The purpose of the study was to examine elite women`s rugby sevens athletes` perceptions of caring coaching practice. Using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR), ten elite sevens women`s rugby athletes participated in semi-structured interviews focusing on perceptions of caring coaching practice. Six domains were constructed: (I) Elite women`s rugby sevens athletes` perceptions of how they learned what caring coaching practice was; (II) Elite women`s rugby sevens athletes` definition of caring coaching practice; (III) Elite women`s rugby sevens athletes` description of the demonstration of caring coaching practice; (IV) Elite women`s rugby sevens athletes` definition of a lack of caring coaching practice; (V) Elite women`s rugby sevens athletes` description of the relationship between caring coaching practice and athletic performance; and (VI) additional influences. Some unique findings included players` desire for coaches to pay attention to player safety and implement an injury protocol as well as for them to create more meaningful training environments.
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