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Study Purpose & Sample Description
Davis, Appleby, Wetherell, and Gustafsson (2018) examined the relationship between
coach and athlete exhaustion. The study would look at the athlete's physiological and cognitive
consequences to determine the athlete’s exhaustion. This research aimed to determine how the
dynamic between an instructor and their athlete affected the psychological exhaustion of
the athletes. The research examines 82 athletes representing four sports and seven distinct
teams. Subsequent to completing physical performance evaluations, saliva samples, and
questionnaires, 55 males and 27 females participated in the study. The research offers a
substantial quantity of data for the study, which was subjected to analysis and utilized, as stated
in the article, to generalize findings.
Research Method & Results
A variety of athlete characteristics were assessed in a quasi-experimental study that was
utilized to analyze the data. The study sample comprised 82 athletes, aged between 18 and 31
years, with a mean age of 19.87 years. A total of 55 males comprised 67.1% of the group, while
27 females constituted 32.9%. Each participant represented one of the following four collegiate
athletics disciplines: rugby union, rugby league, volleyball, or netball. Every athlete would
participate in routine practices with their coach and colleagues, devoting approximately nine
hours per week to training.
Athletes filled out a demographic questionnaire that inquired about the following: age,
gender, number of hours per week trained, level of sport competition, years played with the
current team, and years of competitive experience. In order to conduct data analysis on the
coach-athlete relationship, the athlete responded to an additional questionnaire comprising
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eleven items: intimacy was addressed four times, commitment was addressed three times, and
complementarity was addressed four times. On a scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7
(strongly agree), each item was evaluated.
A performance evaluation of the athlete was conducted utilizing a 5-meter multiple
shuttle test. Within thirty seconds, the distance traversed by the participant was determined. This
would be accomplished six times, with a thirty-five-second break between each attempt. The
cognitive performance of the athletes was assessed using an Apple iPad Stroop task. Each athlete
was required to respond accurately to ten stimuli questions in a row. In order to examine tension,
participants would provide saliva samples. Finally, the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire was
utilized to assess the athlete's level of exhaustion. Five items were utilized to collect information
regarding physical and emotional exhaustion. Each item had a scale ranging from 1 (Almost
never) to 5 (Almost always).
The investigation revealed numerous findings due to the extensive number of categories.
It demonstrated that the athlete was moderately exhausted, which is consistent with findings
from other studies. The athletes rated the standard of the coach-athlete relationship as high to
moderate. The saliva test revealed a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test.
After undergoing the shuttle and Stroop test, cortisol levels were considerably elevated compared
to the baseline. A negative correlation was observed between the character of the coach-athlete
relationship and both the saliva test and the Stroop test. Athlete exhaustion was an additional
negative correlation of the relationship.
Hypothesis
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Accepted, but with limitations, was the author's hypothesis to "explore potential
associations between the quality of the coach–athlete relationship, cognitive and physical
performance, and athlete exhaustion." A relationship was observed to exist between the coach-
athlete dynamic and cognitive performance. Additionally, a correlation was observed between
the athlete's level of apprehension and the caliber of the coach-athlete dynamic. Lastly, there was
also the relationship between athlete exhaustion and the coach-athlete relationship. The
researcher was unable to gather data regarding casual relationships among the participants due to
the quasi-experimental design. Additionally, it is plausible that the performance evaluation did
not center on the coach-athlete dynamic, but rather on the athlete's tangible athletic
achievements.
Original Insight/Criticism & Implications
As a former collegiate athlete, I find this research to be quite intriguing. From my
personal experience in collegiate athletics, I immediately recognized a correlation between the
coach-athlete dynamic and all of their desired outcomes. I consider this to be a highly beneficial
subject for instructors to reflect upon and self-evaluate. This research should be conducted at
major Division I universities in the United States, where I believe you would discover
significantly more data to support your hypothesis. It is my belief that the dynamic between
coaches and athletes in the United States differs significantly from that which exists between
coaches and athletes in other countries. I also believe that American coaches have a significantly
greater impact on athlete exhaustion. I would also like to see an alternative method for testing
and collecting data on the effect of coaches on the mental and physical exhaustion of athletes.
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References
Davis, L., Appleby R., Davis P., Wetherell M., & Gustafsson H. (2018). The role of coach-athlete
relationship quality in team sport athletes’ psychophysiological exhaustion: implications
for physical and cognitive performance. Journal of Sports Sciences, 36(17). 1985-1992.
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