Gender Of Coach Research Articles

Exploring athletes’ gendered views of coaches and their impact of coach competency ratings

This study draws on social role theory, role congruity theory, and the black sheep effect to explore athletes’ gendered perceptions of coach competence. The study relied on a sample of 308 New Zealand athletes across sports levels and modalities who completed an online survey. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four vignettes, in which coach gender (female vs. male) and coaching style (communal vs. agentic) were manipulated, and athlete gender was considered. The results show that male and female coaches did not receive significantly different coach competency scores (relational and strategic competencies), that a communal coaching style was linked to higher ratings in both relational and strategic competencies, and that the interplay of athlete gender, coach gender, and gender conforming/non-conforming coaching style did not significantly affect coach competence scores. However, participants’ comments to the open-ended question presented at the end of the survey suggest that athletes still hold gendered views of coaching competence at the elite level. We discuss the research and practical implications of our findings.

Does Gender Matter? Examining the Impact of Coach Gender on Team Success: Evidence from the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament

Does Gender Matter? Examining the Impact of Coach Gender on Team Success: Evidence from the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament

Team and Coach Gender: The Effect of the Expletive Halftime Speech

Although expletive use is considered taboo in most societies, expletives are commonly used in sports. However, the impact of expletives on coaching effectiveness has not received significant attention because of the unique nature of sports in which fierce competition is condoned and even encouraged.Inthe current study, the researchers aim to examine whether expletives alter the effectiveness of speeches given by coaches across genders. Collecting data from a total of 133 respondents, ANOVA demonstrated that expletive word use during halftime speeches by coaches did not play a role in diminishing the coaching effectiveness, regardless of the coach's gender and the players' gender. Additionally, male and female participants perceived expletive speech differently, and student-athletes rated the speeches as significantly more effective than the nonstudent-athletes. This study suggests practical implications for female coaches, who may consider stepping out of traditional expected roles (e.g., supportive and caring) and adopting language in coaching traditionally reserved for male coaches, given that their choice of language will not negatively impact their coaching effectiveness. However, further examination is needed for the robustness of our findings as the current study does not necessarily demonstrate an increase in effectiveness or a positive shift in perceptions from the use of expletives.

“Everyone was sort of just like ‘ew’”: Adolescent athletes’ experiences of menstruation in sport

Young girls often avoid being physically active due to physical and psychological symptoms of menstruation. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to explore youth athletes’ experiences of menstruation in sport. Seven female athletes between 16 and 18 years old took part in semi-structured interviews. Interpretive Description methodology (Thorne, 2016) was used, and interview transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2022). Athletes experienced several physical and emotional symptoms throughout the menstrual cycle which were perceived to impact performance. Overall, athletes felt there was not enough support available for dealing with menstruation due to stigma and lack of education. This also influenced coach-athlete communication, along with other factors, such as coach gender, age, and coach-athlete relationship. Moving forward, young athletes would like more support in the form of education for athletes and coaches, and more representation and destigmatization of the topic of menstruation. Lay Summary: This study explored adolescent athletes’ experiences of menstruation in sport. Following interviews with seven female athletes, we found that athletes faced a variety of challenges when dealing with their menstrual cycle in sport, but not enough support was provided due to stigma and a lack of education.

14-18 Yaş Yüzücülerde Başarı Algısı ile Antrenör Davranışı Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi: Ege Bölgesi Örneği

