Collegiate Coaches Research Articles

(S)Tumbling Blocks: Making Sense of and Creating a Model for Mental Blocks in Sport

The yips are a complex phenomenon that leaves athletes unable to perform previously mastered athletic skills. Here, we coin the term athletic skills mental blocks (ASMBs) to collectively define the phenomenon, which has garnered several terms across scholarship and media outlets. Previous ASMBs literature is often post-positivist in nature, offers minimal insight into complex firsthand experiences, includes small sample sizes, and/or analyzes one or two sports. Through a pilot study of 12 tumbling athletes, and a primary study including 16 collegiate and professional athletes and coaches from baseball, golf, and tumbling, this study offers an in-depth understanding of ASMBs that highlights shared ASMB rationalizations across multiple sports. Guided by sensemaking theory, we use a rigorous thematic analysis to draw out themes within four aspects of the experience: phenomenon, perceived causes, strategies to overcome, and consequences. We highlight the role communication plays in ASMBs sensemaking through revealing the importance of internal dialogue and communication with coach, family, and teammates. We offer theoretical implications by illuminating how naming/labeling processes and identity are vital components to ASMB sensemaking and generating an ASMB sensemaking model that can be used in future research. Practically, this research serves sports organizations by expanding the vocabulary surrounding ASMBs and helps destigmatize the mental health complexities inherent in ASMBs across sports.

Meeting Basic Psychological Needs: One Coach’s Application of Self-Determination Theory in Practice

According to self-determination theory, particularly basic psychological needs theory (BPNT), creating social environments, which support the basic psychological needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness, are associated with individuals’ mental and physical well-being. Therefore, coaches have been encouraged to enact coaching behaviors in their programs based on BPNT. However, few examples exist demonstrating how coaches actually do this. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to provide insight into one collegiate coach’s endeavors to support holistic athlete development and promote thriving by using coaching behaviors which align with BPNT in a Division III swim program.

Physiological, anthropometric and athletic performance adaptations from completing a 1-month pre-season period. A two-year longitudinal study in female collegiate soccer players.

Collegiate coaches and integrative support staff often utilize pre-season as a brief and intense training period to prepare athletes technically, tactically, and physiologically, to meet the demands of competition during a soccer season. This study sought to examine the dose-response from performing on-field soccer activities during a four-week pre-season period in female collegiate soccer players, and if the magnitude in response was associated with accumulated exercise stress. A total of twenty-seven healthy female soccer players training as part of a collegiate soccer program volunteered to participate in this two-year longitudinal study. Data collection commenced prior to the start of each pre-season period, at the beginning of August, and was completed at the beginning of September, when pre-season ended. Data collection periods were separated by a 31-day period. Indices of cardiovascular function, anthropometry, and athletic performance were examined during each data collection period. Internal and external measures of accumulated exercise stress were recorded using the Polar Team Pro® system. When comparing the beginning to the end of pre-season, significant improvements were observed in body fat (%) [24.2 ± 6.0 "vs." 23.3 ± 5.6, p = 0.001], heart rate variability (rMSSD) [51.8 ± 25.1 "vs." 67.9 ± 34.6 ms, p = 0.002], resting heart (bpm) [73.8 ± 12.1 "vs." 64.3 ± 8.8, p = 0.001] and cardiorespiratory performance (YoYo IRTL-1) [925.8 ± 272.8 "vs." 1,062.6 ± 223.3 m, p = 0.001]. Significant reductions in musculoskeletal performance were observed through vertical jump height (cm) [24.9 ± 23.7, p = 0.04]. Change in the end of pre-season body weight (kg) was significantly associated with accumulated accelerations and decelerations [r ≥ 0.49, p = 0.01]. End of pre-season change in cardiorespiratory performance was significantly associated with both accumulated training load (au) and TRIMP (au) [r ≥ 0.63, p = 0.01]. In conclusion, performing a four-week pre-season period, involving only on-field training, can promote positive and significant adaptations in anthropometry, cardiovascular function, and athletic performance measures in female collegiate soccer players. The magnitudes of these adaptations were associated with both internal and external measures of accumulated exercise stress.

