Coaching behaviors, motivational climate, and young athletes’ sport experiences

The main purpose of this study was to examine the links of coach-athlete relationship (CAR) and perceived coach-created motivational climate to persistence in youth sport. A total of 1692 persistent and 543 withdrawn football, ice hockey, and basketball players, aged 15–16 years, completed the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire and the Perceived Motivational Climate Sport Questionnaire. Results indicated that persistent players reported higher scores in CAR and task-climate than withdrawn players. Persistent players also represented higher competition level, higher amount of training, and more years of involvement in sport than withdrawn players. Cluster analysis identified three profiles: 1) High CAR, high task climate, and moderate ego climate, 2) Moderate CAR, moderate task climate, and moderate ego climate, and 3) Low CAR, low task climate, and high ego climate. Differences between profiles were found in terms of relative proportion of continuing players, competition level, and amount of training. In all, Profile 1 appeared to be the most beneficial from the perspective of sport persistence. The present findings lend support for the view that coach-athlete relationship and motivational climate together can have implications for young athletes’ maintenance in organized sports.

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The Coach-Created Motivational Climate, Young Athletes’ Well-Being, and Intentions to Continue Participation

Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology ◽

10.1123/jcsp.6.2.166 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 166-179 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

María Sol Alvarez ◽

Isabel Balaguer ◽

Isabel Castillo ◽

Joan L. Duda

Keyword(s):

Intrinsic Motivation ◽

Achievement Goals ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Extrinsic Motivation ◽

Young Male ◽

Well Being ◽

Psychological Needs ◽

Motivational Climate ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Young Athletes

Drawing from the theories of self-determination (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2000) achievement goals (AGT; Nicholls, 1989), and, in particular, Vallerand’s four-stage casual sequence embedded in his hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (HMIEM; Vallerand, 1997, 2001), this study tested a motivational model in the sport context via structural equation modeling (SEM). Based on the responses of 370 young male soccer players (M age = 14.77), the path analysis results offered overall support for the proposed model. A perceived task-involving climate emerged as a positive predictor of the satisfaction of the three psychological needs, while a perceived ego-involving climate was a negative predictor of related-ness satisfaction. The results also support positive paths between satisfaction of the three psychological needs and intrinsic motivation, while intrinsic motivation was positively linked to subjective vitality and future intention to participate. The implications of the coach-created motivational climate are discussed in the light of its implications for the quality and potential maintenance of sport involvement among young athletes.

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Parent-Initiated Motivational Climate, Self-Esteem, and Autonomous Motivation in Young Athletes: Testing Propositions from Achievement Goal and Self-Determination Theories

Child Development Research ◽

10.1155/2012/393914 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Daniel J. O'Rourke ◽

Ronald E. Smith ◽

Frank L. Smoll ◽

Sean P. Cumming

Keyword(s):

Extrinsic Motivation ◽

Autonomous Motivation ◽

Self Determination Theory ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Motivational Climate ◽

Achievement Goal ◽

Self Determination ◽

Goal Theory ◽

Young Athletes ◽

Motivational Climates

Interactions with parents are known to have a significant impact on children's self-esteem. In this study, designed to test propositions derived from Achievement Goal Theory and Self-Determination Theory, we assessed the influence of perceived parent-initiated mastery and ego motivational climates on self-esteem and self-esteem change in competitive youth swimmers over the course of a 32-week sport season. At each of three measurement points (early, mid, and late season), mastery climate scores on the Parent-Initiated Motivational Climate Questionnaire-2 scale were positively related to global self-esteem scores and to a measure of relative motivational autonomy that reflects the intrinsic-extrinsic motivation continuum, whereas ego climate scores were negatively related to self-esteem and autonomy. Longitudinal analyses revealed that early-season mastery climate predicted positive changes in self-esteem over the course of the season, whereas ego climate predicted decreased self-esteem. Consistent with predictions derived from Self-Determination Theory, a meditational analysis revealed that these self-esteem changes were mediated by changes in autonomous motivation.

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On the Fields of the Motor City: Underserved Athletes’ Perceptions of Their Coaches

Journal of Coaching Education ◽

10.1123/jce.4.3.97 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 97-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Meredith Whitley ◽

Eric Bean ◽

Daniel Gould

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Developmental Outcomes ◽

Children And Youth ◽

Future Research ◽

Young Athletes ◽

Research Directions ◽

Coaching Behaviors ◽

Future Research Directions ◽

Sport Organization

This study examines young athletes from an urban sport organization, looking at their overall perceptions of their coaches, perceptions of the best and worst coaching actions, behaviors, and attitudes, and how these varied between practice and game environments. Twenty-three athletes (10 males, 13 females) between the ages of 10 and 18 years participated in semi-structured, qualitative interviews. Content analysis of the interviews indicated that these young athletes preferred a positive coaching orientation with a mastery-oriented environment, while the coaches identified as the worst generally fostered an outcome-oriented environment with a negative coaching orientation. These findings suggest that coaching educators should feel confident about using the guidelines provided by Smith, Smoll, and colleagues (Smith, Smoll, & Curtis, 1979; Smith, Smoll, & Barnett, 1995; Smoll, Smith, Barnett, & Everett, 1993) when working in underserved settings with children and youth. The need for future research in this area is discussed, along with future research directions on the link between youth developmental outcomes, perceptions of coaching behaviors, and observed coaching behaviors.

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