90 Eric Legg is an assistant professor in the School of Community Resources & Development at Arizona State University. Aubrey Newland is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and California State University, Chico. Ryan Bigelow is the current library manager, Cottonwood Public Library, and was previ- ously Recreation Services Supervisor, City of Cottonwood. Please send correspondence to eric.legg@asu.edu Regular Paper Executive Summary Tis paper addresses three key issues important to parks and recreation professionals. First, we provide a model of research that works directly with practitioners to address their identifed needs in a manner that is least intrusive to their daily work, has the potential for immediate beneft to a parks and recreation program, and provides results that lead to future practical managerial implications. Second, we examine the impact of observing youth basketball coaches and providing feedback on the creation of an empowering motivational climate. Finally, we assess the relation of specifc elements of empowering and disempowering motivational climates to positive youth development (PYD) outcomes both within and outside of sport. Eight youth teams, including eight coaches and 57 players, participated in the study. Half of the coaches were observed and provided feedback during the season, while half did not receive any feedback. At the conclusion of the season, players completed questionnaires related to their perceptions of the coach-created empowering and disempowering climate, as well as two measures of PYD. Results did not indicate a signifcant diference in perceived empowering and disempowering climates between coaches who were observed and coaches who were not observed. However, perceptions of the motivational climate did signifcantly pre- dict PYD outcomes both within and outside of sport. Afer examining specifc ele- ments of the climate, components of an autonomy-supportive climate represented a signifcant predictor of PYD. Managerial implications include the potential value of observational feedback, though efective feedback likely requires multiple sessions and more detailed feedback. In addition, coaching behaviors such as explaining the ratio- Journal of Park and Recreation Administration VOL. 36 • pp. 90–106 • 2018 https://doi.org/10.18666/JPRA-2018-V36-I4-8885 Somebody’s Eyes are Watching: The Impact of Coaching Observations on Empowering Motivational Climates and Positive Youth Development Eric Legg Aubrey Newland Ryan Bigelow