As our beloved football, boys tennis, and girls soccer teams embark on this fall sports season, it is important for teams to reflect on what has been bringing them successes and failures throughout these past couple months. What has gone well, and what could be improved?
While countless factors go into players’ performances, it is crucial to address the commonalities in a team setting in order to determine what the true strengths and weaknesses are within the players.
Arguably, coaches are the cornerstone of every sports team. Without the valuable guidance of a coach, even the best players can struggle to outperform their opponents. However, to what extent is this true? What influence does a coach hold over his or her players?
Research has shown that the answer to this question is: a great deal. Coaches face immense pressure to win games and succeed, and their responses to this pressure can sway the way they approach their team. Varying coaching styles can have vastly different impacts on the receiving players, influencing player motivation, attitude, and love for the sport.
While there are many coaching styles, researchers commonly reference two specific types of coaching: authoritarian and dictatorial. Authoritarian coaching is characterized by a top-down approach, where players have little autonomy over team decisions and strategies. Dictatorial coaching emphasizes collaboration between coach and team in decision-making. Studies have demonstrated that an authoritarian style of coaching is useful in raw skill development and is highly effective in high-pressure environments—however, it may come at the detriment of novice players’ confidence and attitude towards their sport. On the other hand, dictatorial coaching fosters trust and accountability, but is more effective in increasing performance among individual sports, such as singles tennis.
Let’s hear what our athletes have to say about this:
Callum Lyons, a first year varsity football player, described his coach’s coaching style as dictatorial. “When you play for a coach you really enjoy, you’re going to want to play and give 100% for that coach and your team,” Lyons explained. “[Practice] is a way for them to relieve stress and school and just for them to be themselves and I think the coach does a big job in that part.” Lyons said that because his coach fosters such a positive, supportive environment, it’s a large part of why he loves football. This is a key feature of a dictatorial coaching style – being open to collaboration and prioritizing team bonding, atmosphere and kinship between players. The football team, with their weekly team dinners and pre-game rituals, is a perfect example of such sentiment.
A two year varsity cheerleader, Faith Hwang characterized her coach’s style as authoritarian – however, she expounded that the harsh qualities of the team dynamic actually allow her to improve. “Our cheer coaches are usually very strict but for me, that’s what usually makes me do better, like I need stress and I need pressure,” Hwang shared. However, she also shared another lense of the team, and how differing coaching styles affect varying types of teammates. “I think [strict coaching] is really hard on the freshmen, because it’s their first year on the team.” She explained that they can sometimes be “scared,” because of the intensity of the team and coaches as a whole.
Senior Carter Milliren agreed with Hwang. As a four year varsity athlete on Track and Field, Milliren described his coach’s style as dictatorial, but also found disparities in the way younger team members would assess coaching style and opposed to more seasoned members of the team. “I think that the track and field coach does a really great job at performance with the high performing athletes – but in terms of the lower performing athletes, it’s pretty easy to do your own thing and not have accountability.” He shared. He clarified that that “isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” but it can be “easy not to try.”
All students interviewed, however, came to the consensus that the atmosphere a coach creates on a team can directly impact whether an athlete will feel driven to participate and attend practice. “Because [Coach] is nice and considerate, practice can be a safer space,” claimed varsity volleyball athlete Delya Lewis. Milliren shared such opinions, concurring that an athlete’s performance can change if they aren’t excited to go to practice. “If you’re not putting in the effort, showing up on time, being happy – you can tell,” he admitted.
As our fall sports teams continue to do their best on the field, and our winter sports players begin to prepare for the upcoming season, it is critical for players and coaches to recognize the importance of communication and respect among one another. Differing coaching styles work not only for different teams and their goals, but for different athletes within a group. It is crucial that, as our teams are reaching higher levels of play like State and league championships, that we recognize above all else – every one of our teams will benefit from reflection and transparency regarding which leadership dynamic is most effective and nurturing.
