Coaching Efficacy Beliefs

Effective coaches teach their athletes new skills and tactics and prepare them to perform at their highest potential. Some would argue, depending upon the age or developmental level of the athlete, coaches are also responsible for the athlete's enjoyment, motivation to play, character development, and advancement of a strong work ethic. Achievement in all of these areas is asking a lot of the coach. Those coaches who believe they can affect the learning and performance of their athletes are thought to have coaching efficacy (Feltz et al. 1999). Coaches with high coaching efficacy tend to be more effective in providing tactical skills, motivational skills, contingent feedback techniques, and show more commitment to coaching (Feltz et al . 2008). In turn, their athletes and teams tend to be more satisfied, efficacious, motivated, and perform better. Therefore, coaching efficacy beliefs and the outcomes associated with these beliefs are important to understanding effective coaching behavior. This chapter provides an overview of the coaching efficacy research, suggestions for future areas of inquiry, and practical ideas for coaching practice.