Male and Female Athletes’ Perceptions of their Coaches’ Communication

This study explores social exchange theory in relationships between college coaches and athletes.There are positive and negative aspects of athletes' perceptions of their coaches' recruitment styles, communication competence, ability to motivate, support, and leadership styles.Past studies have looked into student-athletes' perceptions of their coaches' communication and relationship with their student-athletes.This study builds on this research by exploring student-athlete alumni perceptions of their coaches.As a previous student-athlete alumna on the track and field team at Youngstown State University, I encountered a variety of experiences with multiple coaches.I interviewed seven men and seven women alumni who were members of the Youngstown State University Track and Field team.I used three demographic questions, 26 nonverbal immediacy scale-observer questions (Richmond, McCroskey, & Johnson, 2003), and five open ended questions to apply the social exchange theory to athletes' perceptions of their coaches' communication competence, motivation, support, and leadership styles.Results also indicate a difference between men's and women's perception of their coaches.Women's primary factors included support combined with trust from coaches.Men mainly looked at their individual performance, injuries, and financial aid to figure out whether they wanted to be on the team or not.This study indicates that athletes are satisfied when their coaches treat athletes like friends and treat each individual athlete with care.iv Table of Contents Introduction .....