The practice of sports favors the development of physical, psychological and social skills of the participants. Recent studies have found a positive association between sports practice and the coach-athletes relationship and the development of life skills. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the coach-athlete relationship and the development of life skills in handball athletes, comparing according to sex, practice time, age group and time with the coach. The study included 101 handball athletes participating in the JAPS regional stage 2021, of both sexes, with a mean age of 18.38 ± 5.15 years. The instruments used were: Life Skills Scale in Sport (P-LSSS) and Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q). Data analysis was performed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Mann-Whitney U tests. The results showed that girls have a better perception of the development of social skills (p=0.023) when compared to boys. Regarding the relationship with the coach, athletes with more time of practice and more time with the coach perceive good communication, respect and trust with their coach (p<0.05). It was concluded that sex seems to be an intervening factor in the development of life skills in handball athletes and that practice time and time with the coach seem to influence the perception of the relationship with the coach.