Leaders’ perceptions of the value of delivering a trauma-informed sport program: A pilot study

Abstract

Traumatic exposure in childhood can result in impairments in social relatedness as well as cognitive and emotional dysregulation (Cook et al., 2005). Program leaders trained in trauma-informed approaches can design and deliver sport-based programming that can help restore youths’ social and self-regulatory capacities and orient them toward thriving (Bergholz et al., 2016). However, little research has explored the learning experiences of program leaders as they apply trauma-informed approaches in youth sport. Wenger and colleagues’ (2011) value-creation cycle offers a useful framework to assess the value that is enabled (e.g., changes to one’s self and/or one’s social environment) from leaders’ learning interactions (e.g., training workshops). This study’s purpose was to assess the learning experiences of program leaders who implemented trauma-informed sport programming in a national youth organisation. Twelve leaders participated in three training workshops as they implemented programming in three pilot sites across Canada for eight months. The data were gathered through interviews and observations of leaders’ discussions. The value-creation framework was used to categorise learning experiences based on the interactions and values that leaders discussed. The results indicate that leaders’ encountered various learning interactions (e.g., training workshops, applied practice, peer discussions), and discussed gains in immediate value (e.g., enjoyment, peer-relationships), perceived value (e.g., knowledge and awareness of neuroscience/trauma, program delivery strategies), applied value (e.g., coaching skills, youth-support skills, youths’ receptivity), realised value (e.g., expertise, youths’ behaviour change), and transformative value (e.g., transfer of skills, influence on club culture). Implications are discussed for program improvement and ongoing program leaders’ education.