Athlete and practitioner insights regarding a novel coping oriented personal-1 disclosure mutual-sharing (COPDMS) intervention in youth soccer

This paper aimed to provide athlete and practitioner insights regarding a novel Coping Oriented Personal-Disclosure Mutual-Sharing (COPDMS) intervention developed and administered in youth soccer. Participants were 18 male soccer athletes (Mage = 17.29 ± .73 years) who belonged to the same professional academy in England. The COPDMS intervention comprised an initial sport psychology education session (week 1), a session introducing COPDMS (week 2), a COPDMS session (week 4), and a follow-up session (week 9). During the COPDMS session, athletes mutually-shared personal stories and/or information about transitions as they approached a time where they would gain a professional contract or would be released from their soccer academy. Athletes communicated a range of contextually-relevant demand and resource appraisals during the COPDMS session. Several athlete and practitioner insights about the COPDMS process and outcomes were provided which can guide future research and practitioners seeking to develop and deliver bespoke PDMS interventions in sport.