Motivation and Basic Need Satisfaction in NCAA Head and Assistant Coaches

Justin Falwell*, Johannes Raabe, Ph.D, Kim Tolentino, M.S., Tucker Readdy, Ph.D 
College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Presentation Category: Science & Techonology (Oral Presentation)

Student’s Major: Sport and Exercise Psychology

The current project is aimed at exploring the antecedents, mediators, and consequences of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) coaches’ motivation through the satisfaction and frustration of their basic psychological needs. Previous research regarding basic psychological need satisfaction in a sports setting has largely ignored coaches as a population to be explored yet there is a growing belief that coaches should be looked at as performers in their own right. A population of approximately 300 NCAA coaches will be recruited to complete an online survey that will include measures to allow assessment of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration, as well as measures of perfectionism, workaholism, and general coping style. Additionally, assistant coaches will complete a questionnaire to measure the perceived influence their head coaches have on their basic psychological need satisfaction. The results from this project will help to provide coach educators and coach developers with an empirically-grounded foundation for the cultivation and maintenance of optimal psychological functioning among coaches.

Funding: Federal Work Study

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) & accompanying HONR 297-level course