Associations between Snowboard Coaches' Teaching Interaction, Motion Guidance, and Effectiveness Assessment Competencies and Learners' Intentions to Continue Lessons

Junchen Liu¹Tianhai Hu²Jiachen Yin^3*

• ¹Hubei University, Wuhan, China
• ²Blizzard sports academy LLC 54, Livingston, United States
• ³Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

Background: The rise in winter sports following the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has led to a surge in snowboarding enthusiasts. However, domestic snowboard coach training remains at a rudimentary stage, resulting in substandard instructor competencies that create negative customer experiences and seriously impede the development of China's snowboarding industry. Purpose: To address these coaching quality challenges, this study developed a three-dimensional pedagogical model and examined how snowboard coaches' teaching competencies influence participants' loyalty, operationalized as intention to continue lessons. Methods: Using a mixed methods design, the study collected survey responses from 250 recreational snowboarders at two major ski resorts in China, supplemented by on-site coaching observations. Quantitative analyses, including correlation, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, and quantile regression, were employed to examine the relationship between the proposed three-dimensional coaching model and participants' loyalty. Results: Factor analysis refined the traditional interpersonal–technical–pedagogical framework into three dimensions: Teaching Interaction and Feedback (TIF), Motion Guidance and Optimization (MGO), and Effectiveness Assessment and Customization (EAC). Together with overall satisfaction, these competencies showed significant positive associations with loyalty (R2 = 0.754). Quantile regression revealed heterogeneous effects across loyalty levels: TIF and MGO exerted the strongest influence at lower loyalty levels, EAC became more salient toward median–upper quantiles, and overall satisfaction had notable effects only at the very lowest loyalty levels. Conclusion: Snowboard coaches' competencies function as an interdependent system that supports learners' psychological needs in distinct ways across different engagement levels. Teaching interaction and motion guidance are most critical for establishing a supportive climate and skill clarity in the early stages, while effectiveness assessment becomes increasingly important as learners seek personalized progression. Overall satisfaction plays a disproportionately important role at the lowest loyalty levels, underscoring the need to reduce onboarding frictions and strengthen perceptions of safety. These findings refine Self-Determination Theory applications in outdoor sport education and highlight that adaptive, segment-aware coaching strategies are essential for promoting retention and sustainable participation in winter sports.