Communicative Acts in Coach–Athlete Interactions: When Losing Competitions and When Making Mistakes in Training

Abstract

Athletes' perceptions of coaches' communicative acts of interaction in two key interpersonal situations were examined, and their impact on the athletes: (a) when athletes lose competitions; and, (b) when athletes make mistakes in training. Athletes (N = 324, M age = 20.11) completed an open-ended survey. Data were deductively and inductively analyzed. Athletes perceived coaches' communicative acts to be positive (e.g., performance analysis and feedback) and negative (e.g., hostile reaction), and to impact their motivation, affect, physical self-concept, and learning. The study highlights the salient role of coaches' communication in theses situations and discusses its theoretical and practical implications in the sport performance context.

Keywords:

• Aggression
• Coach Effectiveness
• Communication
• Emotions
• Hostility
• Interaction
• Interpersonal Situations
• Punitive
• Sport

Notes

Note. Categories are indicated in bold upper key text; higher order themes are indicated with ‘•’; and lower order themes and subthemes are indicated with ‘-’. The numbers in brackets refer to the number of athletes who reported the data.

Note. Categories are indicated in bold upper key text; higher order themes are indicated with ‘•’; and lower order themes and subthemes are indicated with ‘-’. The numbers in brackets refer to the number of athletes who reported the data.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sam S. Sagar

Dr. Sam S. Sagar is a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology at Leeds Metropolitan University.

Sophia Jowett

Dr. Sophia Jowett is a reader in psychology in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University.