A comparison of preferred coaching leadership behaviors of college athletes in individual and team sports

Abstract

Preferences for specific coaching behaviors of male and female athletes in individual and team sports were measured by the Moditication and Revision of the Leadership Scale for Sport Ss (N = 167) were selected from individual (wrestling and men's and women's track and field) and team (men's basketball, baseball, and softball) sports at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. There were differences between individual and team sport athletes and between male and female athletes' preferences for specific coaching behaviors (p <.05). Differences were found in Democratic Behavior (DB), Autocratic Behavior (AB), Positive Feedback (PF), and Social Support (SS) (p <.05). No differences were found in Simational Considerations (SC) or Training and Instruction (TI). There were differences between sports teams' preferences for specific coaching behaviors (p <.05), Post hoc comparisons of the 6 subscales tested showed there were significant differences between the preferences of specific sports teams in DB, AB, PF, SC, and SS (p <.05). No differences were found in TI. It is recommended that coaches align their coaching style to meet the needs of their team. Coaches should consider dependence and gender as factors that influence satisfaction and performance of their athletes.