Building a Successful University Program: Key and Common Elements of Expert Coaches

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine how expert university coaches of team sports built their successful programs. In particular, key and common elements that enabled these coaches to achieve success were identified. Five expert Canadian female university coaches were interviewed individually. The results of the analysis revealed four elements for developing successful programs. First, coaches possessed a variety of personal attributes that enabled them to display appropriate leadership behaviors depending on the situation they faced. Second, coaches had a personal desire to foster their players' individual growth. Third, coaches possessed thorough organizational skills from which they planned the season and prepared their team for games. Finally, these elements were linked together by the coaches' vision, which involved the athletes buying into the coaches' goals, philosophy, and personality in order to achieve success. These results are discussed in relation to literature on coaching psychology and leadership.     

A season-long examination of the intervention tone of coach–athlete interactions and athlete development in youth sport

ObjectivesCoaches are a primary influence on athletes' development in youth sport (Horn, 2008). However, the intervention tone of coaches' behaviour has not been directly observed. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between the intervention tone exhibited by youth sport coaches and athletes' individual developmental trajectories over the course of a season.DesignShort-term longitudinal study with behavioural observation.MethodFifty-five athletes and their coaches from five youth volleyball teams were observed at three time points, and the intervention tone of interactive behaviour was systematically coded and organized by coach–athlete dyad. Athletes completed measures of the 4C's of athlete development (competence, confidence, connection, character) at each time point, which were used to create individualized developmental trajectories. Person-centred analyses were used to examine associations between athletes' developmental trajectories and their unique interactive experiences with their coach.ResultsCluster analysis revealed the presence of three distinct clusters based on athletes' developmental trajectories: 1) high and increasing, 2) low and decreasing, and 3) moderate and maintaining, with athletes from each team distributed across clusters. Analysis of dyadic interaction profiles revealed significant differences in interactive behaviour between clusters.ConclusionsResults suggest that differences in coach–athlete interactive experiences are associated with different developmental trajectories over the course of a season, even for athletes working with the same coach, highlighting the individualized nature of coaches' influence on young athletes. Practical implications for coaches include a critical awareness of their unique interactive relationship with each athlete independently, as well as the importance of fostering these relationships with regard to young people as more than just athletes.     

The decision to adopt a formal athlete leadership group: Qualitative insights from professional football coaches

ObjectivesAthlete Leadership Groups (ALGs) are increasingly being employed in professional football teams and whilst there is a growing body of quantitative research focussed on athlete leadership in other contexts, qualitative studies at the professional level are scant. The purpose of this study is to explore coaches' adoption of formal ALGs in professional football teams and what influences their decisions about the degree to which players are given leadership responsibilities and roles.DesignQualitative- Inductive.Method16 head coaches from 16 professional football teams, across four leagues (Super Rugby n = 4, National Rugby League n = 5, A League n = 3 and Australian Football League n = 4), participated in semi-structured interviews investigating why coaches are increasingly using ALGs in this environment and what influences the extent to which these ALGs are empowered.ResultsAn inductive thematic analysis indicated coaches' initial decisions to adopt an ALG model were influenced by a range of perceived benefits (team management, team functioning and performance) underpinned by personal factors (past experience, coaching philosophy, interpersonal style and understanding of social influence) and their appraisal of situational considerations (readiness, expectations and commitment), which influenced their ALG implementation decisions (how and to what extent players were empowered and leadership responsibilities delegated).ConclusionsOverall, the coaches' decision to use ALGs in the professional football environment was influenced by a belief that player ownership and autonomy, coupled with the influence of peer leadership underpins performance benefits on and off-field and plays a key role in team culture. However, findings suggest that coaches contemplating adopting an ALG model should take an individually tailored approach. For this approach to be effective, coaches consider and address a range of situational factors, and ensure the leadership model adopted reflects their personal beliefs and the capacity and context of the team.     

