By Terra Miller
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What does it mean to be a coach?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4zqyRSPWZk
Knowledge (Werthner & Trudel, 2006)
 Mediated – attending clinics
 Unmediated – observing other coaches
 Internal Learning – reflecting on their experiences
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Other areas
 Undergrad degree in phys ed
 Knowledge from previous coaching experiences
 Elite experiences in competition
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Not all were once experts – Hitchcock, Parcells,
Mourinho
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Based on Interdependence Theory
The situation in which the coach and the
athlete develop interconnected feelings,
thoughts and behaviors
Collaborative Relationship
Collaborate – to work with another or others on a joint
project
 Aspects of a collaborative relationship:
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Neither participant taking a superior role
A ‘team’ approach
Joint efforts
Both being open and explicit
The coach’s collaborative stance and demeanor
The coach providing rationales
The coach offering techniques which the athlete can choose
whether or not to use
 The coach admitting mistakes
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Collaborative spirit
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More successful together instead of
separately
Ex: Clyde Hart & Michael Johnson (Track),
Bob Bowman & Michael Phelps (Swimming),
Mary Lou Retton & Bela Karolyi (Gymnastics)
Process Vehicle
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Coach’s Role – directing, instructing,
supervising, monitoring, training, performance,
learning and development
 Deals with intrapersonal, interpersonal and
contextual factors
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Enhances people’s capacity to achieve a goal or
develop a specific skill
Work together with athletes in an effort to
facilitate continuous skill development, maintain
high levels of enthusiasm and ultimately achieve
performance success
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Closeness
 Reflects affective ties and includes interpersonal liking, trust, respect
and appreciation
 Ex: The athlete needs to trust their coach to have a certain degree of
closeness that binds the relationship
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Commitment
 Ties that are long term
 Ex: Maintaining a relationship through the good and the bad
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Complementarity
 Cooperative interactions
 Ex: Understand that the coach is the dominant authority and the
athlete is the submissive
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1C = Co-orientation
 Interdependence that exists in interpersonal relationships
 Ex: The athlete can easily interpret each direction given by the coach
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Passion for the sport
Team cohesion and
coach leadership
Coach-created
motivational climate
Achievement
motivation
Satisfaction with
sport
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Relationship
satisfaction
Conflict and support
Empathic accuracy
Physical self-concept
Collective efficacy
Attachment
orientations
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Teaching principles – being able to instruct
Can communicate about issues outside
competition
Co-orientation - interdepence
Closeness – to develop the relationship
Confidence – being able to positively
approach teaching
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Positive
 Democratic style of decision-making
 Social support and praise
▪ Satisfaction of athletes with coach, increased sport enjoyment, selfesteem, more effort and success
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Negative
 High levels of criticism
 Low levels of positive reinforcement
▪ Decrease perceived confidence in athletes
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Strong relationship between athletes’ liking of their
coaches, and their perceptions of the ability of their
coaches
***Is there anyone who disagrees?***
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Six Common Characteristics of Critical Moments
 1. Intense emotions for the athlete.
 2. Intense emotions for the coach.
 3. A tension in the relationship between the coach and
the athlete.
 4. A tension around the boundary of the coaching
relationship.
 5. Unexpected and unforeseen.
 6. A qualitative change in the nature of the coaching
relationship.
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Recognize when something is wrong
Important to focus on goals, but also keep a
strong focus on the relationship
Working through conflict allows for the coach
and athlete to see strength of relationship
Both should know the value of the
relationship and what they can do for each
other
All relationships go through rocky times
Carter, A. D., & Bloom, G. A. (2009). Coaching knowledge
and success: Going beyond athletic experiences. Journal of
Sport Behavior, 32, 419-437.
 Day, A., De Haan, E., Sills, C., Bertie, C., & Blass, E. (2008).
Coaches’ experience of critical moments in the coaching.
International Coaching Psychology Review, 3, 207-218.
 Donahue, B., Miller, A., Crammer, L., & Cross, C. (2007). A
standardized method of assessing sport specific problems
in the relationships of athletes with their coaches,
teammates, family, and peers. Journal of Sport Behavior,
30, 375-397.
 Jowett, S. (2009). Validating coach-athlete relationship
measures with the nomological network. Measurement in
Physical Education and Exercise Science, 13, 32-51.
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Jowett, S., O’Broin, A., & Palmer, S. (2010). On
understanding the role and significance of a key twoperson relationship in sport and executive coaching. Sport
& Exercise Psychology Review, 6, 19-30.
 Oberstein, S. (2010). Capitalizing on coaching challenges.
T & D, 64, 54-57.
 O’Broin, A., & Palmer, S. (2009). Co-creating an optimal
coaching alliance: A cognitive behaioural coaching
perspective. International Coaching Psychology Review, 4,
184-194.
 Sanchez, J. M., Borras, P. J., Leite, N., Battaglia, O., &
Lorenzo, A. (2009). The coach-athlete relationship in
basketball: Analysis of the antecedents, components and
outcomes. Revista de Psicologia del Deporte, 18, 349-352.
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