The aim of this study to examine the relationship between the perception of success and coaching behavior of 14-18 age swimming athletes living in Aegean region. A total of 114 swimmers participated voluntarily. The "Children’s Version of the Perception of Success Questionare" (POSQ-CH) and “Coach Behavior Scale for Sport” (CBS-S) was used. The analysis of the data was evaluated with the SPSS. POSQ-CH score was 49.03 (very high); sub-dimensions, "Ego Orientation" (EO) score is 22.17 (high) and the "Task Orientation" (TO) score is 26.85 (very high). CBS-S score is 262.35 (quite high); sub-dimensions scores are between 23.43 (very low)-50.95 (very high). According to gender, a significant difference in POSQ-CH and GO sub-dimension and TS, PR and NR sub-dimension scores of CBS-S (p<0.05). Similarly, a significant difference in the EO sub-dimension according to coach gender, in the POSQ-CH and GO according to swimming style and in the EO and TS according to sport age (p<0.05). No correlation between POSQ-CH and CBS-S and its sub-dimensions; however, a positive and moderate relationship between the closeness to team captain score and CBS-S. It was determined that the swimmers in the relevant age range had high perception of achievement and perception of coach behavior, and the athletes were more goal-oriented. It can be said that the coach's physical-mental preparation, positive behavior, providing technical skill learning, directing the athlete correctly in terms of goal expectation, helping to provide appropriate and optimum competition strategy and negative behavior are not related to the swimmers' perception of success.

Head Coach Gender and Player Performance in NCAA Softball.

In some industry segments, more than 70% of leadership positions are held by men. This can often lead to the suggestion that men are more successful in leadership roles, particularly in areas where women are viewed to have no practical experience. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to find women and men in leadership positions where performance of the leader can be objectively evaluated, which can make it likewise difficult to establish if the gender identity of a leader makes a measurable difference. While men's sports are an example of an industry dominated by gendered thinking in leadership, as women are assumed to be worse candidates for coaching positions due to a lack of familiarity with playing men's sports, there is an exception to this general trend in women's sports. In women's sports, both women and men work as coaches, often in equivalent roles and positions. Consequently, we can scientifically evaluate if the gender of the coach impacts the outcomes we observe. In this article, we specifically consider the sport of college softball, where we note a more equal breakdown in coaching by gender than most other sports. The evidence from college softball indicates the gender of the coach does not impact outcomes. Specifically, we find the gender of the head coach does not appear to alter the performance of individual hitters and thus a team's offensive production. Such findings challenge the gender stereotypes we see in coaching and leadership hiring.

A Longitudinal Examination of Homologous Reproduction in Athletic Directors’ Hiring of Intercollegiate Head Coaches for Women Sports

The underrepresentation of women head coaches of women’s teams at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level is well documented, and the percentage of women coaching women’s teams has remained stagnant at approximately 40%–43% for more than a decade. Documenting hiring patterns of individuals in positions of power is crucial to understanding why stagnation persists. The purpose of this study was to longitudinally examine the gender distribution of head coaches hired for women’s teams and statistically examine if the gender of the athletic director (AD) impacted who was hired. Data on head coach gender and AD gender were collected between the 2014–2015 and 2021–2022 academic years. Based on the data, gendered hiring patterns emerged. Results indicated that homologous reproduction was present in ADs’ hiring of head coaches of women’s teams. The findings can be used to increase awareness and motivate evidence-based action by holding ADs accountable for their hiring decisions. Findings illuminate the hiring processes in intercollegiate sport, which have numerous implications for women sport coaches. Future research on factors such as external influences on the hiring process and the glass cliff phenomenon is warranted.

The Effect of Coach Gender on Competitive Weightlifting Performance for Men and Women Weightlifters.

Gender of coaches relative to their athletes has recently garnered substantial attention in the public, the media, and academia. Relative to sports engulfed in controversy pertaining to men athletes being coached by women, such as professional baseball, basketball, and football, it is more common to see women coach men in competitive weightlifting, though only a small percent of men weightlifters are coached by women. In competitive weightlifting, coaches are responsible for both physically and mentally training athletes, and with the social barriers faced by women in a sport traditionally perceived as masculine, there may be mental training or communication benefits to training with a coach of a certain gender. Examining the gender of competitive weightlifters and their coaches, total weight lifted in the snatch and clean and jerk events are analyzed using OLS regression. Results indicate that men weightlifters perform better with men coaches. Women weightlifters perform better with men coaches until the age of 43, then they perform better with women coaches. The difference in performance may be due to several factors including historical bias against women in the sport.