Doing it for the team: Soccer coaches' identity leadership predicts players' effort,turnover intentions,and performance

ObjectivesThe present research investigates how coaches' identity leadership predicts individual and team outcomes in soccer. Specifically, we tested hypotheses that coaches' identity leadership would be associated with players' perceptions of (a) higher team effort, (b) lower turnover intentions, (c) better individual performance, and (d) better team performance. In addition, we aimed to examine the relationship between coaches' identity leadership and increased team identification of players and the degree to which the associations of identity leadership with these various outcomes were mediated by players' strength of team identification.DesignWe conducted a cross-sectional study of male soccer players in Germany.MethodThe final sample consisted of 247 male soccer players nested in 24 teams that completed measures of their coaches' identity leadership, team identification, team effort, turnover intentions, and individual/team performance.ResultsAnalysis revealed a positive relationship between coaches' identity leadership and team effort, as well as individual and team performance. Moreover, coaches' identity leadership was associated with lower turnover intentions. There was also evidence that the relationships between identity leadership and the investigated outcomes were mediated by team identification.ConclusionsThese findings support claims that coaches' identity leadership is associated with better individual and team outcomes because it helps to build a sense of ‘we’ and ‘us’ in the team they lead.     

Interaction of athletes' resilience and coaches' social support on the stress-burnout relationship: A conjunctive moderation perspective

ObjectiveIn line with Smith's (1986) cognitive-affective model of athletic burnout, the purpose of this study was to examine the conjunctive effects of athletes' resilience and coaches' social support on the relationship between life stress and burnout.DesignCross-sectional, self-report survey.MethodsA total of 218 student-athletes (M_age = 20.04 yrs, SD = 1.32; males = 159, females = 59) participating in team and individual sports completed life stress, resilience, coaches' social support, and athlete burnout scales. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses with one- two- and three-way interactions examined disjunctive and conjunctive moderations.ResultsResilience and coaches' social support conjunctively moderated the stress-burnout relationship. Specifically the interaction of athletes' resilience with coaches' informational and tangible social support moderated athletes' stress-burnout relationship in high and low life stress conditions.ConclusionsWe suggest coaches provide useful social support and foster athletes' resilience to prevent stress-induced burnout in athletes.     

Giving and receiving autonomy support in a high-stakes sport context: A field-based experiment during the 2012 London Paralympic Games

ObjectiveRecognizing that high-stakes competitions tend to pressure coaches toward a maladaptive controlling motivating style, we sought to evaluate the capacity of an intervention to help coaches adopt a more autonomy-supportive style as they and their athletes prepared for the 2012 London Paralympic Games.DesignWe adopted a coach-focused experimental research design that longitudinally assessed coaches' and athletes' self-report, rater-scored, and objective dependent measures.MethodWe randomly assigned 33 coaches and their 64 athletes from 10 sports into either an experimental or control group and assessed their motivation and functioning longitudinally.ResultsIn the control group, athletes and coaches both showed a significant longitudinal deterioration in all measures of motivation, engagement, and functioning. In the experimental group, none of the measures of motivation, engagement, and functioning deteriorated but, instead, were generally maintained. In terms of performance, athletes of coaches in the experimental group won significantly more Olympic medals than did athletes in the control group.ConclusionEnacting an autonomy-supportive coaching style within the context of a high-stakes sports competition functioned as an antidote to coaches' otherwise situationally-induced controlling style.     

Identifying and preventing disordered eating among athletes: Perceptions of track and field coaches

ObjectiveThis study aimed to identify the strategies employed by coaches when identifying disordered eating (DE) among track and field athletes.DesignThis was a qualitative study and an inductive thematic analysis was conducted.MethodSemi structured interviews were conducted with eleven track and field coaches, with experience of coaching at national and international level. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysis was conducted.ResultsTrack and field coaches reported using physical, social and performance indicators to identify disordered eating in their athletes. Coaches also monitored their athletes' eating attitudes and behaviors. Weight loss (both observed and objectively monitored) was considered to be a key indicator of disordered eating. Coaches placed a high level of importance on weight for performance, and an “ideal” female athlete body. Previous experiences of detecting disordered eating and a close relationship with the athlete facilitated the identification of disordered eating. Athlete secrecy and masking behaviors, difficulties in communication and coaches' stereotypical beliefs were found to complicate the identification process.ConclusionsThis study highlights the need for additional information, advice and guidance for track and field coaches to improve their knowledge and confidence in identifying disordered eating among their athletes.     

