Intramural sports' participation produce self-efficacy in hospitality leaders

This study explored sports' experiences of 11 hospitality leaders who played sports while completing a hospitality undergraduate degree. A multiple coder and triangulation approach was employed to highlight four major themes: confidence, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration. These themes were grouped together to form soft skills tailor-made for self-efficacy development. Sports (i.e., basketball, volleyball, and football) function as a staple for the development of soft skills (intangible skill sets or attributes). Sports furnish individuals with opportunities to perform in teams, to lead others, and to operate under pressure-filled situations. Results indicated that college sport's participation is an effectual way to grow future hospitality leaders pivotal soft skills for the 21st century workforce.