Assistant coach hiring trends: an updated investigation of homologous reproduction in intercollegiate women’s sport

ABSTRACT This study sought to update and expand upon previous applications of homologous reproduction in sport through an investigation of assistant coach hiring trends for six National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women’s sports. Similar to previous investigations, this study focused on environments in which women (as a proportion) are both the dominant gender doing the hiring of their subordinate employees (assistant coaches) as well as the minority. We examined the gender representation of assistant coach staff members as a function of head coach gender in six sports (women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, softball, and swimming) across NCAA divisions of competition (I, II, and III). Findings revealed that women head coaches continue to engage in homologous reproduction at higher rates than men. Results suggest that in order to increase the proportions of women head coaches throughout NCAA sport, proportions of all-women and mostly-women assistant coaching staffs must also increase.

Are Women Coached by Women More Likely to Become Sport Coaches? Head Coach Gender and Female Collegiate Athletes’ Entry into the Coaching Profession

A plethora of research on barriers facing women in the coaching profession exists, but less attention has been devoted to female student-athletes’ transition into coaching. Some research suggests that female athletes who are coached by women are more likely to become coaches. In the present study, existing research is extended by examining the relationship between collegiate female basketball players’ post-playing career behavior and the gender of their collegiate head coach. Two research questions are addressed: (1) Are female collegiate Division-I basketball players who are coached by female head coaches more likely to enter the coaching profession than athletes who are coached by men? And; (2) If female basketball players do enter coaching, are those who were coached by women more likely to persist in coaching? Collegiate head coach gender did not emerge as a significant predictor of athletes’ likelihood to enter coaching, but logistic regression indicated that athletes who did enter coaching were 4.1-times more likely to stay in coaching if they had a female head coach. This study extends the scarce and outdated body of research on the potential salience of same-sex coaching role models for female athletes and provides baseline data on collegiate athletes’ entry rate into coaching, lending support to advocacy aimed at reversing the current stagnation of women in the sport coaching profession.

Do Male Managers Increase Risk-Taking of Female Teams? Evidence from the NCAA

We analyze the effect of the coach's gender on risk-taking in women sports teams using data taken from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball games. We find that the coach's gender has a sizable and significant effect on risk-taking, a finding that is robust to several empirical strategies, including an instrumental variable approach. In particular, we find that risk-taking among teams with a male head coach is 5 percentage points greater than that in teams with a female head coach. This gap is persistent over time and across intermediate game standings. The fact that risk-taking has a significantly positive effect on game success suggests that female coaches should be more risk-taking.

The “I” in team: Coach incivility, coach gender, and team performance in women’s basketball teams

Incivility is common across many sport contexts, yet empirical examination of its influence is lacking, especially when it comes to the influence of incivility on team emergent states and performance. The purpose of the present study was to address this topic by investigating the effects of leader incivility toward team members on team outcomes. The authors also examined team cohesion and psychological safety as potential mediators of the leader incivility-performance relationship and leader gender as a moderator of these mediational relationships. Participants included players from 52 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I female college basketball teams whose experiences of incivility were aggregated to the team level. As predicted, results revealed that leader incivility related to lower team cohesion, lower psychological safety, and lower objective team performance. Additionally, psychological safety mediated the incivility-performance relationship, as hypothesized. Based on these findings, the authors point to several implications, including emphasizing civility among leaders, instituting organizational policies designed to deter incivility, establishing reporting mechanisms, and implementing interventions and training.