Adding experiential layers to the transnational-athlete concept: A narrative review of real-world heterogeneous mobility experiences

ObjectiveWith rising mobility and greater recognition of the diversity of origins, cultures, and outlooks, there has been increasing interest in transnational perspectives in sport psychology scholarship and practice. Based on personal and professional experiences, however, we are concerned that there are diverse transnational-athlete perspectives that have not yet been explored in the literature which are also often restricted by traditional nation-based sporting policies, organisations, and events. As cultural awareness and understanding may enhance consultancy effectiveness and enable the construction of heretofore unrealised identities for athletes, in this paper we seek to expand upon the heterogeneity of athlete experiences relating to mobility by exploring real-world cases of transnational athletes and how their experiences fit into current sporting structures.DesignNarrative review and commentary.ResultsThree identity orientations that showcase transnational diversity are identified: postnational, intranational, and non-national. Key characteristics and challenges relating to these for athletes, coaches, and practitioners are exemplified and discussed.ConclusionTo enhance rapport and inclusivity, researchers and practitioners should not only consider experiences, perceptions, and constructed identities of postnational, intranational, and non-national athletes, but also seek to understand how these interact with or are influenced by environmental and structural factors.     

Social-contextual and intrapersonal antecedents of coaches' basic need satisfaction: The intervening variable effect of providing autonomy-supportive coaching

ObjectivesBased on Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2012) and in line with Mageau and Vallerand's (2003) motivational model of the coach-athlete relationship, a new model involving antecedents associated with coaches' self-report measure of total need satisfaction (TNS) was tested. This model hypothesized that: (1) coaches' perceptions of a socially united group of athletes and their self-determined motivation for coaching would relate positively to coaches' provision of autonomy-supportive coaching (ASC), whereas perception of parental pressure in the youth sport context would relate negatively to coaches' provision of ASC; (2) coaches' provision of ASC towards their athletes would, in turn, relate positively to their self-report measure of TNS; and (3) the relation between coaches' perceptions of the sport context, along with their self-determined motivation for coaching, and coaches' self-report measure of TNS would be mediated by coaches' own provision of ASC.DesignA cross-sectional study.MethodsParticipants were 222 (M_age = 42.3, SD = 6.1) youth soccer coaches.ResultsSEM analyses supported the hypothesized model in which coaches' perceptions of a socially united group of athletes and their self-determined motivation for coaching related positively to coaches' self-report measure of TNS through coaches' provision of ASC. In contrast, coaches' perceptions of parental pressure in the youth sport context was unrelated to coaches' self-report measure of TNS via coaches' provision of ASC.ConclusionsFindings support previous research by demonstrating the psychological benefit of providing autonomy support to others.     

Doping in disabled elite sport: Perceptions,knowledge and opinions from the perspective of German and UK coaches

ObjectivesThe phenomenon of doping is rarely researched in Paralympic sport, especially from the coach perspective. This study responds directly to this gap in research by exploring coaches' doping-related perceptions, knowledge, and opinions of the current anti-doping system in order to inform future interventions specific to disabled elite sport contexts.MethodEleven coaches from Germany (n = 6) and the UK (n = 5) working across physiological (n = 7) and skill-based (n = 4) sport disciplines at an elite level (Paralympic, n = 10 and World Championship, n = 1) took part in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using abductive reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019a).FindingsFour themes were developed to capture the coaches’ perspectives. The first represents coaches’ perception that doping is an issue in Paralympic sport. The second theme shows that risk factors to dope are typically multiple and intertwined, stemming especially from financial incentives and pressure to win. Theme three captures coaches' opinion of differences in testing and education across countries due to budget, resource, or infrastructure issues. Finally, data showed that coaches prefer to refer responsibility for doping prevention to their national anti-doping organisation, rather than taking on personal responsibility for anti-doping efforts.ConclusionsAccording to the interviewed coaches, doping has the potential to be a big issue in disabled elite sport. The main risk factors of money and pressure to win (earn prize money or funding/sponsorship) are knitted together and can be additionally impacted (negatively) by a nation’s sporting system. These factors should be addressed by thinking both on an individual level (e.g., support dual careers) and a structural/policy level (e.g., aim to have minimum standards to level the global inconsistent anti-doping systems, including anti-doping education/testing). Furthermore, coaches should take their role and be proactively made aware of their responsibility in doping prevention to coach clean and protect their athletes properly.     

