Vincent Minjares on Elevating Sports Coach Development

Vincent is the Program Manager of the Sports & Society Program of the Aspen Institute with responsibility for driving Project Play's school sport and coaching portfolios.

Vincent extensive international research and professional experience in youth sports coaching, coach development and long-term athlete development, his current work at the institute focuses on improving youth experiences in sports, including prioritizing athlete health and safety, bolstering coach training, strengthening national coaching policy and reimagining models of school sports.

Minjares holds a Ph.D. in Coaching & Pedagogy from AUT University (Auckland, NZ), an M.A. in Education from the University of California, Berkeley, within the Cultural Studies of Sport and Education (CSSE) program, and a B.A. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College. His research interests emphasize sports, coaching, education and human development, with published research in the areas of youth sports reform, college athletes, sports coaching and coach development. His dissertation examined the development of coaching practices in high school basketball that facilitate athlete learning.

Professionally, Vincent has held diverse learning and development roles in sport across the United States and New Zealand. Vincent began as a basketball skills trainer in Southern California. Following graduate study in Berkeley, Vincent served the Athletic Study Centre (ASC) as Director of Academic Development, a role responsible for the design and delivery of academic support services for student-athletes in an NCAA Division I sport setting. In addition, Vincent served as a member of the Chancellor’s task force on Academics and Athletics as well as a Special Advisor to Intercollegiate Athletics. In New Zealand, Vincent served as the Development Officer for North Harbour Basketball Association, a regional sport organization and the country’s largest basketball club. In this role, Vincent also served Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) as a Regional Coach Developer, Special Advisor (Wellbeing and Transition) and a member of the Coach Leadership Group.

Vincent brings extensive experience as a coach and player. Vincent played NCAA Div. III basketball for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Claremont, CA) and attended Damien High School (La Verne, CA) where he became a three-year varsity letterman. Vincent first coached high school and junior college basketball in Southern California before returning to coaching in New Zealand at the club, high school, national representative and international representative levels.