Are Men Better Leaders? An Investigation of Head Coaches’ Gender and Individual Players’ Performance in Amateur and Professional Women’s Basketball

Male-dominated industries such as sport contain stereotypical and subjective notions of leadership ability (Burton et al. 2009; Fink 2008). These gender stereotypes often manifest themselves within varying levels of leadership, but specific to the sport industry, they are the most visible within the head coach role. Men hold the majority of head coach positions within the professional and amateur levels of sport, and these hiring practices can be based on gender-role stereotypes (Acosta and Carpenter 2014). In an attempt to challenge stereotypical gender based leadership preferences, leadership ability and performance should be objectively examined. Therefore, in the present investigation we aimed to examine the presence of gender stereotypes in the sport industry by determining whether the gender of a head coach for two women’s basketball leagues, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the National Intercollegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), impacted individual player performance. Data were collected for 1522 players for 19 WNBA seasons (1997–2015) and 4000 players for three seasons of NCAA Women’s Basketball (2013–2016). Results indicated that head coach gender does not appear to impact individual player performance in the WNBA or in the NCAA thereby providing objective evidence to challenge the traditional gender stereotypes found within the sports industry.

Proposed Sources of Coaching Efficacy: A Meta-Analysis.

Coaching efficacy refers to the extent to which a coach believes that he or she has the capacity to affect the learning and performance of his or her athletes. The purpose of the current study was to empirically synthesize findings across the extant literature to estimate relationships between the proposed sources of coaching efficacy and each of the dimensions of coaching efficacy. A literature search yielded 20 studies and 278 effect size estimates that met the inclusion criteria. The overall relationship between the proposed sources of coaching efficacy and each dimension of coaching efficacy was positive and ranged from small to medium in size. Coach gender and level coached moderated the overall relationship between the proposed sources of coaching efficacy and each of the dimensions of coaching efficacy. Results from this meta-analysis provided some evidence for both the utility of, and possible revisions to, the conceptual model of coaching efficacy.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Skill of High School Coaches with Regard to the Female Athlete Triad

Study ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge high school coaches have about the female athlete triad and to determine if gender differences in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors exist. DesignCross-sectional survey. SettingTwenty-six high schools in and around the vicinity of Cleveland, Ohio. ParticipantsTwo-hundred currently employed high school coaches. InterventionsParticipants completed a 30-question survey used to assess knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors coaches had about the female athlete triad. Main Outcome MeasuresDescriptive statistics (means, SD, frequency) and gender differences in response to triad knowledge, attitude, and behavior questions. ResultsOne hundred twenty-three high school coaches completed the survey. Survey respondents were between 25 and 35 years of age, coached for 6-10 years, and coached female athletes 75%-100% of the time. Twenty-four percent reported “having heard of the triad” and 14% (17 of 123) were able to correctly name all of its components. There were no significant differences between gender and the coach's ability to correctly name the 3 triad components (t = 1.47, P = .14). There was no correlation between coach gender (r = 0.13, P = .07), age (r = 0.07, P = .42), number of years of coaching (r = 0.014, P = .88), and coach's knowledge of the triad components, respectively. ConclusionFemale athletes might be at risk for developing the female athlete triad and high school coaches can be instrumental in identifying athletes who are at risk. This study showed that gaps in knowledge about the triad exist and that educating coaches about the condition could serve as an important means of prevention for the condition.

Cross-Domain Relationships with Assistant and Head Coaches: Comparing Levels and Correlates

Cross-domain relationships (CDRs) involve coaches knowing and caring about aspects of athletes’ lives beyond the sport context (e.g., family, school, relationships). Purposes of the current study included (a) comparing athletes’ levels of cross-domain relationships with head and assistant coaches, (b) evaluating gender, roster size, and sport type as correlates of CDRs with head and assistant coaches, and (c) examining relationships between CDRs with head and assistant coaches and motivational variables. Collegiate athletes (N = 294, 139 male, 155 female) completed surveys assessing study constructs. Results indicated that levels of CDRs with head coaches and assistant coaches did not differ. Male athletes had stronger CDRs with head coaches than female athletes did. While female athletes with female head coaches had moderate levels of CDRs with head coaches regardless of assistant coach gender, female athletes with male head coaches had stronger CDRs with head coaches when the assistant coach was female than when the assistant coach was male. Stronger CDRs with head coaches were related to greater perceived competence, enjoyment, and sport commitment, while CDRs with assistant coaches were not related. Findings suggest that researchers should not assume that CDRs with assistant and head coaches are similarly related to athletes’ motivational outcomes.