Love and Basketball: The Wives and Partners within Athletic Family Systems

This article offers an examination of the lives of wives and partners of collegiate basketball coaches, employing the Bronfenbrenner Ecological model as a framework for analysis. While the world of sports coaching is routinely celebrated and scrutinized, the experiences and challenges faced by the wives and/or partners of these coaches remain relatively unexplored. This paper reviews the diverse systems influencing the lives of coaches’ partners and the need for holistic support mechanisms. By employing the Coaches’ Wives and Partners Adapted Bronfenbrenner Model as a conceptual framework, researchers, counselors and other helpers, and support networks can gain a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics at play and can offer more effective assistance to coaches’ partners as they navigate the unique challenges and opportunities associated with their role in the basketball world. Implications for the NCAA, universities/athletic departments, coaches, and coaches’ wives and partners are addressed.

Teacher‐composed cases of practice as and for dissemination, reflection and data

AbstractThe need to make evidence and implications of educational research widely available has prompted a burgeoning interest in knowledge mobilisation, which is a set of strategies supporting the active and intentional dissemination of research knowledge. For this, it is important to consider who might be the intended audience and end‐users of this knowledge, as this impacts decisions throughout the research process. Researcher–teacher collaborations are effective contexts for knowledge‐building and sharing, where both partners have different but equally valuable roles and contributions to make to the conduct, analysis and dissemination of research. This paper illustrates the value and uses of teacher‐composed written and video cases of colleague coaching. The cases were generated as part of the Zooming project, a seven‐school, 3‐year research–practice partnership focused on developing teachers' data literacy and capacity to coach colleagues in this. To craft the cases, the teachers reflected on their coaching practices and relationships and identified what would be most useful for new coaches to know. The cases proved to be engaging tools for research dissemination, especially to a professional audience. In addition, the case writing challenged teachers to reflect on and analyse their coaching actions and the assumptions they brought to collegial coaching. The cases as data also provided researchers with a deeper level of insights into what teachers viewed as salient when coaching colleagues in data use. Teacher case composition offers a useful approach to knowledge co‐production and a pathway to research dissemination by and for teachers and researchers.

Exploring Branding Strategies and Barriers of Female Collegiate Athletic Coaches

Branding has been conceptualized, contextualized, and operationalized in various ways. However, little research has been conducted exploring coaches and their personal branding. Although researchers have investigated the content that collegiate male coaches post on social media, there is a dearth of research investigating female collegiate coaches and the strategies they utilize when constructing their brand online. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the branding strategies used by female collegiate coaches when constructing and presenting their online brand. The authors collected data via a qualitative methodology, utilizing semistructured interviews with female head and assistant coaches in college athletics. Results indicate that the coaches were strategic in their approach to social media, while also encountering obstacles when deciding how to communicate aspects of their brand. Theoretical implications stem from findings that are consistent with decision-making processes outlined by behavioral decision theory, and practical implications are centered on strategic branding suggestions for coaches.

When a bad day at the golf course is a bad day at the office: occupational stressors, institutional supports, and the mental health of NCAA golf coaches

This study examined the mental health of NCAA collegiate golf coaches. Utilizing the person-environment fit theory and previous literature on coaches' well-being, this study examined four outcomes among 48 participants, namely: depressive and anxiety symptoms, burnout, and job turnover intentions. Results suggested that coaching stressors (e.g., administrative tasks, practice plans, pressure to win) only associate with greater burnout. More consistent evidence showed that workplace stress (e.g., lack of control and autonomy, poor work-family balance) associated with higher levels of all outcomes. Finally, greater perceived organizational support had a beneficial association with each outcome. The findings of the current study suggest golf coaches are at risk of mental health problems because of the stressors of this job. Taken as a whole, athletic departments, coaches, and student-athletes must reconsider norms that overemphasize performance and underemphasize self-care and work-life balance.

Impact of turning points and transitions on work and family orientations: insights from collegiate coaches

ABSTRACT Research Question The purpose of this study was to: (1) identify the kinds of transitions and turning points college coaches experience (particularly normative vs non-normative), (2) examine how various transitions and turning points in individual lives influence work orientations, and (3) examine how work orientations, transitions, and turning points impact individual work and life outcomes. Research Methods This study utilized in depth interviews with 30 head college coaches from the United States. The sample consisted of 12 women and 18 men who were 35 years or older and had several years’ experience coaching. Results and Findings Expected and unexpected transitions came from a variety of situations. Coaches discussed coping strategies for managing expected transitions, and the challenges of unexpected transitions, which at times also became turning points that changed work orientations. Several coaches adopted a stronger calling work orientation, while others became more job oriented, however none of the coaches became more career oriented. Also, turning points influenced coaches’ level of family engagement, often increasing family involvement. None of the coaches reported reducing family involvement following a life turning point. Implications These findings help sport administrators to understand the importance of being in tune with their coaches and realizing the influence of life transitions and turning points. These findings also provide needed theoretical insight and understanding about coaches’ lived experiences of transitions and turning points, and their impacts on orientations toward work and family.

