50 Million Strong^TM: The Contribution of Sports Coaching

In 2015, the Society of Health and Physical Educators of America (SHAPE America) launched 50 Million Strong^TM with goals of improving physical literacy, increasing physical activity levels, and encouraging lifelong physical activity among children by the year 2029. Not only are youth sports programs crucial to meeting 50 Million Strong^TM goals, but it also requires the purposeful efforts of sport coaches, program administrators, researchers, coach educators, and coach developers. While it is encouraging that research on sport coaching topics appears to be growing, there is still much to learn about how to prepare coaches to provide quality sport experiences for their athletes. Consequently, to further this call, it is crucial to understand the current state of sports coaching research and propose future research needs in the discipline. The purpose of this paper is to identify research needs in sports coaching and coach education/development that assists in achieving the 50 Million Strong^TM goals of SHAPE America. Throughout the paper, critical research questions are identified in two main areas: 1) coaches' roles in developing physically literate athletes, and 2) developing coaches in regards to coach learning, the efficacy of coach education, and coach health and well-being. Furthermore, commensurate with other papers in the series commissioned by the SHAPE America Research Consortium, we discuss these areas within a social ecological model to understand the impact of the bi-directional interactions between environmental factors and individual behaviors.