Coaches' views on how to develop shared leadership

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate coaches' views on developing leadership and shared leadership capacity in particular in competitive youth football.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative examination focusses on the leadership philosophy of ten male coaches at the sub-elite competitive level in youth football in The Netherlands and applies the theory of shared leadership to examine coaches' views on developing leadership capacity.FindingsOnly few coaches have a clear philosophy on the development of leadership in general and/or shared leadership in particular. Most coaches do not have a distinct view on how to involve players in the team processes. Shared leadership development in youth teams occurs occasionally but can be implemented more intentionally.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this study lacks generalizability, coaches' views are required in understanding how shared leadership is to be developed in youth sport.Practical implicationsFor implementing shared leadership in football purposefully, a clear view on the development of youth is required, whereas coaches need to be taught, how to involve the individual players in team processes such as decision-making. In addition, leadership development in sport may have the potential of transfer of skills to other domains.Social implicationsLearning shared leadership at a young age by athletes can have a positive influence on relationships in teams on micro-level and might have an impact on meso-level within a football club because of its social constructionist approach.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to apply shared leadership at the micro-level of competitive youth football making use of football coaches' view.