Understanding social networks and social support resources with sports coaches

Abstract

Objectives:Research on social support with sports coaches is limited, yetthe benefits of social support withinother occupationshave been widely reported. This study explored male and female sports coaches’ social network structures, the social support resources available to coaches, and the situations in which coaches use social support. Design:Cross-sectional. Method:Data were collected with male (n=6) and female (n=7) British coaches (Mage=34.20, 30SD=13.37; Mexperience=13.20, SD=10.41) using semi-structured interviews and interviewee-aided sociograms.Interview data and sociograms were analyzed using abductive thematic analysis and social network analysisto create ego-network diagrams. The ego-network diagrams were created toprovide information on the locality and influence of coaches’ social network members. Results:The ego-network diagrams highlight that the structure of coaches’ social networks encompassessupport from peers, friends, family, and miscellaneous (e.g., media). The diagrams also demonstrate that support from friends tended to be perceived as most influential. The coaches called on their network for appraisal (e.g., affirmation), emotional (e.g., venting), informational (e.g., training), and or instrumental support (e.g., cooking dinner )for a variety of situations,such as training (e.g., drill ideas) and issues with athletes (e.g., venting about a misbehaving player). Conclusion:Given the pertinenc eof coaches’ social networks and resources for performance and psychological well-being, coach education programs should include a focus onthe importance of building relationships. Longitudinal research methods are warranted to, for example, explore the dynamic functions of coaches’ social support. This will develop a more comprehensive base from which interventions can be developed.