Exploring trauma-informed practices implemented by youth sport coaches

Using SAMHSA’s six trauma-informed principles this study will investigate how formally trained trauma-informed youth coaches integrate a trauma-informed framework within their coaching practices. Participants included eight youth sport coaches who spent at least three hours in trauma-informed training within the past year. Each participant completed one 60-minute interview to share their trauma-informed coaching practices. The transcripts were analyzed using deductive analysis. Each of the six principles served as the framework for coding. The findings comprise subthemes for each principle, highlighting examples of how the participants apply each principle in their coaching. These findings contribute to the existing literature by providing examples of ways to utilize the framework for all youth sport coaches. Additionally, the findings offer researchers the opportunity to observe the practical application of the trauma-informed framework.