Coaching for Character: Development of the Sportsmanship Coaching Behaviors Scale (SCBS)

Extensive knowledge exists about how coaches influence youth sport participants' motivational outcomes, yet less is known about specific coaching behaviors that promote sportspersonship outcomes (Horn, 2008; Weiss, Smith, & Stuntz, 2008). The purpose of the present study was to create a measure of coaching behaviors that captures the ways in which coaches influence athletes' sportspersonship. A series of steps was initiated to develop the measure: (a) completing an extensive literature review, (b) conducting focus groups, (c) enlisting an expert panel, and (d) conducting a pilot study. These steps resulted in a 40-item measure, the Sportsmanship Coaching Behaviors Scale (SCBS), reflecting eight coaching behaviors: (a) Sets Expectations for Good Sportsmanship, (b) Reinforces Good Sportsmanship, (c) Punishes Poor Sportsmanship, (d) Discusses Good Sportsmanship, (e) Teaches Good Sportsmanship, (f) Models Good Sportsmanship, (g) Models Poor Sportsmanship, and (h) Prioritizes Winning Over Good Sportsmanship. Results extend previous research by identifying the specific mechanisms by which coaches promote sportspersonship and by providing initial validity and reliability for a measure that can be used in future investigations of coaches' influence on athletes' sportspersonship.