Sports Coaching III Masters Program Prof. Donna DeWitt Sport / Performance Psychologist Academic Year

Individual versus Team Coaching Individual versus Team Coaching Defining the coach-athlete relationship Defining the coach-athlete relationship Interdependency; fostering independence Interdependency; fostering independence Setting boundaries Setting boundaries Stress management Stress management

Individual versus Team Coaching What are some of the differences between individual coaching and team coaching?

Attention Anonymity Responsibility Heightened sensitivity Gender Action / reaction Boundaries Body language / touch Involvement / intensity Dependence Time Motivation

Significance of the Coach-Athlete relationship Historically: focus on merely enhancing athletes’ physical, technical and strategical skills (Miller & Kerr, 2002). Now: recognized as the foundation of coaching and a major force in promoting the development of athletes’ physical and psychosocial skills.

Defining the coach-athlete relationship  The foundation of coaching  Growing appreciation and respect for each other as individuals  Dynamic and complex coaching process  Means by which coaches’ and athletes’ needs are expressed and fulfilled

What makes the ideal coach-athlete relationship?  Effective versus ineffective relationships  Successful versus unsuccessful relationships  Helping relationships

Interdependency; fostering independence? The coach–athlete relationship is defined by mutual and causal interdependence between coaches’ and athletes’ feelings, thoughts and behaviors. In what ways are coach and athlete interdependent upon one another?

THE 3 C’S CONCEPTUAL MODEL Closeness Emotional tone Commitment Intention Desire Complemen- tarity Cooperative Effective

THE CO-ORIENTATION MODEL ‘I trust my coach’ ‘I trust my athlete’ Actual Similarity ‘I trust my coach’ ‘I think my coach trusts me’ Assumed Similarity ‘I think my coach trusts me’ ‘I trust my athlete’ Empathic Understanding

Unifying components.. Communication: creating the opportunity for talk and disclosure Does the coach seldom explains his actions/choices Does the coach make his plans independent of me/us in the team Does the coach helps me/us when we have personal problems Does the coach include me/us when deciding on strategies for important competitions Does the coach often ask for my/our opinion on how to organize the training Does the coach explain each and one of us our tasks Is the coach concerned with explaining techniques/tactics Does the coach behave in a way that makes me/us trust him/her Does the coach encourage and compliment Does the coach tell me/us when I/we perform well

Empathy : understanding and caring for others’ intentions and feelings Perspective Taking Empathic Concern Fantasy Personal Distress..Unifying components Davis’ Empathy Scale

Coach-athlete Dyads Some famous coach- athlete couples:  Joycee Kersee & Bob Kersee  Marion Jones & C. J. Hunter  Jenny Meadows & Trevor Painter Coach- athlete Dyad Typical Married/ intimate Family Correspon dence * Friend

Setting boundaries Mediating factors: gender, power, age, reciprocation and ambiguity of touch communication, how much coach & athlete like one another etc. Touch communication: physically exchanging emotional and relational messages Emotional exchange: needs and expectations of relationship defined and met and limits are set

The ‘Forbidden Zone’ What is considered to be desirable, appropriate, inappropriate, ethical or unethical within a coach-athlete relationship? “A South Brunswick High School coach married one of his young athletes. Local residents and administrators are speaking out. Days after marrying her coach, 40-year-old Brent Wuchae, 16-year-old Windy Hager didn't have much to say about the issue. Her neighbors did. “

Coach Stress Stress responses: result from perceived imbalance between environmental demands and one’s coping resources Coping: constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external / internal demands

Implications for coach-athlete relationship  Athlete’s psychological responses to coach stress?  How do athletes perceive behavior of coaches’ that are higher in emotional exhaustion

Psychological skills: Performance Curve Coaches Coping 1.Minimal challenge, disinterest 2. some task demands, growing motivation 3. performance matches challenge, total involvement 4. demands too great, stress is high 5. alarm, decreased performance, ‘burn-out’