Assessing the Effect of Coach Leadership on Sports Performance of student-athletes at College Level

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of coach leadership style on the sports performance of athletes in government colleges of District Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Coaching leadership is widely recognized as a key factor that shapes athletes’ motivation, discipline, and competitive performance. In this research work quantitative research design was utilized, and total 300 respondent were surveyed for data collection, including 50 coaches and 250 athletes selected from government colleges. The coach leadership Scale for Sports was used to assess coaching leadership style, while athletes’ sports performance was measured through a structured questionnaire.  Pearson correlation and regression techniques were used for data analysis. The results indicated a strong and statistically significant positive relationship between coach leadership style and athletes’ sports performance (r = 0.693, p < 0.01). Regression analysis further confirmed that coach leadership style significantly predicted sports performance and explained 48.3% of the variance in the dependent variable (R² = 0.483, F = 93.87, p < 0.001). These findings demonstrate that effective coaching behaviors, particularly supportive, instructional, and motivational leadership practices, contribute meaningfully to enhanced athletic performance. The study concludes that coach leadership style showed a paramount role in improving athletes’ performance in collegiate sports settings. It recommends that coaching development initiatives be strengthened in government colleges to improve leadership effectiveness and athletic outcomes.

Keywords: Coach leadership, sports performance, athletes, transformational leadership.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20711291