Coaches

In sport, coaches and athletes work closely together and often form long-term, mutually dependent relationships. The manner in which coaches and athletes interact can have a profound impact upon the effectiveness of their training sessions. Their relationship may directly of indirectly influence such factors as personal satisfaction, enjoyment, motivation, and performance. the aim of this chapter is to provide a critical overview of this area with explicit focus on the 3+1 Cs conceptual model. This chapter will define the coach-athlete relationship and provide an overview of how this relationship has been conceptualised. Moreover, aspects that may potentially contribute to developing the quality and effectiveness of coach-athlete relationships will be discussed. Finally, practical methods for developing and maintaining a harmonious relationship will be examined

Feedback of information in the empathic accuracy of sport coaches

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in the empathic accuracy of sport coaches in relation to feedback of information. Coaches' experience and qualification level were also considered. Method Sixty badminton coaches were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. All coaches watched a video of an athlete's technical training session with her coach. At designated segments of the video all coaches were asked to make inferences about what the athlete's thoughts and feelings had been. Only the coaches in the experimental group were given corrective feedback on the athlete's thoughts and feelings following their inference. Empathic accuracy was estimated by comparing these inferences with the athlete's own self-reported thoughts and feelings. Results It was shown that both groups' empathic accuracy improved over the course of watching the video; however, the experimental group improved significantly more. It was found that coaches' experience was significantly associated with empathic accuracy for the control group only. Conclusions The results suggest that continued exposure to an athlete increases a coach's empathic accuracy and that this can be significantly improved with accurate feedback about that athlete

Attachment Styles Within the Coach-Athlete Dyad: Preliminary Investigation and Assessment Development

The present preliminary study aimed to develop and examine the psychometric properties of a new sport-specific self-report instrument designed to assess athletes’ and coaches’ attachment styles. The development and initial validation comprised three main phases. In Phase 1, a pool of items was generated based on pre-existing self-report attachment instruments, modified to reflect a coach and an athlete’s style of attachment. In Phase 2, the content validity of the items was assessed by a panel of experts. A final scale was developed and administered to 405 coaches and 298 athletes (N = 703 participants). In Phase 3, confirmatory factor analysis of the obtained data was conducted to determine the final items of the Coach-Athlete Attachment Scale (CAAS). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed acceptable goodness of fit indexes for a 3-first order factor model as well as a 2-first order factor model for both the athlete and the coach data, respectively. A secure attachment style positively predicted relationship satisfaction, while an insecure attachment style was a negative predictor of relationship satisfaction. The CAAS revealed initial psychometric properties of content, factorial, and predictive validity, as well as reliability

Investigating the Interpersonal Dynamics Between Coaches and Athletes Based on Fundamental Principles of Attachment

Grounded in Bowlby’s (1969/1982, 1988) attachment theory, this study aimed to explore (a) the pervasiveness of the three main functions of attachment within the context of the coach-athlete relationship, (b) the associations of athletes’ attachment styles with such important variables as satisfaction with the relationship and satisfaction with the sport, and (c) the process by which athletes’ attachment styles and satisfaction with sport are associated. Data were collected through self-report measures of attachment functions and styles as well as relationship satisfaction and sport satisfaction from 309 student athletes (males = 150, females = 159) whose age ranged from 18 to 28 years (Mage = 19.9, SD = 1.58 years). Athletes’ mean scores indicated that the coach was viewed as an attachment figure fulfilling all three functions of secure base, safe haven, and proximity maintenance. Bivariate correlations indicated that athletes’ avoidant and anxious styles of attachment with the coach were negatively correlated with both relationship satisfaction and sport satisfaction. Mediational regression analysis revealed that athletes’ satisfaction with the coach-athlete relationship may be a process that links athletes’ attachment styles with levels of satisfaction with sport. The findings from this study highlight the potential theoretical and practical utility of attachment theory in studying relationships within the sport context

Empathic accuracy, meta-perspective, and satisfaction in the coach-athlete relationship