Embodied regulation: the case of women collegiate athletes

In the U.S. collegiate sport system, women athletes are subjected to various kinds of stress. Within this system, the coach-athlete relationship serves as a mechanism for regulating the body and causing gendered ideals to become embodied. While the literature reveals theoretical and empirical research on the body and sport, the influence of the coach-­athlete relationship on embodiment among collegiate women athletes needs further research. Utilizing interpretive and Black feminist theories, this article examines the stress women collegiate athletes experience in this institutionalized system. Findings reveal that the organizational structure of U.S. college sport reproduces white heteronormative femininity that is harmful to women athletes. Moreover, coaches act as body regulators on behalf of the U.S. collegiate sport system to create a gendered feminine ideal body, causing stress for women collegiate athletes. This article concludes with the implications of stress and body regulation for collegiate coaches and the NCAA.

Learning to Teach: A reflexive approach to practice and theory

In this article I present a model for working with teacher-students’ understanding of action and behaviour in classrooms. It presents a model for collegial coaching in reflective teams, which can also be used by teachers to learn about what happens in teaching. The article starts out by addressing current trends across Europe, which influence all of higher education, including teacher education (TE). The article outlines an understanding of teaching as relational and as what happens in the present, here and now. A relational model for thinking teaching is presented through a version of the didactical triangle. I propose three foundational questions for TE: How does TE teach relations to content knowledge to students? How does TE prepare students to become caring teachers? How does TE teach students to create a space for mutual recognition in teaching? This article provides an outline for a response to these questions

Measuring Allyship: Development and Validation of Two Measures to Assess Collegiate Athlete Department Staff Engagement in LGBTQ Allyship and Ally Behaviors

ABSTRACT This pilot quantitative study sought to explore lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) ally engagement by collegiate coaches and athletic department staff. In particular, this study sought to investigate the psychometric properties for two adapted measures: the Ally Identity Scale—Athletic Staff Version and the Engagement in LGBTQ Ally Actions in Sports Scale—Athletic Staff Version. These measures could provide a means to assess the degree to which coaches and athletic department staff identify as allies and engage in actions that support a welcoming and inclusive climate for LGBTQ student-athletes and athletic department staff. The sample for this study was 87 coaches and athletic department staff who completed an online survey. The results of this study provide preliminary psychometric support for two adapted measures and provide insights into the next steps scholars can take in exploring the intersection of LGBTQ identities and collegiate athletics.

Psychological contract on employee consequences among collegiate head coaches: The moderating role of procedural justice

The current study investigated the relationship between the psychological contract (PC), trust, perceived organizational support (POS), organizational commitment, and turnover intention among collegiate head coaches. In addition, this study explored the moderating effect of procedural justice on the relationship between these variables. Data were collected from 283 full-time head coaches in the NCAA and were primarily analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results indicated that relational PC (R-PC), compared to transactional PC (T-PC), was more influential in affecting coaches’ POS, trust, and commitment, while T-PC influenced POS only, but not trust and commitment. In addition, both trust and POS were positively associated with coaches’ affective commitment, while affective commitment, POS, and trust, in this order, were negatively related to their turnover intentions. Coaches’ perceived procedural justice moderated the relationship between T-PC and employee consequences, indicating that T-PC was more meaningful in high justice situations.

Coaching for winning or holistic athlete development, or both? Validation of the two-dimensional Identity of Sport Coaches Scale (2-DISCS)

Coaches face the pressures of producing desired sport outcomes for athletes and teams and developing their athletes as holistic individuals. As a result, coaches may invest different amounts of time, passion, and effort in fostering different outcomes for athletes, including winning and holistic development, and thus view themselves as primarily oriented toward winning or holistic athlete development, or both. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Two-Dimensional Identity of Sport Coaches Scale (2-DISCS) designed to measure winning-centered and holistic development-centered coaching identities. The scale was developed using the 4Cs framework. Following literature review, an item pool was developed and submitted for content validation. Then, items were tested with collegiate coaches. In Study 1 (N = 946), initial factor structure was examined through confirmatory factor analysis. In Study 2 (N = 380), psychometric properties of the items were further assessed through confirmatory factor analysis. Results confirmed the two-factor structure. Measurement invariance was established across gender, NCAA Division, and position. Overall, results provided evidence of factorial validity, construct validity, and reliability of the scale. The 10-item 2-DISCS is suggested as a reasonable measure of winning-centered and holistic development-centered identity of sport coaches that can be used in future studies and in practice. However, future studies should further examine the validity of the 2-DISCS. Lay summary: Coaches may view themselves primarily oriented towards winning or holistic athlete development, or both. Utilizing the 4Cs framework, here we describe the development and validation of the Two-Dimensional Identity of Sport Coaches Scale (2-DISCS), a 10-item scale designed for coaches to measure winningcentered and holistic development-centered coaching identities.

