Abstract:
The study will establish the impact of mentorship programs in schools on the development of students' sporting talents in public secondary schools in Meru County,
Kenya. This research study was motivated by the least representation of Meru County in national sports competitions and therefore aimed at finding the gaps in
mentorship support and assessing how structured mentorship programs contribute to building athletic skills and engagement. Some of the research questions focused
on the relationship between mentorship and the development of sporting talents, the level of administrative involvement, and influence of mentorship in terms of
the students' competitiveness. Data from principals, games masters, and student games captains were assessed through a convergent parallel mixed-methods design
via questionnaires and interviews. Chi-square tests of the quantitative data showed that mentorship programs were indeed related to the talent development
outcomes: χ² = 21.63, p < 0.05. Thus, structured mentorship had positive effects on the sporting skills and motivation development among the students. Qualitative
results further supported such findings, where interview responses from principals indicated mentorship as one of the key influencers in students' active participation
and commitment to sport. The study, therefore, based on the findings, recommends a mentorship program that is specifically enhanced specialized training of the
administrators and coaches from outside in order to provide new and different experiences. Policy makers are encouraged to invest their resources in mentorship
programs so as regional imbalances in the development and participation of sports talents are addressed. The finding emphasizes that a mentorship program is an
important foundation in developing the students' talent, which would be part of their personal growth and/or athletic professional futures later on
