The Coaching Effect

I grew up playing sports. I started played soccer for American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) until I was about 10, swam competitively through high school, and played softball since I was eight. Out of those three sports, I loved softball the most, which lead me to play collegiate softball at Allegheny. Nonetheless, I have found myself, both during travel ball and at college, questioning whether or not I should continue playing. Second guessing my decision to play was often derived from my coaches and how they treated the team or me as an individual. Coaches can effect a player's mentality, both on and off the field, and skew their perspective on a sport's enjoyment. A negative or hostile attitude from a coach can change the sport you loved as a kid into something you dread. Although the rate for females involved in sports has increased significantly over the past half century, young girls involved in sports with mentally and/or physically abusive coaches have chosen to discontinue their athletic careers. Coaches with aggressive and abusive behaviors negatively impact female athletes' decision to continue playing sports. This suggests that without encouragement, motivation in training, female athletes will develop both social-emotional and leadership problems both in and out of sports.

Since Title IX was passed in 1975, female participation in sports has increased, leading to higher self-esteem, academic success, and healthier lives of young girls (Stewart & Taylor, 2000). Additionally, young girls and women who participate in sports exhibit enhanced motivation, improved mood states, and decreased levels of depression and anxiety (Stewart & Taylor, 2000). Nonetheless, females continue to face obstacles even when successful in their support. For example, coaches of female sports are often ignorant or unaware of the gender barrier that reduces female participation in sports. Furthermore, negative coaching behaviors can cause female athletes to discontinue sports and decrease their desire to play sports at a higher level. Coaches who use verbal aggression in hopes to motivate their players, have a negative effect and causes them to mentally shut down. Coaches have a large impact on the mental and physical health of female athletes, especially during their high school years where sports are competitive both in school and on club teams. The graph below shows the percentage of women currently playing in NCAA sports, across all three divisions, that also played for a club organization. Today, club teams have the focus of showcasing athletes at various competitions and get them recruited into a top college or university. This puts the athlete under a great amount of pressure, especially when having to balance academics and other high school commitments. When a coach is negative and aggressive toward players, the sport starts to feel like a job, causing the athlete, in some cases, to quit and release some of the pressure.

NCAA GOALs data - the percent of women currently competing in the NCAA who played on a club team during high school. Image Source.

Intercollegiate sports is a competitive platform that requires a support system for individual athletes. College coaches have an impact on their athlete's mental and physical health, regardless of the player's gender. According to the NCAA GOALs Study (Growth, Opportunities, Aspirations, Learning of Students in college), 39% of the collegiate athletes surveyed believe they can trust their head coach. This is a significantly low number, considering that collegiate athletes should be able to depends on coaches for both athletic and personal problems. College coaches build a team of athletes based on talent and personality, yet view their players' personal struggles as weaknesses, or liabilities of success. A recent ACHA (American College Health Association) assessment found that 41% of collegiate athletes had felt depression to the extreme that it was difficult to function, and 52% had felt overwhelming anxiety. Below is a CIRP Freshmen Survey (2014) showing the percentage of students entering college that feel "more overwhelmed than ever." When viewing the data, we are able to see that almost 50% of females entering college feel overwhelmed. This emphasizes the need for advisors, counselors, and mentors to help guide freshmen through the difficult transition. Coaches can be great confidants, however, when a coach is more focused on the success of a team rather than the wellbeing of their players, athletes find them to be unapproachable and unsupportive.

NCAA GOALs data - students, both non-athletes and athletes, entering college who feel more overwhelmed than ever. Image Source.

Coaches from little league up until high school have an impact on all young athletes, regardless of gender, and their future continuation of athletics. Although athletes respond to criticism and coaching styles differently, coaches should be treating players with the respect they would want to receive as players themselves. Aggressive and mentally abusive coaching styles lowers players' self-esteem and causes athletes to terminate their athletic careers prematurely.