Effects of workplace stress, perceived stress, and burnout on collegiate coach mental health outcomes.

Given the continuously changing job demands of coaches, coach burnout continues to be an important area of study. Coaching literature highlights the role occupational stressors play in the development and management of burnout. However, research highlights the potential need for the field to differentiate feelings of burnout from those of other sub-clinical mental health indicators (e.g., anxiety, depression). This study sought to examine the relationship between workplace stress, perceived stress, coach burnout, coach well-being, and sub-clinical health issues (anxiety, stress, depression). One hundred forty-four NCAA collegiate coaches completed online questionnaires measuring the proposed variables. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypothesis that burnout would serve as a partial mediator between workplace and perceived stress and mental health indicators (e.g., depression, anxiety, stress, and well-being). Workplace stress and perceived stress were positively associated with both burnout subscales. Additionally, perceived stress alone exhibited a positive association with depression, anxiety, and stress and a negative association with well-being. While there was a positive significant relationship between disengagement and depression in the model and a negative significant relationship between disengagement and well-being, most relationships between the two burnout subscales and mental health outcomes were negligible. It can be concluded that while workplace and perceived life stressors may impact feelings of burnout and mental health indicators directly, burnout does not appear to exhibit a strong effect on perceptions of mental health and well-being. In line with other research studies, it may be worth considering whether burnout should be considered another type of clinical mental health issue instead of as a direct contributor to coach mental health.

Moving Beyond Fulfillment: Wisdom Years Stories of Passion, Perseverance, and Productivity.

Seven participants were interviewed to uncover how they remain so productive in their wisdom years, those typically marked by retirement. Participants included a leading educational psychologist, a renowned national television news anchor, a four-time national champion collegiate coach, the founder and former chief executive of Arbor Day Foundation, a university scholar turned playwright, and two female adventurers who quit their jobs, sold their possessions, and have lived a nomadic life, hiking thousands of miles throughout America. Their wisdom years stories describe how and why they shun retirement and remain productive. The article concludes with seven advice-laden conclusions for readers: (a) Do not retire, but if you do, retire to something, (b) follow your bliss, (c) work hard, (d) offset aging challenges, (e) be inspired by role models, (f) be a life-long learner, and (g) take heed of the universe conspiring.

Collegiate Coaches’ Reflective Inquiry Processes to Manage Performance Demands

The current study investigated collegiate coaches’ reflective inquiry processes, and the subsequent development of emotional and personal resources, to facilitate their performance in demanding environments. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II head coaches (n = 13) to explore their reflective processes. A reflexive thematic analysis generated two main themes and five subthemes consisting of strengths-based inquiry (studying optimal functioning, building a reflective environment, and establishing personal resources) and deficits-based inquiry (learning from challenging issues and ruminating on problems). Findings revealed how coaches used reflective questions to better understand their personal strengths and successful experiences of their respective programmes. Furthermore, by fostering coaches’ sense of gratitude and engagement in social support, strengths-based reflection can build personal resources to enable thriving in demanding situations. However, coaches were inclined towards deficits-based reflections that focused on eradicating performance problems. Although reflecting on errors was important to guide future action and improve performance, fixating on shortcomings could be detrimental to coach well-being. Findings can enhance coaches’ understanding of reflection to manage performance demands by developing personal resources through reflective questions, prompts, and conversations.

Motivational Atmosphere and Moral Behavior as Indicators of Coaching Effectiveness

Study Purpose. The perceptions of coaches' moral character and the factors that make a successful coaching environment were the main subjects of this study.
 Materials and Methods. Utilizing a descriptive survey approach, the investigation was finished. Experienced collegiate coaches from various sports leagues at preselected public schools and universities were included in the study..
 Results and Discussions. According to data, university sports programs should place a high priority on coaches' moral behavior, particularly when it comes to treating players fairly and carrying out their tasks without violating their rights based on their race, gender, or other characteristics. Coaches should also provide each athlete equal attention and create a motivating environment for them.
 Conclussion. Better policy in collegiate sports programs should be built on more research on the effectiveness of coaches.