This study investigated the empathic accuracy of sixty coach-athlete dyads, its antecedents (meta-perceptions of relationship) and consequences (perceptions of satisfaction). An adaptation of Ickes's (2001) unstructured dyadic interaction paradigm was used to assess empathic accuracy whereby coach-athlete dyads were filmed during training. A selection of video clips containing the dyads' interactions during a typical training session were shown to them. The dyad members were asked to report their recollected thoughts and/or feelings while making inferences about what their partners' thought and felt at specific points of interaction. Empathic accuracy was estimated by comparing the dyads' self-reports and inferences. The results of a structural equation model analysis indicated an association between members' meta-perceptions or judgments that their partner is positive about the athletic relationship and increased empathic accuracy. Increased empathic accuracy was in turn associated with higher levels of satisfaction. These results are discussed based on issues they raise for theory and measurement

The influence of role and gender in the empathic accuracy of coaches and athletes

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in the empathic accuracy of coaches and athletes in relation to the gender of the dyad member occupying each role in the coach-athlete relationship. Method: The empathic accuracy of fifty-six coach-athlete dyads was assessed using actual recordings of their own training sessions (see Lorimer & Jowett, 2009a; 2009b). Participants viewed selected video footage of discrete interactions that had occurred during these training sessions. Participants reported what they remembered thinking and feeling while making inferences about what their partner’s had thought and felt at those points. Comparison of partners self-reports and inferences allowed their empathic accuracy to be calculated. Results: It was found that female coaches were more accurate than male coaches. Additionally, for athletes, the highest accuracy scores were displayed by female athletes working with male coaches, and the least by female athletes working with female coaches. Conclusions: The results are discussed in terms of Social Role Theory and suggest that the interaction between the expectations of coach and athlete roles and gender play a key part in how accurately coaches and athletes perceive each other

Coaching effectiveness: the coach–athlete relationship at its heart

Coaching has been often viewed as a context within which coaches operate to largely bring about changes in athlete's performance and wellbeing. One key factor to successful outcomes in coaching is the quality of the relationship between coaches and athletes. In this article, I propose that the coach–athlete relationship is at the heart of coaching. Moreover, the aim is to describe and explain how the quality of the relationship coaches and athletes develop and maintain over the course of their sporting partnership alongside coaches and athletes’ knowledge and outcomes, form a system that is capable of defining coaching effectiveness and success

An attachment theory perspective in the examination of relational processes associated with coach-athlete dyads

The aim of the current study was to examine actor and partner effects of (a) athletes' and coaches' attachment styles (avoidant and anxious) on the quality of the coach-athlete relationship, and (b) athletes' and coaches' quality of the coach-athlete relationship on relationship satisfaction employing the actor-partner interdependence model (Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006). Coaches (N = 107) and athletes (N = 107) completed a questionnaire related to attachment styles, relationship quality, and relationship satisfaction. Structural equation model analyses revealed (a) actor effects for coaches' and athletes' avoidant attachment styles on their own perception of relationship quality and coaches' and athletes' perception of relationship quality on their own perception of relationship satisfaction, and (b) partner effects for athletes' avoidant attachment style on coaches' perceptions of relationship quality and for coaches' perceptions of relationship quality on athletes' perceptions of relationship satisfaction. The findings highlight that attachments styles can help us understand the processes involved in the formation and maintenance of quality relational bonds between coaches and athletes

The application of the 3 + 1 Cs model to client–trainer relationships in physical activity settings: implications for practitioners

Low client retention is a perennial problem for exercise on prescription schemes and in the fitness industry more generally. The client–trainer relationship (CTR) is potentially an important factor in all personal training contexts which could have a significant impact on client retention, achievement and satisfaction (Vinson and Parker, 2012, Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 4, 15–31), yet it has been largely ignored in empirical research

The Greek Coach - Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (GrCART-Q): Scale Construction and Validation

In view of the growing interest in the influence of cultural issues pertaining to psychological assessment, this article presents a study that aimed to develop a culturally specific scale for assessing the interpersonal relationships established between Greek coaches and their athletes. Two studies were carried out to assess content, criterion and construct validity, as well as internal consistency, of the Greek Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (GrCART-Q). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated the multidimensional nature of the Gr-CART-Q, which was underlined by the latent factors of Closeness, Commitment, and Complementarity. In addition, the predictive validity of the Gr-CART-Q was evidenced through the associations of the latent factors with the criterion variable of interpersonal satisfaction. This study was conducted in parallel with Jowett and Ntoumanis’ (2002) study so that the CART-Q was validated employing a sample of Greek and British coaches and athletes respectively. Taking both studies together, the generated findings reveal subtle differences; these differences are discussed in terms of the collectivism/individualism framework