Case Study: Why Female Athletes Quit

The findings of one study, Why Female Athletes Quit: Implications for Education conducted in 2000 by Stewart and Taylor, concluded there are numerous reasons why an athlete leaves a sport. Responses with the highest frequency were injury (26%), time conflicts (18%), and coaching issues (16%) and that sports ceased being fun (14%). The findings of the Stewart and Taylor study support the concept that females athletes leave their sport for a variety of reasons. Virtually the same reasons were given in an earlier study conducted by Weiss and Petlichkoff (1989) where conflict of interest, injury, lack of fun and a failure to improve were cited as the top reasons offered for quitting a sport. Additionally, the data reflects there is a direct correlation
between coaching styles or behavior and high school age girls deciding to not continue in their sport. When asked to name the characteristics of their least favorite coach, the respondents named, rude, mean, not encouraging, yeller, and not nice as the least desirable characteristics. Correlated with 16% of the time that a girl quit a sport for these very reasons there shows a great significance between negative coaching behaviors and girls of high school age deciding to quit a sport.
Researchers Bailey, Wellard and Dismore investigated the patterns and influences for young women and physical activities. Their study published for the World Health Organization reveals several important factors. Among the categories for a declining trend in sports and activity include: age, perceived barriers, peers, family and role models. For females there is a steady decline in activity among girls beginning around the ages 11 or 12, some have related this occurrence simultaneously with the beginning of menstruation.
Studies have also revealed that girls wish to do “other things” with their time. This barrier frequently emerges as an explanation for non-participation. Teenage girls and boys are greatly influenced by their peers, however evidence suggests that they view and use friendships in different ways. “Studies suggest that a key factor in whether girls engage in and sustain physical activities was whether they had a same-sex friend with whom to participate.” (Bailey et al, 2004) For girls, physical activity becomes less important in their lives as the pressure from their peers increases to seek other more feminine activities.
Numerous studies have highlighted the effect active parents have on childhood activity. Fathers have been identified as playing the primary role in children's participation in sports. Given this, it is fair to say that the nature and extent of physical play and participation depend greatly on the beliefs and expectations of the parents in particular that of the fathers. The primary role model for children are parents, with friends and teachers becoming more significant during school years. During adolescence, boys and girls attribute role models differently with girls naming parents and boys more likely to name public figures like sports celebrities. This difference, may be due in part to the lack of female sport role models visible to girls. (Bailey, et al. 2004)
With the same factors appearing consistently in several documented studies; coaches, administrators, and program directors have qualitative and quantitative information that can be pointed to as a source of decision making for the female athletes. We may not be able to influence some of these factors. However, some steps can be taken to lessen or eliminate these circumstances with the greatest impact occurring in the area of behavioral improvement within athletic programs.
When identifying best practices in coaching for motivating female athletes, it is important to consider the factors that motivate females to participate and the reasons they quit sports. As cited in the mentioned research, females tend to be motivated for fun, fitness, and social reasons. Respondents also cite lack of interest, lack of time, and coaching problems as reasons for dropping out of sports. Coaches need take the information provided by these studies into consideration when implementing coaching practices and motivational techniques.
A study by Kavussanu, Boardley, Jutkiewicz, Vincent, and Ring (2008) on coaching efficacy and effectiveness showed a high correlation between motivation and character building (r = .83) in regard to perceptions of coaching effectiveness.
So, it would appear that coaches who instill good morals and attitudes of good sportsmanship, fair play, and respect for others would have a positive motivational impact on young student-athletes. The study goes on to say that athletes were less likely to perceive their coach as effective in motivation and character building when there was a mismatch in sex between athlete and coach. The implications of this finding shows the importance of hiring female coaches to coach girls’ teams in relation to building effective motivation and character in female athletes.
Further, questionnaire data collected by Kavussanu et.al. (2008) revealed that on average, coaching efficacy as reported by coaches was higher than coaching effectiveness perceived by their athletes in terms of motivation. This information shows that coaches need to improve communication with their athletes, so they can become more aware their expectations. Anonymous student-athlete surveys are one way to collect information on expectations of student-athletes and which methods best motivate
them.
In another study; Martin, Rocca, Cayanus, and Weber (2009) measured the impact of the use of behavior alteration techniques (BATs) and verbal aggression by coaches on their athletes.
The results showed that positive techniques such as immediate reward from behavior (r = .22), self-esteem (r = .28), and coach feedback (r = .25) were positively related to player motivation. On the other hand, negative techniques such as punishment from behavior (r = -.17), coach (r = -.15), and others (r = -.20) along with guilt (r = -.19) had negative effects on athlete motivation. Results of the study also showed verbal aggression to be negatively related to motivation (r = -.34, p > .01). Information from the study shows that when coaches yell at their players and berate them, they become less motivated to continue participation. There were several differences in the use of BATs based on the sex of the player and coach. Females tend to respond with higher ratings than males on the use of the positive BATs, while males tend to respond higher than females on the more negative BATs. This information suggests that males and females respond very differently to motivational techniques by coaches and that coaches should use more positive BATs when trying to motivate female athletes. Using negative BATs on female athletes may lead to an increase in cessation rates, citing coaching
problems.
Internationally there are several organizations that have introduced innovative practices, associations like, “Go Girl Go!” Women's Sports Foundation in the United States and “On the Move” a Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport, have been created with the objectives to introduce inactive girls to sports and to keep those already active participating. The “Go Girl Go” program has a the aim to get 1 million inactivity girls ages 8 to 18 to participate in sports and to keep yet another million girls already participating to stay involved. After completing their research, Bailey, Welland and Dismore make the following recommendations, school physical education is the foundation for activity and needs to be continued and expanded, practices should be fun centered on social and health interactions, incorporate non-competitive and cooperative activities into programs, continue with varied opportunities and women should be included in key roles, such as coaching and mentors.