True-Sport-Report

Studies of Coach Effectiveness Training,
which focuses on positive coaching, show
that there are real advantages to the children
involved. These studies have found
that children who start their season with
low self-esteem and have a trained coach
show greater self-esteem at the end of the
season than children who are not coached
by a trained individual. 88,142 Moreover,
athletes who played for an untrained
coach had an attrition rate of 26 percent
compared to 5 percent for children coached
by trained individuals. Children coached
by trained individuals also reported lower
anxiety levels. Gould et al. 143 found that
children’s dislike of their coach is a significant
reason for discontinuing sport.
Research by Diane Wiese-Bjornstal
suggests that the thoughts, feelings, and
actions of girls in the area of sport and
physical activity largely depend on the
influences of coaches, gym teachers, and
exercise leaders. 55 Although girls seek
social rewards through sport, they are
more likely than boys to rely on adult
leaders (coaches, teachers, parents) to
create their positive experiences, and,
more than boys, they want to develop
warm interpersonal relationships with
their coaches. Thus, in general, a stinging
criticism from a coach is likely to have
more meaning to a girl than to a boy.
A critical role for coaches is team
building—that is, making all the moving
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