COACHING LEADERSHIP STYLES AND ATHLETE SATISFACTIONS AMONG HOCKEY TEAM

Abstract

Successful coaching is the ability to treat athletes respectfully. Athletes have varied talents and each deserves respect for his/her uniqueness. Coaches need to vary their style with every athlete. The same training program does not suit everybody. Each athlete needs to be motivated differently. Chelladurai’s Multidimensional Model of Leadership, which applies specifically to sport, recognizes the importance of leadership style: 1) actual leader behavior 2) leader behavior preferred by athlete and 3) required leader behavior. The degree of congruence among these three components determines athlete’s satisfaction and performance. A Revised Leadership Scale for Sport (RLSS), developed by Zhang, Jensen and Mann (1997); a scale that examines style of coaching behaviors; 1) autocratic, 2) democratic, 3) positive feedback, 4) training and instruction 5) social support and 6) situational consideration behaviors is also used. The items of the Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (Chelladurai & Riemer, 1997), addresses the most aspect of athlete participation: 1) performance 2) leadership 3) the team 4) the individual. The purpose of this paper is to identify: 1) style of leadership behaviors athletes prefer from their coaches 2) factors of athlete satisfaction in team sport and 3) relationship between leadership style of the coaches and athletes satisfaction. According to Brian Mackenzie (2003), coaches motivate the athlete wish and provide them effective training and improve athlete performance. Asiah and Rosli (2008), indicated that the athlete in sport teams are satisfied with their teammates sense of fair play, sportsmanlike behavior, teamwork and shared the same goals. Based on this study, a few suggestions to the sport managers for continuing their assessment to develop university sports program are made.

KEYWORDS: leadership, coaching, university athlete, hockey team, behavior