Competencies That Japanese Collegiate Sports Coaches Require for Dual-Career Support for Student Athletes.

The purpose of this study was to clarify coaches’ competencies (COM) regarding dual-career (DC) support for student athletes in Japan. The questionnaire survey was conducted at 31 universities with an online survey URL that was distributed to 300 collegiate athletic coaches. In total, there were 152 respondents (female, 19; male, 133; mean age, 43.15 ± 12.07 years; coaching experience, 12.83 ± 9.72 years). The online survey adopted a Japanese-translated version of the Dual-Career Competency Questionnaire (DCCQ), which has been translated into nine languages and is widely used in European counties. The scale consists of six factors and 33 items, each rated on a five-point scale of importance (IM) and possession (PO). The Japanese version of the DCCQ was validated through a confirmatory factor analysis, and the internal consistency of the items was confirmed by calculating the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. In addition, we examined differences between the IM and PO for DC support by t-tests and by calculating effect sizes. The validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the DCCQ were confirmed based on the goodness-of-fit index and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, respectively. Our examination of the differences between IM and PO in DC support revealed that coaches perceived the importance of DC support but did not possess the necessary COM to offer DC support. That finding was similar to those of previous European studies. In particular, the Japanese coaches who participated in our online survey recognized the importance of COM in terms of “collaboration with various stakeholders and departments” for DC support but did not feel as though they held sufficient COM in that regard. In other words, the improvement of DC support requires the development of a coaching program that fosters COM to work with various stakeholders. This key insight provides a direction and specific focus for programs to improve coaches’ DC support for student athletes.

The role of life purpose and passion for coaching in subjective well-being of sport coaches

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the role of purpose in life in coaches’ subjective happiness and life satisfaction and the role of harmonious and obsessive work passions in these relationships. Collegiate coaches (N = 379) completed questionnaires assessing sense of purpose in life (awakening to purpose, awareness of purpose, and altruistic purpose), passion for coaching (harmonious, obsessive), and subjective well-being (subjective happiness, life satisfaction). Structural equation modelling showed that awareness of purpose was a positive direct predictor of subjective happiness and life satisfaction. Positive indirect relationships through harmonious passion for coaching were found between awareness of purpose and both measures of subjective well-being and between awakening to purpose and life satisfaction. Opposing indirect relationships through harmonious and obsessive work passions were found between awakening to purpose and subjective happiness. Altruistic purpose, on the other hand, was not a significant predictor of passions for work and subjective well-being. Structural invariance was tested across gender (male, female), Division (I, III), and position (head coach, assistant coaches), showing only a few differences across gender and position. Overall, findings highlight the importance of life purpose in strengthening coaches’ harmonious passion for coaching and their subjective well-being.

Using sport science data in collegiate athletics: Coaches’ perspectives

Limited research has examined American collegiate coaches’ perceptions of collecting data for informing training practices. The purpose of this study was to examine collegiate coaches’ perspectives and needs for collecting data from their athletes using a qualitative approach. Four focus groups were conducted with NCAA Division I coaches ( N = 13) at a mid-sized liberal arts university. Coaches were asked how they could benefit from collecting data from their athletes, how they would use the data to answer questions about athletes’ performance, what data they would want to collect, and what concerns they had regarding data collection. Principles of thematic analysis were used to analyze the interviews. Most coaches (54%) felt that collecting data would provide evidence needed to support training methodologies, and they would benefit (i.e. make improvements to coaching and athlete training) from monitoring progress in their athletes (61%). Regarding performance questions, coaches were interested in utilizing a biomechanist to conduct movement analyses (23%) and assessing athletes’ mental and emotional states (23%). Coaches wanted to monitor athletes’ fatigue, recovery, mental health states, and health behaviors (i.e. sleep and diet; 15%). Coaches expressed concerns over finding an optimal time to test athletes (8%) and effective presentation of data to athletes (23%) while limiting body composition assessments due to athlete discomfort (15%). Findings from these focus groups suggest that coaches would like to collect data to learn more about athletes’ physical and mental states, but several logistical and practical concerns still exist regarding how to efficiently collect and utilize the data.