How does the use of Empowerment affect the Coach-Athlete

Abstract

Despite there being many generalist statements proposed with regards to empowerment and the benefits surrounding a more athlete-centred approach to coaching, there is yet to be an in-depth examination in terms of its implementation (Jones and Standage, 2006). The purpose of this investigation was to provide a detailed account of how coaches implement and utilise the empowerment theory within their coaching. Once analysing the affects of empowerment on the athletes, the main objective was to discover whether the notion of empowerment had a significant impact on the coach-athlete relationship and to what extent. This study used qualitative methods of research in order to collect the appropriate data required. Two observations were conducted as well as a total of four semistructured interviews in order to gain a more in-depth understanding in to the application of the empowerment theory and how it affects the coach-athlete relationship. An elite university cricket club were selected to take part in the analysis process of the study of which included the head coach, captain and two other athletes. The study findings concluded that empowerment was extremely prominent within the environment and the way in which empowerment was utilised throughout the environment did have a positive impact on the coach-athlete relationship. The results revealed that the positive relationship between coach and athlete had derived from the use of empowerment. It became apparent that the way in which the coach imposed empowerment in tandem with the athlete’s personality was crucial to the type of relationship the athletes shared with the coach. Key Words: Empowerment, Coach-athlete Relationship, Qualitative, Observation