The document discusses a study examining coaching educators' and administrators' attitudes toward preparing youth sport coaches to work with athletes who have hidden disabilities. The study found that educators and administrators felt coaches should accommodate athletes with hidden disabilities, but that current coaching certification programs do not provide adequate training. Educators and administrators supported improving coaching education curricula to include strategies for working with these athletes. Through open-ended responses, they expressed a need for better dissemination of resources and a concern about the number of athletes with hidden disabilities participating in youth sports.

1. RESEARCH APPLICATION
Attitudes Toward Preparing Youth Sport Coaches to
Work With Athietes with Hidden Disabiiities
Margaret M. Flores, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Auburn University
Robbi Beyer, Ph.D.
California State University at Los Angeles
Tiffanye M. Vargas, Ph.D. '
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Approximately 10% of children in the United States have
a disability that includes varying levels of deficit in the areas
of language processing, attention, impulse control, and motor
control (U.S. Departnient of Education, 2007; Center for
Disease
Control,2003).Thesedisabilities might include specific learning
disabilities, emotional behavioral disorders,'mild intellectual
disabilities, and speech/language disabilities. A common feature
of all of these disabilities is that there are few outward or
visible
signs of their disability in settings outside of the educational
set-
ting. Children with hidden disabilities' (HD) learning
differences
may impact their performance and/or enjoyment in youth sports
(e.g., attending to instruction, learning and remembering new
vocabulary, plays and sequences of motor movements). Youth
sport coaches, who are community volunteers (McCallister,
Blinde, & Kolenbrander, 2000) may not have the background
or training to recognize athletes with HD's needs or be able to

2. change their instruction.
The work by Vargas-Tonsing, Flores, and Beyer (2008) on
youth sport coaches' efficacy with regard to coaching athletes
with ADHD paved the way for this current pilot study. The
results indicated that coaches who reported having previous
experience with children and youth with ADHD (usually as a
family member) repo'rted higher efficacy than those with less
experience. Beyer, Flores, and Vargas-Tonsing (2008) also
found
that coaches demonstrated more positive attitudes when they
had previous experience working with athletes with ADHD.
This is consistent with other researchers' findings regarding
limited coaching preparation or training (McCallister et al.,
2000; Tinning, 1997)] '
In order to provide such training, coachihg educators and
administrators within youth sport organizations must recognize
that athletes with HD will participate and that coaches should
be
able to work with all athletes Flores, Vargas-Tonsing, & Beyer
(under review) investigated the attitudes of coaching educators/
administrators toward athletes with HD. The researchers found
that coaching educators/administrators felt coaches should make
^
accommodations for athletes with HD, but that coaching cer-
tificate programs did not provide adequate preparation to coach
this population. Although this study provided some insight into
administrators' attitudes, their beliefs regarding specific strate-
gies and plans for thé development of adequate training were
unknown. Therefore,!the purpose of this study was to collect
quantitative data, as iwell as qualitative responses, regarding
coaching educators/administrators' attitudes towards coaching
preparation that includes accommodations and strategies for
athletes with HD. I '

3. Method
Participants
Participants were 36 (18 males, 18 females) attending a
national coaching education conference and were members of
the
National Council for the Accreditation of Coaching Education
(NCACE). Their collective educational levels were Ph.D. (n =
20), M.A ./M.S.
(«=14),andB.A./B.S.(/7 = 2).
Measures
Quantitative data were collected using the Coaching
Education Administrators' Attitudes toward Athletes with
Diverse Characteristics, adapted from Kozub and Porretta's
(1998). The participants were asked to respond to 11 questions
on a five point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5(strongly
agree). Qualitative data were collected through an open ended
response section of the survey. Here the participants were asked
to provide their opinion on the inclusion of coaching methods
for training athletes with HD during their training curriculum. .
Results
With regard to participation, the majority of respondents
(70-83%) agreed or strongly agreed athletes with HD have the
right to be included in interscholastic sports, did not need better
athletic skills, and participation should be allowed with a no-cut
policy. Participants overwhelmingly agreed athletes with HD's
participation in traditional sporting activities would not
diminish
the experience of those without disabilities.
When considering the coaches' preparation they felt unpre-

