Coaches' Views of the Characteristics of Today's College Athletes

Background/Purpose: In the 1950’s programs in American schools were initiated to enhance children’s self-esteem and inform each child that they are special in their own way (Twenge, 2006).  However many parents and administrators took these programs to extremes and instead of anchoring self-esteem in accomplishments made them non-dependent on accomplishments.  One unintended outcome from many years of telling millennial children they are special for no reason is a sense of entitlement and an unwillingness to take responsibility when problems arise.  Further, coaches have mentioned contact with parents has increased and athletes were less competitive than previous athletes they had coached.  With consideration of the previous literature as well as conversations held with coaches, the current research aimed to investigate the perceptions of college coaches of the characteristics of millennial athletes.

Method: Ten experienced Division I college coaches (ranging from 7.5-35 years experience) were interviewed with both male and female coaches represented.  Further, sampling took care to interview coaches of both male and female teams, individual and team sports, and coaches from revenue and non-revenue sports.  Interviews were transcribed verbatim.  Three researchers familiar with analyzing qualitative data coded the comments from the coaches and identified common themes. 

Analysis/Results: Confirming previous expectations, some themes that emerged from the interviews were increased levels of entitlement, increased parental involvement, and a decrease in athlete’s willingness to take personal responsibility for their actions.  Coaches differed on their view of athlete’s level of competitiveness with some coaches viewing athletes as less competitive than previous generations while other coaches believed that athletes were similarly competitive.  Other themes that emerged from the interviews concerning the characteristics of millennial athletes were the need for quick feedback and instant responses, decreased communication, writing and leadership skills, and a less mentally tough athlete.

Conclusions:

Discussion will focus on the challenges that coaches have when parents expect to play a major role in the athletes’ experience at college as well as the influence of an over-involved parent on the development of personal assets needed to become a productive adult.  Additionally, the inconsistent view of coaches’ views on the millennial athlete’s competitiveness will be discussed in light of the impact on a team’s culture and coaches’ attempts to motivate athletes.