Athletes’ and Coaches’ Impressions of Questionable Coaching Practices and Bullying (Emotional Abuse)

Coaches have a profound and long-lasting impact on the athletes they coach. Coaches’ behavior affects athlete anxiety, stress levels, burnout, and eventually, their mental health. This study aimed at gathering relevant information on coaches’ use of inappropriate behaviors towards athletes as reported by athletes and to make comparisons between the responses of the athletes in this study with those of coaches in a previous study. Participants were 251 college students from ten midwestern states who completed a 25-item survey that included a listing of coaching actions described as bullying. Three specific research questions guided the study: 1) has your coach ever done the identified action to you, 2) do you think this is an inappropriate coaching action, and 3) do you consider this bullying. Results indicate that athletes and coaches’ interpretation of the frequency of inappropriate actions, if the actions are considered inappropriate, and if the actions are considered bullying are markedly different. Athletes were more likely to report that the various physical, relational, and verbal actions occurred than were coaches. Keywords: coaching, bullying, athletes, inappropriate