Coach and Athlete Burnout - West Virginia University

Burnout 6
own goals and works at its own pace. Autocratic behaviors denoted a style characterized
by a coach who isolates him or herself when decisions are to be made and stresses his or
her authority in dealing with the team. These coaches usually expect compliance with the
decisions they make.
Research regarding these two particular types of decision-making behaviors
suggests that men may prefer coaches with more of an autocratic decision-making style
while females may prefer a democratic style (Chelladurai, & Saleh, 1978). Studies have
also shown that autocratic decision-making styles may become the style of choice for
male athletes as they progress within a sport season, and throughout several seasons from
high school to college (Chelladurai & Carron, 1983; Turman, 2003). Interestingly, while
Chelladurai, Haggerty, and Baxter (1989) found athletes in general preferred more of an
autocratic style of decision-making in their coaches, they failed to demonstrate any
gender differences.
It has been indicated that discrepancies between athletes’ perceived leader
behavior and preferred behavior can contribute to dissatisfaction with the
abovementioned components of coaches’ leadership behavior (Chelladurai, 1984). While
this may be true, burnout may also be a factor to consider as a result of this discrepancy
in both coaches and athletes. In noting that athletes cite severe practice conditions as the
most important reason for their own burnout, Vealey et al. (1998) suggested the
behaviors of the coaches who conduct the training sessions may be at the root of this
problem. Although this premise guided their own research on athlete burnout, relatively
little attention has been given to the effect coaches’ leadership behaviors, particularly
decision-making styles, have on both athlete and coach burnout.