Running head: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COACHES AND STUDENT ATHLETES 1

Relationship Between Coaches and Student Athletes

Rachel Rainville

Grand Valley State University

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COACHES AND STUDENT ATHLETES 2

The subject of this research will focus on the relationship between college coaches

communication with their student athletes. The proposed research question is: Do college

coaches communicate effectively with their student athletes?

Previous research has found that coaches for team sports show a higher competency

than coaches for individual sports, indicating that coaches for team sports show more

competency in playing their roles for motivation, deciding game strategy, introducing good

coaching techniques, and successfully building character among athletes, (Chiu, Mahat,

Marzuki, Hua, 2014.)

The level of competency that a coach carries effects the way in which student athletes

are able to develop. Chiu, Mahat, Marzuki, and Hua (2014), for the Review of European Studies,

evaluate how the competency level of coaches effect the student athletes achievement

motivation at Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) in sports competitions.

The study was conducted using 332 student athletes chosen from four different

universities. The students were identified by athletic administrators, and chosen from various

sports including team and individual sports and chosen randomly. The study used a Coaching

Competency Scale (CCS) which includes four categories: Motivation competency (MC), game

strategy competency (GSC), techniques competency (TC), and character building competency

(CBC). The study also included the Sport Orientation Questionnaire (SOQ) to measure

achievement motivation among the athletes. This questionnaire was to find three main factors

which were competitiveness, goal, and win orientation using a five point scale for 25 different

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COACHES AND STUDENT ATHLETES 3

items. The students completed the questionnaires and a quantitative approach was used by

two trained research assistants.

The results showed many different variables in coaching competency and the effects

that they have on the student athletes. The study showed that there were no strong

correlations between gender of either the coach or the athlete when the coaches’ competency

was rated high. There was also no gender bias based on the student athletes’ achievement of

his/her sport. The study found that motivation competency of coaches was a significant

contributor to the athletes sport achievement motivation. Chiu, Mahat, Marzuki, and Hua state

that from their study, “it can be implied that coaches who have an ability to affect mood

psychology and skills of athletes likelihood to produce athletes with high achievement

motivation pertaining to their competitiveness, win and goal orientation,”(2014).

The implications of this study show that coaches with a higher rate of competency are

able to have a greater effect on their student athletes’ achievement motivation. The research

lacked what actually went into the coaches’ competency though. It does describe what the

different levels of competency mean for the different categories, however the way in which the

coaches are actually perceived by the athletes are left out. Student athletes are receptive to the

levels of competency that coaches show, and it would be beneficial to explore the way in which

these coaches are actually communicating through these different levels of competency. The

study could be improved upon by analyzing the coaches communication on the field. It could

also be improved by studying the behaviors of these student athletes before, during, and after

games or practices.

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References

Chiu, L. K., Mahat, N. I., Marzuki, N. A., & Hua, K. P. (2014). Student-athletes' evaluation of coaches'

coaching competencies and their sport achievement motivation. Review of European

Studies, 6(2), 17-30. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/docview/1545106726?accountid=39473