Date of Graduation

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

Committee Chair

Andrew C. Ostrow

Committee Chair

Andrew C. Ostrow

Abstract

Sport broadcasters and analysts use the term “players coach” when discussing what coach might be a good fit for a team, or whether a player would perform well for a certain coach. Implied is that a coach’s leadership style has an impact on a player’s and a team’s performance. Evidence in sport literature points to relationships between leadership and performance (Weiss & Friedrichs, 1986), as well as self- and collective-efficacy and performance (Bandura, 1986, 1997; Feltz, 1982; George, 1994; Moritz, Feltz; Wood, Bandura, & Bailey, 1990). Yet, research literature is unclear as to the relationship between players’ perceptions of coaching leadership, their preference for leadership style, and the resultant impact on efficacy beliefs. The purpose of this research is to test a proposed conceptual model of the relationship between these three constructs. Specifically, twelve high school varsity boys’ basketball teams from the Mid-Atlantic region of the US were recruited to participate in this research. At the midpoint of the season, each player (N=88) was administered a perceived and preferred leadership questionnaire (Leadership Scale for Sport-LSS; Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980) and a basketball self- and collective-efficacy questionnaire (Chase, Lirgg, & Feltz, 1996) and a perceived performance questionnaire. The individual performance model, a hypothesized path model of the interaction between leadership, efficacy and performance perceptions was analyzed. Other variables in the model included a team’s previous performance (win-loss record) and the perceived difficulty of their opponent. Resulting data indicated that the model should be separated into four separate models: individual offensive performance, individual defensive performance, offensive team performance, and defensive team performance. In each model, there was a positive association between efficacy belief and performance perception, and a negative association between previous performance and both leadership discrepancy and perceived difficulty. Furthermore, there was a negative association between leadership discrepancy, or the difference between perceived leadership and preferred leadership, and team offensive efficacy, indicating that a player’s view of his coach had a negative impact on his confidence in his team’s ability to accomplish specific offensive tasks.

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