Girls' voices- preferences about coach behaviors

Abstract

Girls are a vital asset to society (The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2019). However, girls often do not receive the same opportunities as boys, particularly in the contexts of physical activity and sport (The Tucker Center Research Report, 2018). While participation in physical activity and sport is associated with positive outcomes, data indicate that the percentage of girls involved in physical activity and sports has declined over the past 10 years, and that upon reaching adolescence girls tend to drop out of their sports (Aspen Institute, 2021; Eime et al., 2016; Eime et al., 2020; Tzameret et al., 2020). This suggests that gender and age may be factors that influence participation in physical activity and sports. Girls indeed reported barriers to participation and factors for dropout of sports (Craike et al., 2009; Slater & Tiggemann, 2010; Staniford, 2013; Williams et al., 2013). Socialization agents have the ability to impact the girls' persistence in sports. Coaches are one type of socializing agents and their influence on athletic girls can occur through a number of channels: needs support, leadership style, coach-athlete relationship, and role modeling (Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980; Mageau & Vallerand, 2003; McCullagh & Weiss, 2002; Ryan & Deci, 1985; Wasend & LaVoi, 2019). However, little is known about the preference of adolescent girls regarding the behavior of coaches in these channels. From a cultural perspective, there is limited representation of girls from Non-Western countries in the literature on sport psychology, resulting in a lack of evidence (Papaioannou et al., 2013; Schinke et al., 2016). It is important to examine perceptions of athletic girls of different segments of the population and the world, as girls are not a monolithic group and it is likely that every population of girls have their own unique characteristics and needs. In this context, Israel is a country with little representation in the international literature on sport psychology (Schinke et al., 2016), and because of its unique socio-cultural nature, the preferences of athletic girls may be different from the preferences of girls documented in the existing literature. The purpose of this study was to inquire the preferences of athletic, adolescent girls from Israel about their coach behaviors. More specifically, the study focused on the preferences in the four channels of influence that were informed by existing literature and included: needs support, leadership style, coach-athlete relationship, and role modeling. A qualitative study that included focus group interviews was conducted with 24 Israeli adolescent athletic girls from varied sports. Based on the data, Israeli adolescent athletic girls had preferences that were similar to girls in the existing literature (Amorose & Anderson-Butcher, 2006; Becker et al., 2009, Hoigaard et al., 2017; Lau et al., 2020; Partridge & Knapp, 2016), but some preferences were unique and fell outside of the four channels of influence. For the needs support channel, girls in the sample reported that coaches' professional knowledge and compliments in public increased their sense of competence. The girls preferred coaches to initiate group integration tasks and manage social conflicts as means to strengthen the sense of relatedness. For the leadership style channel, the girls in this sample were somewhat lenient regarding a style that may be perceived as autocratic and preferred feedback with corrective valence. In addition, they wanted coaches to provide them personal treatment by bringing warmth and kindness to the relationship. Regarding the coach-athlete relationship channel, girls wanted their coaches to be attentive, to invest resources as means to develop them as athletes, and to convey a sense of trust in the athletes. The study also found that the channels of influence were intertwined. The overlap in one channel of influence sometimes complemented and sometimes contradicted behavior in another channel. Coaches should be aware that their influence is happening simultaneously. In addition, coaches should acknowledge that behavior in one channel may override girls' preference in another channel. Possible solution is to ask the girls about their preference and choose the behavior that best fits their needs.