Overview of Coaches' Perceptions of the Millennial Athlete

Background/Purpose: With the advent of technology, the increase of self-esteem boosting programs, and the shift of parents from an authority figure to a friend, youth are growing up in a world that is increasingly centered around their activities.  Even though these changes may create an environment that is highly conducive for youth to experience unparalleled opportunities for growth, these structural changes may create an environment that can encourage the development of negative behavior. Howe and Strauss identified 7 characteristics that were unique to the Millennial generation of students, namely, a belief that they are special, they are sheltered, team oriented, confident and optimistic, pressured, conventional, and have a strong desire to achieve.  While some of these characteristics may be viewed as positive, e.g., confident and optimistic, other characteristics pose greater challenges for teachers and coaches, e.g., being special and sheltered.  One of the most challenging characteristics of the millennial generation (born mid 1980’s – early 2000’s) is this generation’s sense of entitlement. In 2006, Sacred Heart University Polling Institute found that 83% of Americans surveyed agreed that America’s youth felt more entitled today then just 10 years previously.  Further, this phenomenon is increasingly important to investigate as the youth sport environment has shifted from community-based programs to programs that cater to more elite youth, e.g., club sports and elite travel teams.  While there are many anecdotal and media reports describing the challenges of working with today’s generation, few empirical research studies have been conducted to investigate coaches’ perceptions of working with the millennial generation in sport.

Method: This symposium is part of a larger study conducted using semi-structured interviews with college coaches to obtain their perceptions of the millennial athlete.  Specifically, interviews explored ten coaches’ perceptions of millennial athlete characteristics, strategies for interacting with millennial athletes, coaches’ views of specialization, and coaches’ attitudes to the club environment and the role this atmosphere played in influencing athletes.

Analysis/Results:

Only the data and findings for coaches’ perceptions of the characteristics of the millennial athlete and strategies for working with these athletes will be presented in this symposium.

Conclusions: The discussion of these results will focus on how coaches might be more effective in teaching the assets necessary to help these millennial athletes become more productive adults.  Also, sport psychologists will be informed of the  mental skills needed by athletes of this generation.