Coaching Behavior: A Longitudinal Report

Coaches are more than just individuals who lead a sports team. Coaches exist in a variety of forms to guide and instruct when one lacks the knowledge of which direction to head into to become successful, or reach their goal on their own. The variety of styles of coaching, or leadership, that exist can have either a positive, or negative approach, but both forms can have drastically different effects on a performer. As introduced by Craig Stewart in, "Female Athletes' Rankings of Coaching Behavior: A Longitudinal Report", he explains how, “...negative climates resulted in higher player anxiety and performance-related worry which reduced athletes’ abilities to stay focused on learning, and reduced their self-confidence.” Pessimistic coaching
Without direction pertaining from any one individual, you may be asking yourself, “How is Laissez-Faire Coaching a ‘Coaching Style’ without any ‘one person’ giving direction, or structure towards an end goal?” The answer subsides in the word, Laissez-Faire, which, “...loosely translated from its French origins means, ‘let it be’” (Gill 1). Laissez-Faire Coaching has the players taking charge in the coaching process, and the coach remains more as a structural guide to help blend the opinions and perspectives of others. One may find certain disadvantages in a style with such little structure, such as, “...there are generally neither transactions nor agreements with followers. Decisions are often delayed; feedback, rewards, and involvement are absent; and there is no attempt to motivate followers or to recognize and satisfy their needs” (Gill 20). The motivation necessary to keep performers on track comes entirely from the players themselves, and if there is a time restraint towards one’s goals, then he may find a difficult time in establishing agreements among the players, and himself, with such little formatting and feedback. A Laissez-Faire coaching style can be useful in situations where, “People who are self-starters, who excel at individualized tasks, and don’t require ongoing feedback from other team members” (Gill 1). A specific example could include a team of professional soccer players. If there were a practice towards the end of the season where players knew what was expected of them, and they built up the motivation throughout the season towards a championship goal, then a coach can find it more beneficial to allow the players to bounce ideas off each other. By doing so, the coach allows players to come up with a consensus on what they may find they need to work on the most to win, based on their current capabilities.