Specifics of Applying a Person-Centered Approach in the Field of Sport

The relevance of this work and research is expressed in the need to bring greater humanity and awareness to the sports sphere. We believe that the training of athletes should take place in a more individualized environment, when the athlete himself can be a full-fledged person with his own opinion, which is heard and taken into account. The danger of the traditional directive system is primarily expressed in the use of power by coaches, when the athlete becomes a tool for the coach to achieve his own goals. Then, in the training process, there can be both psychological (insults, humiliation) and physical (raising a hand to an athlete) violence, which poses a threat to the development of an athlete as a fully functioning person. Also, after leaving the sports system, an athlete often feels frustration due to the fact that he does not know what to do after a sports career. This frustration is engaged with the inability to take responsibility for one's life, because earlier, within the framework of the entire sports career, from early childhood, everything was decided for the athlete by his coach. Purpose: formulation and adaptation of the principles of the sports-centered approach in the training and competitive process. Research object: the training process and the relationship between a coach and an athlete. Subject of research: the possibility of implementing the principles of an athlete-centered approach in building the training process and the relationship between a coach and an athlete. Hypothesis: a person-centered approach in sports for an athlete is constructive for full development and functioning, rather than a typical directive. Research method: as a research method, we chose covert switched observation in the field. In our study, we implemented some influence in the process of training children and observed what impact it had on the behavior and well-being of children and the coach. Approbation of the approach took place at a sports training camp in badminton for 16 days. Sample. A group of children training in the badminton sports section aged 7 to 12 years old - participants in sports training camps in badminton in the sports camp "Forest Quarter". Their number varied from 10 to 15 people. In the course of the research, we made sure that the athlete-centered approach helps and allows one to be congruent and authentic not only to coaches, but also to athletes. And he also helps in building trusting relationships, which are favorable conditions for full development and functioning. Key words: person-centered approach, athlete-centered approach, full-fledged development, the relationship between a coach and an athlete.