Testing the effects of a self-determination theory-based intervention with youth Gaelic football coaches on athlete motivation and burnout

We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the effects of a self-determination theory-based intervention on athlete motivation and burnout. In addition, we examined the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. We randomly assigned youth Gaelic football coaches (N=6) and their teams to an experimental or a delayed treatment control group (n=3 each group). We employed linear mixed modelling to analyse changes in player motivation and burnout as a result of their coach participating in a 12-week SDT-based intervention. In addition, we conducted a fidelity assessment to examine whether the intervention was implemented as planned. The findings demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of implementing a self-determination theory-based intervention in the coaching domain. In addition, this study demonstrated favourable trends in the quality of player motivation and burnout symptoms as a result of an SDT-based intervention.