Coach-athlete relationship: Gender differences at professional and amateur competition level

Resumen

Coach-athlete relationship is a social bond that impacts positively in the athlete’s sport performance (Lafrenière, Jowett, Vallerand, Donahue, & Lorimer, 2008; Jowett, 2007). It has been described as characterised by three elements: Closeness, Commitment, and Complementarity (Jowett & Ntoumanis, 2004). Athlete’s gender is a variable that could be hypothesized to make a difference in the way this relationship shapes, especially in the Closeness dimension, and in relation with the competition level. However, no empirical study has been conducted hitherto to examine this issue. The aim of the study was to examine gender differences in the three dimensions of coach-athlete relationship taking into account two possible level of competition (professional vs. amateur). The sample was made of 133 Spanish athletes practising a wide range of sports (48.12% women; years ranging from 16 to 59; 52 professionals and 81 amateurs). Multivariate Kruskal-Wallis tests were conducted for the three relational dimensions. Results showed an interaction effect between gender and competition level in the Closeness dimension, but no differences were found for the other two dimensions. Professional sportswomen are closer with their coaches than professional sportsmen and amateurs in general. These gender and competition level differences point out to interesting suggestions for training plans.