Determinants of coach motivation and autonomy supportive coaching behaviours

Objective: The objective of the present study is to build upon the existing literature examining the coaching context and how it relates to coaches' use of autonomy-supportive interpersonal behaviours (i.e. Stebbings, Taylor, Spray, & Ntoumanis, 2012) by identifying additional environmental factors and exploring the role of coach motivation. Design: An academic model designed by Pelletier, Seguin-Levesque, and Legault (2002) to predict teacher motivation and autonomy-supportive styles in academic settings, was adapted to the coaching context. Methods: The influence of pressure from above (sport administrations) and pressure from below (athlete motivation) on coach motivation and autonomy-supportive coaching behaviours was tested using structural equation modeling. Results: Results support the fit of the model in a sport context. Conclusions: Pressure from above, pressure from below, and coach motivation predict coaches' reported use of autonomy-supportive behaviours. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.