Abstract
This paper examines the athletes’ perception of their coaches according to the role of starter or substitute in the final phase of the season. The variables analyzed were: leadership style, perceived justice, competence, and support for basic psychological needs. A longitudinal study was developed, evaluating the participants at two different stages: the end of the season and seven weeks before. A total of 112 football and handball players participated in this study, 78 completing the questionnaire at the two waves. The final sample comprised 51 starters (80.39% males) and 27 substitutes (70.37% males) who evaluated their coaches’ leadership, competence, and support of the players’ psychological needs. The interaction moment of measurement (seven weeks before the end of the season vs. end of the season) * group (starters vs. substitutes) was statistically significant for the variables authentic leadership, perceived justice, and the basic psychological need of competence. Post hoc analyses revealed a significant decline in the perception of authentic leadership from coaches, perceived justice, and support of the psychological need of competence at the end of the season only in those in a starter position, with no change observed in the substitutes group. The findings show that the perceptions of coaches among starting players deteriorates significantly in the final phase of the season, while those among substitutes remain unaffected.
Highlights
The role assigned to the athlete and playing time might seem like a simple decisionmaking problem for the coach, but the possibility of unfair treatment as perceived by the athlete can, at times, initiate internal conflicts which interfere with teaching and competitive success [1]
Post hoc analyses revealed a significant decline in the perception of authentic leadership from coaches, perceived justice, and support of the psychological need of competence at the end of the season only in those in a starter position, with no change observed in the substitutes group
The findings show that the perceptions of coaches among starting players deteriorates significantly in the final phase of the season, while those among substitutes remain unaffected
Summary
The role assigned to the athlete and playing time might seem like a simple decisionmaking problem for the coach, but the possibility of unfair treatment as perceived by the athlete can, at times, initiate internal conflicts which interfere with teaching and competitive success [1]. The level of fairness that players perceive in the assignment of their role as starter or substitute, which conditions playing time, are influential in the players’ sport experience [2], and, as a consequence, in their satisfaction with the coach [3]. Jordan et al [4] argue that in a team sport, playing time, responsibility, and the assignment of positions are individual outcomes received by the athletes that may influence their perceptions of fairness. Knowing the level of possible deterioration according to the role perceived by the athlete could be useful to establish strategies to reduce the negative impact. Different authors grant the coach a fundamental role in the behavior and drive of athletes [11,12], which conditions the relationship between the two. Research in sports contexts makes positive associations between the quality of the relationship and the attention to psychological
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