COACH-ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP, TRUST AND CONFIDENCE AMONG TEAM SPORT ATHLETES

Abstract

The coach-athlete relationship (CAR) is essential for athlete growth in sports performance. The process of leading and influencing athletes’ confidence involves the participation of coaches. The direction, guidance, and planning of team sports training helped develop trust between coaches and athletes. Therefore, it is the coach's duty to see that the relationship that has been built helps the athlete feel mentally confident and eager for their best performance. Trust and confidence were examined in this study to better understand the connections between coaches and athletes (the three C's). The most recent online study was conducted with voluntarily participating university athletes who had experience playing high-performance sports. A total of 152 athletes from  five team sports, male (n=77) and female (n = 75) from Netball (n = 18), Football (n = 20), Futsal (n = 38), Frisbee (n = 38), and Volleyball (n = 38) completed questionnaire pack assessing the study variables. The Coach-Athlete Relationship 3C’s (CART-Q), Trust, and Confidence were used as the instrument questionnaire for this study. The findings showed substantial correlations between the trust and CAR variables. Significant relationships exist between trust and confidence as well as between confidence and commitment. The t-test analysis revealed that genders excluded for "complementarity" had significantly different perceptions of CAR. Trust and Confidence did not differ significantly between genders. In conclusion, CAR is critical for maximizing competent coaches' ability to energize athletes and foster a sense of confidence and trust.