How do master football coaches develop team confidence?: a study of strategies and conceptualizations in the psychology of collective-efficacy

• Main Author: McCarthy, John Matthew
• Language: en_US
• Published: Boston University 2018
• Subjects: Group psychotherapy; Confidence; Achievement motivation; Football coaching
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2144/32797

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University === PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at [e-mail]. Thank you. === Bandura (1986,1997) asserts that a group's belief in its members' co-joint abilities, or its collective-efficacy, influences the degree to which that group seeks challenging goals, puts forth effort, and persists in the face of adversity. Group leaders serve important functions in the development of successful groups (Yalom, 1995). Since successful coaches are able to consistently demonstrate the ability to mold a group of individuals into a winning team, it is important to understand what methods coaches employ to develop team confidence. The purpose of this study was to understand how master football coaches develop team confidence. The participants for this interview-based, qualitative study included twenty "master" football coaches (6 professional and 14 collegiate). Criteria for inclusion were as follows: each participant had been a head football coach for at least ten years, and had a consistent record of success. Seventeen of the twenty had achieved success with three or more different teams. The findings reveal that these coaches employ a wealth of psychological strategies in different situations to enhance the development of team confidence. Their selective deployment of these strategies takes place throughout a series of developmental tasks, here described as the "Team Confidence Cycle." This includes seven key tasks: 1. Set the Course, 2. Create a Confidence Environment, 3. Promote Mastery, 4. Get Them to Perform, 5. Assess Performance, 6. Stay the Course and 7. Maintain High Performance. In the interviews the coaches revealed that team confidence was essential to their view of how teams achieve success. The constructs of team confidence and success were considered closely intertwined. Promoting mastery experiences, therefore, was primary among those strategies used by the master coaches to build team confidence. A second key strategy was that they pointed out successful experiences to their team(s). These coaches thus placed the greatest importance on "demonstrating ability" and then ensuring that improvement was noted. These findings are in accordance with Bandura (1997). Implications for coaches, especially of youth sport, are outlined in the final chapter. === 2031-01-01