Parental strategies for supporting children’s psychosocial development within and beyond elite sport

There remains limited research into the role that parents play to support their child’s psychosocial development within elite youth sport contexts. The present study was conducted in an English professional youth football (soccer) academy that has intentionally integrated the 5Cs framework (Harwood; commitment, communication, concentration, control, confidence) into its player development process. The purpose of the study was to explore parents’ interpretations of their roles and experiences of supporting young athletes’ psychosocial development in this context. Six focus groups were conducted with 30 parents (17 fathers, 13 mothers; M_age = 44.8) who had a child in the foundation (8–11 years) or youth development phase (12–16 years). The transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Parental strategies employed to support their child’s 5Cs within and beyond the academy included providing encouragement and tailoring feedback, establishing and sharing expectations with their child, creating an autonomy-supportive environment, encouraging participation in activities outside of the academy, and understanding football and the nature of the academy. Barriers perceived as hindering parents’ support reflected the salience of coach-parent communication at the academy. Accompanying recommendations and implications are discussed for enabling improved congruency between coaches and parents, and how parent education can be better tailored to support intentional psychosocial development within elite youth sport pathways.