Coach confirmation—a behavior that encompasses coaches’ recognition, endorsement, and acknowledgment of athletes—has been forwarded as an effective coaching behavior that redresses ineffective and antisocial patterns of coaching. Empirical evidence of its effectiveness, however, has been limited to athlete affect and based on data from retrospective samples of former high school athletes. This study addresses these limitations by exploring the effectiveness of coaches’ use of confirmation with collegiate student-athletes and considers its influence on their satisfaction with coaches and sport, competitiveness, and cognitive learning. Data obtained from 177 Division-I student-athletes revealed that coaches’ use of challenge increases student-athletes’ satisfaction, motivation, competitiveness, and learning, whereas the use of acceptance only determines satisfaction. These findings demonstrate that confirmation is an effective coaching behavior, its dimensions function independently, and challenge best fulfills the multidimensional nature of coaching effectiveness. The implications of this data reveal that confirmation theory functions uniquely within the athletic context, and coach effectiveness is largely determined by the implementation of strategies and efforts to refine skill sets and assist in development.
BandalosD. L. (2018). Measurement theory and applications for the social sciences. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
2.
BeckerA. J. (2009). It’s not what they do, it’s how they do it: Athlete experiences of great coaching. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 4, 93–119.
3.
BrownS. P.CronW. L.SlocumJ. W. II. (1998). Effects of trait competitiveness and perceived intraorganizational competition on salesperson goal setting and performance. The Journal of Marketing, 62, 88–98.
4.
BuberM. (1957). Distance and relation. Psychiatry, 20, 97–104.
5.
BuningM. M.ThompsonM. A. (2015). Coaching behaviors and athlete motivation: Female softball athletes’ perspectives. Sport Science Review, 24, 345–370.
6.
ByrneB. (2006). Structural equation modeling with EQS (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
7.
CamiréM.FornerisT.TrudelP.BernardD. (2011). Strategies for helping coaches facilitate positive youth development through sport. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 2, 92–99.
8.
ChelladuraiP.RiemerH. A. (1998). Measurement of leadership in sport. In DudaJ. L. (Ed.), Advances in sport and exercise psychology measurement (pp. 227–253). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.
9.
ChristophelD. M. (1990). The relationships among teacher immediacy behaviors, student motivation, and learning. Communication Education, 39, 323–340.
10.
CohenJ.CohenP.WestS.AikenL. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
11.
CranmerG. A. (2017). A communicative approach to sport socialization: The functions of memorable messages during Division-I student-athletes’ socialization. International Journal of Sport Communication, 10, 233–257.
12.
CranmerG. A. (2018). An application of socialization resources theory: Collegiate student-athletes’ team socialization as a function of their social exchanges with coaches and teammates. Communication & Sport, 6, 349–367.
13.
CranmerG. A.AnzurC. K.SollittoM. (2017). Memorable messages of social support that former high school athletes received from their head coaches. Communication & Sport, 5, 604–621.
14.
CranmerG. A.BrannM. (2015). “It makes me feel like I am an important part of this team”: An exploratory study of coach confirmation. International Journal of Sport Communication, 8, 193–211.
15.
CranmerG. A.BrannM.AnzurC. K. (2016). Putting coach confirmation theory into practice: How to confirm youth and high school athletes and coach more effectively. Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators, 29, 25–29.
16.
CranmerG. A.BrannM.WeberK. D. (2017). Quantifying coach confirmation: The development and preliminary validation of the coach confirmation instrument. Communication & Sport, 5, 751–769.
17.
CranmerG. A.BrannM.WeberK. D. (2018). “Challenge me!”: Using confirmation theory to understand coach confirmation as an effective coaching behavior. Communication & Sport, 6, 239–259.
18.
CranmerG. A.GoodboyA. K. (2015). Power play: Coach power use and athletes’ communicative evaluations and responses. Western Journal of Communication, 79, 614–633.
19.
CranmerG. A.MyersS. A. (2015). Sports teams as organizations: A leader-member exchange perspective of player communication with coaches and teammates. Communication & Sport, 3, 100–118.
20.
CranmerG. A.MyersS. A. (2017). Exploring Division-I student-athletes’ memorable messages from their anticipatory socialization. Communication Quarterly, 65, 125–143.
21.
CranmerG. A.SollittoM. (2015). Sport support: Received social support as a predictor of athlete satisfaction. Communication Research Reports, 32, 253–264.
22.
CushionC. (2010). Coach behavior. In LyleJ.CushionC. (Eds.), Sports coaching: Professionalization and practice (pp. 43–62). Edinburgh, Scotland: Churchill Livingstone.
23.
DaileyR. M. (2006). Confirmation in parent-adolescent relationships and adolescent openness: Toward extending confirmation theory. Communication Monographs, 73, 434–458.
24.
DaileyR. M. (2010). Testing components of confirmation: How acceptance and challenge from mothers, fathers, and siblings are related to adolescent self-concept. Communication Monographs, 77, 592–617.
25.
DaileyR. M.CrookB.GlowackiE.PrengerE.WinslowA. A. (2016). Meeting weight management goals: The role of partner confirmation. Health Communication, 31, 1482–1494.
26.
DaileyR. M.McCrackenA. A.RomoL. K. (2011). Confirmation and weight management: Predicting effective levels of acceptance and challenge in weight management messages. Communication Monographs, 78, 185–211.
27.
DaileyR. M.RichardsA. A.RomoL. K. (2010). Communication with significant others about weight management: The role of confirmation in weight management attitudes and behaviors. Communication Research, 37, 644–673.
28.
