Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4775-7652

Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

College of Applied Human Sciences

Department

Not Listed

Committee Chair

Valerie Wayda

Committee Member

Kristen Dieffenbach

Committee Member

Emi Tsuda

Committee Member

Stiliani Chroni

Abstract

This qualitative single-case study examined how a private-interest, nonprofit youth soccer club in the Midwestern United States recruits coaches, what coach qualities are prioritized in hiring, and how organizational and sociocultural conditions shape those practices. The study was guided by three research questions focused on (a) recruitment and early support processes, (b) hiring criteria and decision rationales, and (c) the organizational and sociocultural contexts influencing recruitment. Data were generated through five semi-structured interviews with four participants who were involved in recruitment practices (the Executive Director, the Assistant Director, and two full-time head coaches). Additional sources included an organizational mapping survey and publicly available website materials. Data were analyzed through an iterative qualitative process.

Findings indicated that coach recruitment in this club functioned as a coordinated, low-bureaucracy process concentrated within a small leadership group and activated primarily in response to emerging staffing needs rather than long-range workforce planning. Recruitment occurred through multiple entry routes, including outward-facing searches for head coaches and relationship-based sourcing for assistant positions, with short trial periods and on-field observation used to evaluate candidates’ alignment with role expectations. Across pathways, leaders prioritized interpersonal qualities (e.g., communication with children, parents, and colleagues) and basic dependability, while soccer-related competence was commonly assessed through candidates’ demonstrated coaching practice in the club context.

The findings also suggested that playing experience and shared background with existing staff could function as valued credibility within selection judgments. Recruitment and early support were closely linked, as leaders described providing practical guidance, feedback, and responsive assistance that helped new coaches adjust to the community and learn the club’s coaching philosophy and everyday expectations. Finally, the study highlighted how place-bound constraints, including a limited local labor market and persistent gendered patterns in staffing, shaped recruitment options and reinforced reliance on existing social networks, while also raising questions about transparency and access for those outside established networks. Overall, these findings underscore recruitment as an ongoing, relationship-centered organizational practice and point to the need for clearer criteria and greater transparency to strengthen coach support and access in youth sport settings.

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