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Social media and electronic communication perpetuate adolescents’ lives and have the potential to shape the nature of adolescent athletes’ experiences and interactions with members of their sports teams. However, there is no research to date that has examined adolescent female athletes’ use of social media and electronic communication. Athletes, parents, and coaches (N = 22) from one soccer organization participated in semistructured interviews discussing their use of and perspectives on social media and electronic communication. Interview data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings include four themes: (a) uses of social media and electronic communication (in and out of the sport context); (b) athlete, parent, and coaches’ perspectives of social media engagement; (c) friendships and trust with teammates; and (d) the development and perception of subgroups. Recommendations include developing policies for the use of social media and electronic communication for adolescents in sports settings and for coaches, parents, and athletes to engage in open communication about the uses of social media and electronic communication.

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Playing sports can be filled with emotions. Athletes might feel nervous about try-outs or before a big competition, upset about losing or performing poorly, or excited and happy after a big win or a major accomplishment. To perform well in sport, athletes can learn to manage their emotions and cope with stress. However, some emotion regulation and coping strategies might be more useful than others. So, how can athletes learn to deal with their emotions and cope with stress in sport? In this article, we review what emotions are and how they influence athletes’ thoughts and behaviors in sport, as well as their impact on sport performance. We also review types of coping strategies that athletes can use to deal with stress and emotions in sport, and we explore ways that athletes can learn to develop better coping skills for sport performance.