Summary


THE EFFECT OF COACH-ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP ON PERFORMANCE OF COMBAT ATHLETES

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the coach-athlete relationship on the performance of combat athletes. The study group of the research consists of a total of 183 athletes, 98 men and 85 women, selected by convenience sampling method, one of the non-random sampling methods, among the elite athletes dealing with combat sports in Adana, Antalya, Hatay, and Mersin and provinces of Turkey. As a data collection tool, it was developed by Jowett and Ntoumanis (2004) for the coach-athlete relationship and adapted into Turkish by Altıntaş et al. (2012), the coach-athlete scale was used, and the sport performance scale developed by Bingöl and Yıldız (2021) was used to determine the performance of combat sports. To confirm the construct validity of the scales, confirmatory factor analysis was applied via SPSS Amos 20.0 program and reliability coefficients were examined. Frequency and percentage calculations were made to reveal the demographic characteristics of the athletes. In addition, correlation analysis was used to determine the direction and strength of the relationship between the variables, and hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test the effect of the coach-athlete relationship on the performance of combat athletes. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the coach-athlete relationship and the sub-dimensions of commitment (β=.244), complementarity (β=.199) and closeness (β=.184) respectively, effected the performance of combat athletes significantly and positively. In addition, according to the hierarchical regression analysis, it was observed that the sports branch and national athlete variables from the control variables had significant and positive effects on the athlete's performance. Accordingly, it can be said that the performance of combat athletes may increase as the quality of the coach-athlete relationship increases. As a result, it is revealed that the quality of the relationship between the coach and the athlete should be increased in order to ensure the performance of the athlete. Coaches should plan and develop programs in line with the expectations of the athletes. It shows that coaches, who are trainers and guides in increasing or improving athlete performance, should focus more on their relationship with their athletes.



Keywords

Coach, athlete, performance, combat sport



References