DaileyR. M.RomoL. K.ThompsonC. M. (2011). Confirmation in couples’ communication about weight management: An analysis of how both partners contribute to individuals’ health behaviors and conversational outcomes. Human Communication Research, 37, 553–582.
29.
DaileyR. M.ThompsonC. M.RomoL. K. (2014). Mother-teen communication about weight management. Health Communication, 29, 384–397.
30.
EllisK. (2000). Perceived teacher confirmation. Human Communication Research, 26, 264–291.
31.
EndersC. (2010). Applied missing data analysis. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
32.
FangX.MowenJ. C. (2009). Examining the trait and functional motive antecedents of four gambling activities: Slot machines, skilled card games, sports betting, and promotional games. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 26, 121–131.
33.
FletcherT. D.MajorD. A.DavisD. D. (2008). The interactive relationship of competitive climate and trait competitiveness with workplace attitudes, stress, and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29, 899–922.
34.
FrisbyB. N.MartinM. M. (2010). Instructor–student and student–student rapport in the classroom. Communication Education, 59, 146–164.
35.
GagnonR. J.StoneG. A.GarstB. A. (2017). Beyond composite scores and Cronbach’s alpha: Advancing methodological rigor in recreation research. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 9, 383–402.
36.
GerdyJ. R. (1997). The successful college athletic program: The new standard. Westport, CT: Oryx Press.
37.
GoodboyA. K.MartinM. M.BolkanS. (2009). The development and validation of the student communication satisfaction scale. Communication Education, 58, 372–396.
38.
GuttmannA. (1978). From ritual to record: The nature of modern sports. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
39.
HornT. S. (Ed.). (2002). Coaching effectiveness in the sport domain. In Advances in sport psychology (2nd ed., pp. 309–354). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
40.
JowettS. (2017). Coaching effectiveness: The coach–athlete relationship at its heart. Current Opinion in Psychology, 16, 154–158.
41.
KaratepeO. M.UludagO.MenevisI.HadzimehmedagicL.BaddarL. (2006). The effects of selected individual characteristics on frontline employee performance and job satisfaction. Tourism Management, 27, 547–560.
42.
KassingJ. W.InfanteD. A. (1999). Aggressive communication in the coach-athlete relationship. Communication Research Reports, 16, 110–120.
43.
KingP.WittP. (2009). Teacher immediacy, confidence testing, and the measurement of cognitive learning. Communication Education, 58, 110–123.
44.
KlineR. B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
45.
LittleR. J. A. (1988). A test of missing completely at random for multivariate data with missing values. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 83, 1198–1202.
46.
MartinM. M.RoccaK. A.CayanusJ. L.WeberK. (2009). Relationship between coaches’ use of behavior alteration techniques and verbal aggression on athletes’ motivation and affect. Journal of Sport Behavior, 32, 227–241.
47.
MazerJ. P.BarnesK.GreviousA.BogerC. (2013). Coach verbal aggression: A case study examining effects on athlete motivation and perceptions of coach credibility. International Journal of Sport Communication, 6, 203–213.
48.
MonetaG. B.CsikszentmihalyiM. (1996). The effect of perceived challenges and skills on the quality of subjective experience. Journal of Personality, 64, 275–310.
49.
MowenJ. C. (2004). Exploring the trait of competitiveness and its consumer behavior consequences. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 14, 52–63.
50.
MunzE. A.WilsonS. R. (2014). Caregiver confirmation and children’s attachment security during the transition to kindergarten. Communication Research, 44, 668–690.
51.
NelsonL.ColquhounD. (2013). Athlete (non)learning: Is it time for an interdisciplinary understanding? In PotracP.GilbertW.DenisonJ. (Eds.), Routledge handbook of sports coaching (pp. 284–295). London, England: Routledge.
52.
RoccaK. A.MartinM. M.ToaleM. C. (1998). Players’ perceptions of their coaches’ immediacy, assertiveness, and responsiveness. Communication Research Reports, 15, 445–450.
53.
RyckmanR. M.HammerM.KaczorL. M.GoldJ. A. (1990). Construction of a hypercompetitive attitude scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 55, 630–639.
54.
SchmidtS. (2009). Shall we really do it again? The powerful concept of replication is neglected in the social sciences. Review of General Psychology, 13, 90–100.
55.
SieburgE. (1985). Confirming and disconfirming response in families. In Family communication: An integrated systems approach (pp. 189–219). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
56.
TurmanP. D. (2003). Coaches and cohesion: The impact of coaching techniques on team cohesion in the small group sport setting. Journal of Sport Behavior, 26, 86–104.
57.
TurmanP. D. (2006). Athletes’ perception of coach power use and the association between playing status and sport satisfaction. Communication Research Reports, 23, 273–282.
58.
TurmanP. D. (2008). Coaches’ immediacy behaviors as predictors of athletes’ perceptions of satisfaction and team cohesion. Western Journal of Communication, 72, 162–179.
59.
TurmanP. D.SchrodtP. (2004). New avenues for instructional communication research: Relationships among coaches’ leadership behaviors and athletes’ affective learning. Communication Research Reports, 21, 130–143.
60.
VallerandR. J.FortierM. S. (1998). Measures of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in sport and physical activity: A review and critique. In DudaJ. L. (Ed.), Advances in sport and exercise psychology measurement (pp. 81–104). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.
61.
VellaS.OadesL.CroweT. (2011). The role of coach in facilitating positive youth development: Moving from theory to practice. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 22, 33–48.
62.
WeissP. (1969). Sport: A philosophic inquiry. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
63.
WennerL. A. (2015). Communication and sport, where art thou? Epistemological reflections on the moment and field(s) of play. Communication & Sport, 3, 247–260.