4. pared and wanted resources to help with this training. Thirty
of thirty-six (83%) declared themselves inadequately prepared
to coach athletes with HD, did not feel coaching certification
programs offered adequate preparation of skills needed to coach
this population (77%), and strongly supported (92%)
preparation
within a college undergraduate preparation curriculum.
Five themes emerged from the open ended section of the sur-
vey: (a) the need for improved coaching education within youth
sports; (b) the need for improved methods of dissemination of
resources and professional development; (c) enthusiasm for the
development of curriculum related to the needs of athletes with
HD; (d) general concern of the high volume of athletes with HD
in youth sports; and (e) frustration regarding unnecessary
labels,
such as HD. These themes were consistent with the quantitative
data in their call for increased education for youth sport
coaches.
However, the need for preparation was further deñned and clari-
fied. Through these themes, participants reported that
they were aware that many children with HD partici-
pate in youth sports, coaches should be better
prepared to work with athletes with HD and
there were issues related to disseminating this
information to youth sport coaches.
2012 Vol. 26, No. 1 PAIAES'IUA
RESEARCH APPEICATION
zo
X

5. C/3
Discussion
The findings from this pilot study underscore the
need for improved coaching education to meet the
needs of all children who participate in youth sports.
Support exists from educators/administrators to inelude
content regarding athletes with HD within training
programs for youth sport coaches. Professional orga-
nizations which produce certifications or training for
youth sport coaches should consider expanding their
training curriculum to include all athletes. This sup-
port is crucial if coaching educators/administrators
and researchers wish to make youth sports accessible
to all athletes.
Dr. Margaret Flores is associate professor of special education.
Her research
interests include interventions for students with high incidence
disabilities.
Dr. Robbi Beyer is an associate professor of adapted physical
education and
pedagogy. Her Research interests include pedagogy for special
populations,
changing attitudes ofpre service teachers and coaches working
with individuals
who have disabilities, and the effects of early perceptual motor
training on
academic readiness. Dr. Tiffanye Vargas is an associate
professor of sport
psychology. Her research interests are coaching education,
coach- and athlete-
efßcacy, and verbal persuasion.

6. Practical Applications
The following are topics that could be included
preparation of youth sport coaches so that all athletes
can participate.
• Structuring practice with predictable routines
and transitions. For example, at the beginning of
practice, tell athletes how practice will be struc-
tured, support that description with a rotational
chart and/or use a visual/auditory signal for tran-
sitions.
• Position yourself close to the athlete to gain eye
contact with the athlete while speaking. Eliminate
extraneous stimuli by making sure the athlete
with HD is free of distractions during instruction.
• Allow additional time for the athletes to respond,
giving athletes with HD "think time."
• Be explicit and consistent with the language and
vocabulary used in explanations and directions.
Avoid frequently changing terms or cue words.
Clarify terms that appear to confuse the athlete
with HD.
• Differentiate practice activities to accommodate
for differences in athletes' skills and abilities.
For example, when practicing striking a baseball,
allow some athletes to hit off the tee, some hit off
the toss up and others try to hit off live pitching.
o Practice in a movement exploration envi-
ronment where coaches ask all athletes to
perform the skill together at their own abil-

7. ity level (e.g. "dribble as fast as you can, as
close to the floor as you can, from one cone
to another").
o Provide instruction that uses multiple for-
mats such as verbal description, demonstrat-
ing, or showing the athletes how a particular
movement should feel since athletes with
HD may have difficulty processing language
or may need multiple exposures to informa-
tion. For example, when showing a soccer
player how to pass the ball, cue the athlete to
attend to the feel where the ball hits his/her
instep and then use correction cues to rein-
force and improve the performance.
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