A considerable amount of literature has connected goal orientation to behavior in sport (Duda, Olson, & Templin, 1991; Dunn & Dunn, 1999). Findings suggest that those with higher ego orientation are more likely to engage in aggressive acts while those with high task orientation are more likely to engage in prosocial behavior. However, much of this research is focused on athlete behavior. Because, the social environment is also thought to directly impact athlete behavior (Shields et al., 2007), research on coaches and their goal orientation is critical. The purpose of this study was to examine goal orientations of high school sport coaches and the influence of their goal orientation and perceptions of sportspersonship on professional coaching behaviors.
Method: High school sports coaches were recruited through an online survey. Coaches completed the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (Duda & Nicholls, 1990), the Multidimensional Sportspersonship Orientation Scale (modified to reflect the coach perspective; Vallerand, et al., 1997), and the Professional Issues in Sport Coaching Questionnaire (Thompson & Dieffenbach, 2014).
Analysis/Results: Stepwise multiple regressions were used to determine the variables (gender, sport, years coaching, attitude toward sportspersonship, goal orientation, etc.) that would predict coaches’ professional behavior in each of the eight coaching scenarios of the Professional Issues in Coaching Questionnaire.
Conclusions: Conclusions will be discussed related to how coach characteristics influence professional coaching behaviors. Special attention will be paid to how coach education programs can shape goal orientation and attitudes toward sportsmanship.