Barn- och ungdomshockey utifrån ett tränarperspektiv
En kvalitativ studie om tränarnas uppfattningar om barn- och ungdomshockey
Abstract________________________________________________________________Författare/Author Richard TähtinenTitel/Title Youth hockey from a coach perspective. A qualitative study about coaches´appreciations concerning youth hockeyThe aim with this study is to strengthen the knowledge about coaches´ appreciationsconcerning youth hockey. This study contains interviews with three leaders that operate onthe strategic level within youth hockey and three coaches working with youth players in theages of 11 and 12. I have divided my main results into 4 categories, based on an earlier studyfrom Karin Redelius (2002). These categories include the following themes:1) Competition on the good and the bad2) The importance of winning3) Shake-out versus sports on children’s terms4) Instruction, play and learningThe main conclusions in this study show that leaders on the strategic level appreciate youthhockey in a very similar way. Coaches´ appreciations vary on a much higher level both fromeach other and from the appreciations expressed by the leaders. One of the coaches recon thatwinning is very important and gives the coach assurance of a job well done. The leaders notethat one of the biggest mistakes a coach in youth hockey can make is to concentrate on theresult and therefore estimate his/hers coaching capabilities depending on the amount of wins.Thus will this result fixation lead to unwanted behavior by the coaches´. Some of the coaches´believe that shake-out of youth players within ice hockey is the result of the sport interestscarried by the parents. Some believe that it is the lack of resources that lead to drop-out fromyouth hockey. The coaches in this study believe that the athletic environment within youth icehockey doesn’t differ from other team sports. They do point out that youth hockey playersspend more time in the locker-room than players in other team sports.