Coach and Athlete Relationship

Coach and Athlete Relationship
The 20th century sports have made coaching a critical profession. The coach is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring individual’s or team’s success in any sport. In athletics, the coach influences both the sense of personal fulfillment and performance of an athlete (Jowett and Cockeril, 2002). In team sports, a coach plays the key role of influencing team cohesion and culture. During the coaching process, many interpersonal relationships are formed. This essay is more interested in coach-athlete relationship. The relationship formed between the coach and athlete during the process of coaching is vital in determining the performance (Jowett and Cockeril, 2002). Coach-athlete relationship forms the foundation of coaching and is entrenched in the complexity and dynamism of the coaching process (Jowett and Cockeril, 2002). This essay therefore seeks to provide an insight into coach-athlete relationship.
The coach-athlete relationship is characterized by high level of interdependency. This is manifested in the athlete’s and coach’s cognition, affect and behaviors and in the athlete’s desire for skill and knowledge from the coach, the coach’s desire to impart knowledge, expertise and experience to the athlete, and for both the coach and athlete to translate this into positive outcomes like performance success (Antonini, Philippe and Seiler, 2006). Athlete-coach relationship is fundamental in the coaching process because its nature not only determines the performance accomplishments of an athlete, but also athlete’s satisfaction and self-esteem (Jowett and Meek, 2000).
The nature of coach-athlete relationship can have a profound impact on the efficiency of their training sessions. Consequently, this may directly or indirectly influence such important factors as motivation, enjoyment, satisfaction and performance (Jowett and Poczwardowski, 2007). Besides, the nature of interaction between the coach and an athlete can determine...