Gender Differences in High School Coaches’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Communication About the Female Athlete Triad

The objective of this study was to assess high school coaches’ knowledge, attitudes, communication, and management decisions with respect to the Female Athlete Triad and to determine whether results are patterned by coach gender. Data were obtained through an online survey of high school coaches (n = 227). Significant differences were found between male and female coaches in certain attitudes and communication behaviors related to eating and menstrual irregularity. School or district level policies may help reduce these differences and may help mitigate the health consequences for athletes related to possible differential prevention and detection of the comorbidities of the Female Athlete Triad.

Attitudes Toward and Preferences for Male and Female Personal Trainers

Previous research has considered the perceptions of athletes towards gender of coach and strength and conditioning coach. However, to date there appears little research considering the perceptions of clients towards gender of personal trainer. The purpose of this study was to investigate male and females perceptions of same- or opposite-gender personal trainers. Four hundred and two (male = 201, female = 201) undergraduate University student participants completed an adapted version of the Attitudes of Athletes toward Male versus Female Coaches Questionnaire (AAMFC-Q; 23). A 2 x 2 multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed that neither males nor females showed any preference for gender of hypothetical personal trainer (p > 0.05) although both males and females reported that a personal trainer of the opposite gender might make it harder to concentrate (p < 0.05). Previous research has reported a preference for male coaches/strength and conditioning coaches from both male and female athletes. However, this study suggests that there is no such gender bias towards personal trainers in this population.

The sideline behaviour of coaches at children’s team sports games

Objectives This study aimed to establish the prevalence, pattern and nature of coaches’ verbal behaviour at children’s (ages 6–12 years) team sports events. The study draws upon the motivational model presented by Mageau and Vallerand (2003) to examine the influence of global (gender), contextual (sport related), and social (athlete gender) factors on coach comments. Design A cross-sectional observational study of coaches stratified across four team sports: Rugby Union, Netball, Association Football and Touch Rugby. Method The Observation Instrument at Sports Events was used to categorise covertly recorded verbal comments made by coaches at organised team sports games. Results Overall, 10,697 comments were recorded at 72 games at a rate of 3.71 comments/minute; 35.4% were categorised as positive, 21.6% as negative, and 43.0% as neutral. Significant differences in negative comments were identified between sport ( p < .001) with rugby coaches recording the highest percentage of negative comments and the lowest percentage of positive comments; by coach gender ( p < .001), with male coaches recording higher rates of negative comments; and by athlete gender ( p < .001), with coaches of male-only teams recording higher rates of negative comments. When simultaneously included in a Poisson regression model the difference in negative comments between sports remained statistically significant ( p < .001) whereas coach gender was no longer significant. Conclusions The ratio of negative coach comments for all sports gives cause for concern. These findings suggest that sports of national and cultural significance are a key driver of coaching behaviours in a competitive environment.

Winning In NCAA Womens Soccer: Does The Gender Of The Coach Matter?

While womens intercollegiate soccer has grown rapidly over the past three decades, men still hold nearly two-thirds of all head coaching positions in NCAA Division I womens soccer programs. This paper explores whether the gender of the head coach affects success in winning games. After considering various reasons why gender might matter, we undertake a multiple regression analysis using data from the 2001-2002 season to answer this question empirically. Controlling for other factors that would be expected to influence a teams success, including the quality of the head coach, the level of institutional support and the tradition of the program, we find that the head coachs gender, and also the head coachs age, have statistically significant effects on team success for schools in Divisions I-AA and I-AAA, but not for the major football schools in Division I-A. We close with possible explanations for these results.