Abstract The value of the coach-athlete relationship is important because its quality offers the context within which sport participation and performance can become a truly positive experience - an experience that both coaches and athletes remember fondly for years to come. There are many examples of high-profile athletes who reflect on their coach-athlete relationships as forces for good, creating a significant positive impact on their development as athletes and as human beings. For example, Michael Phelps, Tom Daley, Serena Williams, Michael Johnson, Bryony Page, and Cristiano Ronaldo to mention a few, have referred to the strong partnerships they developed with their coaches, the importance of connection and its transformative long-term effect. In this paper, I focus on the phenomenon of the coach-athlete relationship not as an idea but as a reality and as a research area that has made significant strides over the past 25 years. Guided by theoretical and empirical evidence, I highlight that relationships between coaches and athletes provide a significant avenue to better coaching and to a more wholesome sport experience that is based on partnership and dialogue leading to lasting personal and interpersonal fulfilment even well beyond the confines of sport. Highlights • 25 years of concerted effort to explore the interpersonal nature of the coach-athlete relationship. • The 3+1Cs model and its accompanied measures have accelerated research. • Research has examined various aspects of the coach-athlete relationship quality. • Practically, the quality of the relationship is a vehicle to achieving goals and fulfilling needs. • Research is needed to expand understanding and yield tools to help coaches and athletes to build quality relationships.
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