A United Front: Coach and Teammate Motivational Climate and Team Cohesion among Adolescent Female Athletes

Abstract

This study examined the association of coach and peer motivational climates with team cohesion among female, adolescent volleyball players. Participants (N = 235) included 14- to 18-year-old players (M = 16.3 yrs., SD = .97) from Junior Olympic club teams in the midwestern U.S. Athletes completed self-report measures in the middle of the season: Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire-2 (Newton, Duda, & Yin, 2000), the Peer Motivational Climate in Youth Sport Scale (Ntoumanis & Vazou, 2005), and the Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire (Eys, Loughead, Bray, & Carron, 2009). Canonical correlation analysis revealed all coach and peer task-involving climate subscales were positively related to task and social cohesion. Coach punishment for mistakes and peer intra-team conflict (ego-involving subscales) were negatively related to task and social cohesion. These findings provide support for theories of motivation and suggest practical implications for how coaches can maximize team cohesion through shaping the motivational climate.