Coaching Generation Z: A response to McDougall et al.’s commentary

Abstract

Adopting a critical cultural perspective, McDougall and associates published a critique of Gould et al.’s JASP qualitative study summarizing coaches’ views of the characteristics of and best strategies for coaching Generation Z athletes. Evidence from general psychology that questions the validity and utility of studying generational cohorts was presented. The original study was also criticized for not adopting a more critical cultural perspective. This article is a reaction to their commentary. Based on the recent work of Twenge, counter arguments to concerns regarding the validity of studying generational cohorts are made and some of the specific concerns regarding the lack of a critical cultural perspective are addressed. Future research directions are also specified.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).