A Positive Coaching Alliance Intervention on a College Campus with Club Sport Athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the introduction of Positive Coaching 51 Alliance principles to college sport club leaders (i.e., captains, officers, & coaches) across a 52 season leads athletes to perceive the climate on their teams as more caring and task-involving 53 and less ego-involving than in the previous season. Participants were 192 sport club athletes 54 from a major Division I college, comprising of a range of classes (i.e., Freshmen, Sophomore, 55 etc.) and ethnicities. Participants were measured twice (comparing two athletic seasons, one 56 before the intervention and one afterwards) to determine athletes’ perceptions of their teams’ 57 motivational climate, their individual goal orientation, and outcome measures of enjoyment, 58 effort, commitment and adherence to PCA principles. Results indicate that athletes perceived a 59 significantly higher caring task-involving climate (CTIC) in Year 2 (post intervention) in 60 comparison to Year 1 (preintervention). Additionally, results indicated that athletes’ perceptions 61 of a CTIC in addition to their task orientation were linked to athletes reporting greater 62 enjoyment, effort, and commitment. Lastly, athletes who perceived their team motivational 63 climate as a CTIC were more likely to indicate that they and their teammates were Triple Impact 64 Competitors and also respected the rules, officials, opponents, teammates and themselves 65 (R.O.O.T.S). Implications that can be drawn from this study include the importance of setting a 66 CTIC within a club sport setting, and how PCA workshops provide a means to do so.