A Novel Approach to Assessing the Quality of Coach-Athlete Relationships: Can the Coach-Athlete Relationship Be Evaluated for Motivational Support by Analysis of Published Coach Interviews?

The aim of this paper is to present a novel methodology to be used in evaluating the quality of the coach-athlete relationship in line self-determination theory and based on the motivational model of the coach-athlete relationship proposed by Mageau and Vallerand. This paper consists of a review of the extant literature surrounding self-determination theory as applied to sports, followed by a pilot study testing the proposed new methodology. The methodology utilizes existing coach interviews conducted by institution media to evaluate the language used by NCAA D1 soccer coaches in reference to their teams. The findings of the study serve to aid the development of the new methodology and provide direction for future use in answering the following question: Does the quality of the coach-athlete relationship predict team success within NCAA D1 women’s soccer?