From the Athletes’ Perspective: A Social-Relational Understanding of How Coaches Shape the Disability Sport Experience

The purpose of this study was to explore athletes’ perceptions of how coaches shaped their experiences in disability sport throughout development. Athletes with physical disabilities (N = 21) participated in life history interviews. Participants outlined their sport history and responded to questions targeting the roles that coaches played in their development, which laid the foundation for broader conversations about how coaches shaped the disability sport experience. Using thematic analysis, patterns in coach knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors were captured in 4 themes. Three themes were discussed in relation to positive experiences in disability sport (consideration, collaboration, professionalism), and 1 theme was related to negative disability sport experiences (prejudice). The findings of this work are analyzed through the lens of the social-relational model of disability, thus challenging the dominant discourse that underpins understandings of (dis)ability in the sport context. Practical recommendat...