The complex problem-solving competence of team coaches

ObjectivesThe complexity and dynamics of team sports places high information-processing demands on coaches. They can meet these demands by applying either domain-specific or domain-unspecific problem-solving strategies.MethodThe first phase of this study used a domain-unspecific computer-simulated scenario (“heating oil company” [Hasselmann, D., & Strauss, B. (1993). Herausforderung Komplexität: Baustein 1 (HEIZÖLHANDEL) [The challenge of complexity: Building block 1 (heating oil company)]. Hamburg, Germany: Windmühle]) to measure domain-unspecific complex problem-solving strategies in 38 top-league coaches (first or second German national league in team handball or basketball) and 43 local-league coaches.ResultsResults showed that top-league coaches exhibited better problem-solving performance than lower-league coaches in an unspecific domain. The second phase recorded the real-life coaching behavior of some of these coaches 6 months later during competitions and analyzed the content of their utterances. The main findings were that top-league coaches (n=14) made fewer utterances in competitions, but gave relatively more concrete instructions compared with lower-league coaches (n=13). Top-league coaches also criticized and motivated their players more frequently during play. Comparing intervention behavior across the two settings (computer-simulated scenario vs. competition) disclosed some general problem-solving strategies (e.g., number of motivating utterances, strength of interventions).ConclusionIt is concluded that the achievement of sports coaches depends at least in part on their domain-general, complex problem-solving competence.     

Dual career pathways of transnational athletes

ObjectivesTransnationalism, as part of the globalization processes, has transformed the lifestyle and the course of athletes' careers. This presents previously unexplored challenges encountered by student-athletes in combining athletic and academic pursuits. In this article, we propose a conceptual framework for the taxonomy of transnational dual careers (DC).Design and methodNarrative inquiry from the life story perspective was used to elicit and analyze career narratives of six transnational athletes (3 male and 3 female), generating about five interview hours per athlete. The developmental transition from secondary to higher education was chosen as a key transition to classify the DC pathways. Additional insights into DC mobilization across international borders were gleaned by employing the typologies of sport migrants developed in the sport labor migration research.ResultsThree patterns of transnational DC were discerned from the narratives based on the direction of geographic mobility and the core migration motive underpinning the storyline. Within the present dataset, the taxonomies are: (1) Within EU mobility: the sport exile DC pathway; (2) Mobility to the U.S.A.: the sport mercenary DC pathway; and (3) Mobility to the U.S.A.: the nomadic cosmopolitan DC pathway.ConclusionsThe identified transnational DC paths are not exhaustive, and highlight possibilities of individual development, unfolding through the matrices of social structures in a given location. Further research with a diverse set of transnational athletes is needed to test and expand the proposed taxonomy.     

Influence of coaching efficacy and coaching competency on athlete‐level moral variables in Botswana youth soccer

This study examined coach‐perceived coaching efficacy and athlete‐perceived coaching competency, perceptions of coaches' endorsement of unfair play, and team norm for aggression on athlete‐level moral variables in Botswana youth soccer. Participants were youth soccer players (n = 506) and their coaches (n = 24). Players completed the coaching competency scale, the Judgments About Moral Behavior in Youth Sports Questionnaire, and the Team Norm Questionnaire. Coaches completed the Coaching Efficacy Scale. Multilevel analysis revealed that team norm for aggression, athletes' perceptions of their coaches' endorsement of aggression/cheating, and Game Strategy Coaching Competency were significant predictors of athletes' likelihood to aggress and perceptions of peer cheating. The findings contribute to previous research demonstrating the influence of the coach on athletes' antisocial behaviors.     

The role of coaches' passion and athletes' motivation in the prediction of change-oriented feedback quality and quantity

