Designing an Online Course With U.S. School-Based Coaches and Athletes: A Case of Innovation Through Stakeholder Engagement

Interscholastic sports in the United States engage over 8 million students annually. Coaches largely shape the environment for positive and developmentally appropriate student-athlete participation outcomes. However, many lack the knowledge and skills to facilitate this process. While most states require some coach training, no universal requirements exist, and training content predominantly focuses “on physical health and safety with less emphasis on social-emotional health and youth development.” This case study describes how researchers at the University of Washington collaborated with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association to design an evidence-based online training course for school-based coaches, Developing Youth Through Sport. This case provides a potential methodological blueprint for developing coach education curricula through stakeholder engagement, offering frameworks for integrating coach and athlete input, validating content, and optimizing user experience through targeted content, interactive tools, and multimedia features that enable reflection and support transfer to coaching practice. Initial course testing revealed positive shifts in coaches’ attitudes toward creating positive sports environments, with strong effects on autonomy support and mastery climate. User experience data demonstrated high engagement with content and identified key priorities for future instructional and platform enhancements.