developmental psychology, family psychology, teaching etc. The participant's responses to many of the questions stressed the importance of developing training resources that provide coaches with a basic toolset for working with children and their families.;In conclusion, the manual developed highlights many important development, systemic and teaching concepts that can help coaches establish an environment in the gym that fosters positive development across multiple domains. It can be used as a training tool for new coaches as well as for coaches looking to broaden their understanding of how to best interact with developing children and their families. It provides specific recommendations and examples to help guide the coaches in the direction of child focused coaching. |