ObjectivesThe provision of an autonomy-supportive change-oriented feedback has been identified as a crucial coaching behaviour that is beneficial for athletes' phenomenological experience and performance. Based on past research that focused on the determinants of other autonomy-supportive coaching behaviours, the present study investigates coaches' passion toward coaching and coaches' perceptions of their athletes' motivation as potential determinants of the quality (i.e., the extent to which it is autonomy-supportive) and quantity of the change-oriented feedback that coaches provide.DesignQuantitative cross-sectional study using a dyadic approach.MethodsIn total, 280 athletes and 48 coaches participated in this study. Coaches and athletes both filled out a questionnaire after a training session. Coaches reported their passion and evaluated their athletes' motivation, whereas the provision of feedback was assessed by athletes. HLM analyses were used to take into consideration the hierarchical structure of the data.ResultsHLM analyses showed that only obsessive passion was a significant predictor of change-oriented feedback quality. The more coaches reported having an obsessive passion toward coaching, the less their change-oriented feedback was autonomy supportive. Results pertaining to feedback quantity showed that the more coaches were obsessively passionate and the more they perceived their athletes as being motivated, the more they gave change-oriented feedback. In contrast, when controlling for athletes' age and gender, the more coaches were harmoniously passionate, the less change-oriented feedback they tended to give.ConclusionsResults are discussed in light of their contribution to the passion, self-fulfilling prophecies and feedback literature.     

Applying a relational lens to ethnographic inquiry: Storied insight into the inner workings of multicultural teams in men's elite football

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of transnational migration on the functioning of multicultural teams in men's elite football and to explore the cultural transition experiences of transnational players from the relational perspective of receiving football environments.Designand Method: This 26-month ethnographic study adopted a researcher-practitioner approach to investigate two elite European football clubs during the course of two complete seasons. Over 80 male participants from 18 different countries were involved in the approximately 1200 h of field observation (e.g., practices, games, closed-door meetings, etc.) and 50 h of transcribed interviews. Detailed field notes and interview data were thematically analyzed, followed by a narrative analysis of structure and form. Finally, the genre of ethnographic creative non-fiction was employed to present the findings.FindingsBy applying a relational lens to the study of cultural transitions, this investigation illuminates the centrality of relations in the daily functioning of multicultural teams embedded in transnational networks and spaces. The complex interactional dynamic between transnational players and members of the receiving environment as well as the structural constraints shaping footballing (sub)cultures and behaviours highlight the salience of restrained agency as a collective phenomenon in elite men's football. Moreover, the study explores the hows of cultural transition by engaging with temporality and proposing a complementary perspective that extends current understandings in the narration of cultural transition experiences.ConclusionsThe findings carry applied utility that can benefit stakeholders and practitioners working with culturally diverse teams in the deployment of culturally informed club management strategy, educational tools, and interventions.     

Applied sport psychology: A view from britain

Abstract

Based on the findings of a field study with youth sport coaches, contextual factors in youth sport arc considered. Youth sport is discussed as a “developmental intervention” (Birkel, Lerner, &; Smyer, 1989). Although past research has examined a variety of issues in youth sport (e.g., coaching behavior, participation motivation), the dynamics of the context have been largely ignored. It is argued that situational factors may have important implications for the quality of children's youth sport experiences. Data arc presented to show the significance of contextual factors in coaches' experiences. Examples of previous interventions aimed at manipulating contexts arc offered and suggestions for future interventions, based on the present study, arc discussed. The roles of parents. spectator location. rules, and time are discussed in detail.     

Professional handball coaches management of players' situated understanding during official games

ObjectivesThis study, based on the team cognition approach, investigated the information content expressed by coaches when helping players build or update their understanding of the unfolding game. The focus was on how this content fits into the usual task-work/teamwork and procedural/declarative taxonomies.DesignThe data were collected through the audio and video recording of the communications and behaviors of three professional head coaches throughout a total of 15 games. We used deductive content analysis, crossing information contents related to task-work or teamwork with information contents related to declarative or procedural knowledge across the five game periods (first and second half of the first and second half-time, break-time period), and the three score differentials between the teams (favorable, balanced, and unfavorable).MethodWe first performed a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) using a 5 (Game Periods) × 3 (Score Difference) factorial design. Follow-up ANOVAs with repeated-measures were performed to identify the variables contributing to the multivariate effect. We then performed a repeated-measures analysis of variance for information contents related to declarative and procedural knowledge in occurrences of task-work and teamwork categories.ResultsThe results showed that the coaches expressed information related more often to players' procedural knowledge than to their declarative knowledge. We discovered two main effects (game periods and score differences) in coaches' information contents delivered to players. Information related to procedural knowledge was not addressed to the team as a whole, but to certain players.ConclusionsThis suggests that an information flow was more distributed than shared.