Advancing well-being through resilience and relationships: a phenomenological study of Nigerian coaches' experiences in a sport for development program

In Nigeria, various factors including stigma, isolation, lack of interpersonal relationships and community support, unemployment, poverty, and heightened competition for resources have resulted in a vast increase in mental health struggles (Labinjo et al., 2020; Oyetunji et al. 2021; Wada et al., 2021). Due to its unifying nature and cultural importance in Nigeria, grassroots sport programming has been shown to be an effective mechanism in promoting education, life skills, and well-being when collaboratively and culturally designed and implemented (Schulenkorf et al., 2016; Boluwaji et al., 2016). Thus, in partnership among Expertise France, the National Basketball Association, and Ball State University, and Dream Sports Africa created the Basketball Experience (BE) Program using trained coaches to teach life skills and resilience through the sport of basketball as they mentor youth (ages 13-17 years) in Lagos, Nigeria. In order to better understand the coaches’ experiences in the program and the impact on their personal and professional lives, the current study interviewed 10 coaches (7 female; 3 male) from the BE program. Results suggest that implementing mental health education and resilience development, specifically through positive mentorship and strategies such as breathing and mindfulness exercises, into a sport for development program can assist with increased knowledge and reduced stigma. Coaches strongly endorsed increased use of programs like BE to promote positive development and combat the disparity in mental health literacy and policy, and they suggested that such programs have the power to restructure the longstanding cycle of negative stressors inherent to life in Nigeria. Coaches also suggested that the organizational support from DSA (e.g., education and training, financial and emotional support, opportunities to expand network and refine organizational skills) resulted in positive personal and professional development. More specifically, coaches identified personal growth through increased mental health knowledge and strategies used to self-regulate and manage difficult situations. Professional growth included improved confidence in public speaking, time management, preparation, communication skills, and monitoring and evaluation.