International Journal of Sport Psychology

needs of the swimmers. More research is necessary to better understand the
coach’s role in providing (and the athletes’ interpretations of) emotional support.
Coaches also challenged the girls’ thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors in
ways that were initially deemed unhelpful but, following some cogitation,
were appraised as positive supportive tactics. This ‘tough love’ approach,
which included the coaches’ sarcastic, harsh, or even nonverbal feedback, is
consistent with both a task and emotional challenge social support dimension
(Rees et al., 2007; Richman, Rosenfeld, & Hardy, 1993). There is debate
in the literature about whether challenging forms of support can be interpreted
as positive, and thus operationalized as support (Rees et al., 2007).
The current qualitative findings suggest challenging elite athletes’ skills and
motives may be appraised initially as negative; yet these strategies were effective
because they created an environment that let the swimmers realize their
own athletic strengths and limitations. As such, the current study enabled a
qualitative look at the ways in which coaches interacted with their elite-level
athletes, and the complex process that the athletes used to interpret coaching
behaviors. Nonetheless, these approaches may not be perceived as positive
or supportive by less competitive athletes or those at younger developmental
stages than the girls in the current study. Given the importance of athlete perceptions
and interpretations of coaching behaviors (Horn, 2002), the finding
of rumination that takes place following coach support tactics is not well
researched and highlights the importance of understanding mechanisms
involved in fostering motivation in elite sport.
The coach-athlete relationship has been defined using terms such as
inequality, power, and control (Burke, 2001; Tomlinson, 1997). This relationship
has also been defined as a utility interaction based on the coach and
athlete getting what they want and need (Drewe, 2002). Also, coach-athlete
interactions have been described as a caring and nurturing experience that is
much like that of a parent-child relationship (Neale & Tutko, 1975). The current
findings speak to a combination of these perspectives – one that supports
Jowett’s (2005) work defining this relationship as providing athletic
excellence and personal growth using a range of social support functions.
Taken together, elite athletes should be encouraged to harness the social support
that they need from coaches.
Teammates predominantly provided network support by being part of a
group who had similar sport lifestyles, goals, and struggles. While few studies
have focused on network support, it was clearly a specific social support
function that was important to the elite athletes in our study, although there
were limits to this support. The participants reported feeling a lack of net-
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