“It Makes Me Feel Like I Am an Important Part of This Team”: An Exploratory Study of Coach Confirmation

Abstract

Coaches are recognized as important sources of athlete experiences (e.g., learning, sport satisfaction, relationships with teammates), but little attention has been devoted to how coaches foster positive self-perceptions. The current exploratory study proposes that coaches are likely sources of confirmation (i.e., feeling of recognition, endorsement, and acknowledgment). This assumption was substantiated via 12 interviews with Division I volleyball players during the 2013 season as 6 confirming acts and messages used by coaches were identified (i.e., individualized communication, personal relationships, encouragement, demands for improvement, recognition, and demonstration of investment). In addition, 4 phenomena that influence confirmation were identified (i.e., adversity, knowledge of other coaches, athletes’ roles on the team, and timing). These results extend confirmation to the sport context, provide sport communication scholars with a novel framework to understand athlete–coach communication, and illustrate that various phenomena (including starting status) can influence confirming communication between athletes and coaches.

Memorable Messages of Social Support That Former High School Athletes Received From Their Head Coaches

“…Given the connection between esteem support and receivers' confidence, it is not surprising that coaches' acknowledgment of athletes' abilities was salient in this study. This finding adds further credence to the notion that athletes have positive affective experiences when coaches acknowledge their capability for future success or their previous accomplishments (Cranmer & Brann, 2015). Additionally, these results partially coincide with the previous findings that deem messages that praise effort and relationships with teammates as memorable (Kassing & Pappas, 2007;Starcher, 2015).…”

“…Recently, scholarly attention has shifted toward examining athletecoach relational outcomes and the benefits of prosocial styles of coaching (Cranmer & Brann, 2015;Cranmer & Myers, 2015;Mazer et al, 2013). The importance of these studies is underscored by the recognition of high-quality athlete-coach relationships and athletes' affective evaluations of their sport experiences as indicators of effective coaching (Becker, 2009;Vella, Crowe, & Oades, 2011).…”

Division-I Student-Athletes’ Affective and Cognitive Responses to Receiving Confirmation From Their Head Coach

“…To date, confirmation has been explored in student–instructor, parent–child, and romantic relationships (Dailey, 2010; Dailey, McCracken, & Romo, 2011; Dailey, Richards, & Romo, 2010; Ellis, 2000; Munz & Wilson, 2014). Although unique, the interpersonal bonds that form between athletes and coaches make sport a promising context of confirmation research (Cranmer & Brann, 2015). After all, athlete–coach relationships are a type of interpersonal relationship and are defined by exchanges of affection, support, and information (Jowett, 2017)—characteristics that facilitate confirmation (Sieburg, 1985).…”

“…One such technique is coach confirmation , which references the way “coaches communicate to players in a manner that makes them feel endorsed, recognized, and acknowledged as valuable, significant individuals” (Cranmer & Brann, 2015, p. 195). Confirmation is valuable within coaching because it serves as a social resource that positively influences attitudes towards oneself, interactions with others, and engagement in a variety of activities.…”

“…These student-athletes participate in highly competitive athletics as representatives of their academic universities—sometimes in exchange for tuition and other forms of compensation (e.g., room and board; Gerdy, 1997). These student-athletes are mostly between the ages of 18 and 23 years old and might experience developmental gains from receiving confirmation, as they are still within late adolescence (Cranmer & Brann, 2015). Yet confirmation may function differently within collegiate athletics.…”