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Abstract

Sport-coach mentorship is perhaps the raison d’etre for the inclusion of sports programming within Catholic schools. Coach-educators can have significant and even lifelong impact on student-athlete growth and development. But, how, exactly, should coaches act as mentors in faith-based, educational contexts? Drawing upon an extensive archival and interview research project, this paper presents a historical case study of the sport-coach mentorship of Father David Bauer, csb (1924-88), an educator and exceptional Canadian ice hockey player, coach, manager, and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee. Bauer mentored and spoke out for young sportspeople over many decades. The first part of this paper provides background about Bauer, the priest-coach, highlighting his relationships with his religious community, family, and sporting colleagues and players, all of which guided his model for mentorship. The second part unpacks how Bauer’s approach to sport-coach mentorship follows a leadership style that is humanistic, relational, developmentally appropriate, critical, and faith-based, among other qualities. Based on stories, speeches, and events, seven practices for mentorship emerge. These practices reveal how Bauer challenged assumptions and systems within the sporting world and they also establish an approach to youth sport-coach mentorship that can enlighten and guide Catholic school coaches today, in particular, as well as athletic directors and other sport leaders, in general.

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