CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
AN INFORMATIVE WEBSITE ON SOCIAL SUPPORT
PROVIDED BY COACHES TO INJUURED ATHLETES
A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the degree of Master of Science
in Kinesiology
By
Niloufar Jabbari Kohnehsari
December 2014
i
The graduate project of Niloufar Jabbari Kohnehsari is approved:
________________________________
_______________
Dr. Nick Galli
Date
________________________________
_______________
Dr. Belinda Stillwell
Date
________________________________
_______________
Dr. Ashley Samson, Chair
Date
California State University, Northridge
ii
Dedication
This graduate project is dedicated to my loving parents, supportive siblings, in-laws, and
cousins who have kept me motivated.
iii
Table of contents
Signature page
ii
Dedication
iii
Abstract
v
Chapter 1: Introduction
1
Chapter 2: Literature Review
3
Chapter 3: Methods
13
Chapter 4: Results
15
Chapter 5: Discussion
21
Conclusion
30
References
31
Appendix A
34
Appendix B
35
iv
ABSTRACT
AN INFORMATIVE WEBSITE ON SOCIAL SUPPORT
PROVIDED BY COACHES TO INJURED AHTLETES
By
Niloufar Jabbari Kohnehsari
Master of Science in kinesiology
This study examined the perception of coaches on an informative website on
social support strategies that can be provided to injured athletes. Thirty coaches of high
school, college and professional level sports (10 females, 20 males) completed an open
ended opinion survey about the website (ucoachinjury.com). They rated satisfaction,
usefulness, and effectiveness of the website based on their previous experience providing
support to injured athletes. Results indicated that websites such as this are a definite need
in the world of athletics and coaching; however, more applicable strategies are needed for
the coaches at the professional level. Although the videos were very helpful as to getting
the message across they needed major improvement as far as their quality is concerned.
Knowledge was gained in different topics that were introduced. Multiple suggestions
were made on various ways of improvement of the website and future of the study.
v
Chapter 1
Introduction
Each year, 20.3 million American athletes report sport related injuries (Anymous,
2003). Approximately 53% of athletes become injured during the course of their athletic
career (Maffuli, 2005). Regardless of the level at which an athlete competes or the
duration of an athlete’s career, the impact of an injury is often emotionally devastating
and disruptive to his or her life (Rees, 2010). Depending on the stage of proficiency and
severity of the injury, athletes experience various emotional states such as, confusion,
anxiety, irritability, and loneliness (Leddy et al., 1994). These feelings cause athletes to
feel isolated from the team, which often leads to depression (Judge, 2012). In such
stressful situations, social support can be used to help deal with such adversity.
Social support is one of the most important factors in injury recovery (Gould &
Grace, 1993; Richman, & Rosenfeld, 1991; Udry, 1997). Social support is defined as “An
exchange of resources between two individuals perceived by the provider or the recipient
to be intended to enhance the well-being of the recipient” (Shumaker & Brownell, 1984).
Thus the outcome of providing social support solely depends on the recipient’s perceived
support. Social support may be provided from many different sources including parents,
friends, teammates and athletic trainers; however, the support that is most influential
comes from those who work closest with the athlete (Corbillon, 2008). Considering that
coaches and athletic trainers work closely with athletes on a daily basis, they make the
best candidates for providing the necessary support that is so helpful for recovery. Their
support may have the most influence on an athletes’ recovery due to their understanding
of the effort the athlete puts into rehabilitation.
1
Athletes specifically seek social support from their coaches while injured because
they feel that a coach best understands what they are experiencing (Rees, 2010).
However, research conducted on injured athletes’ perception and preference of social
support, shows that athletes’ needs are often not met by coaches (Robbins, 2001; Udry,
1997). Due to the presence of athletic trainers and medical staff, coaches may be more
likely to avoid dealing with injured athletes as they feel it is no longer their responsibility
(Robbins, 2001). Since coaches are distant from the rehabilitation process, they may not
have any knowledge of the type of support that they can provide to their athletes. Perhaps
a lack of knowledge regarding how to provide social support is the root of the problem.
An educational website is proposed to provide coaches with information about athletes’
perceptions of and needs for social support. This information will educate coaches and
allow them to provide optimal social support to injured athletes.
2
Chapter 2
Literature review
Injuries are a familiar part of the world of sports and the life of an athlete. The
injury recovery process can be frustrating and difficult to deal with (Rees, 2010). In
order to overcome such adversity athletes may rely on outside sources for help. In one
study, 35 collegiate athletes completed the social support survey and the results
confirmed the positive impact that support, provided by coaches, has on injured athletes.
Overall, coaches’ support was perceived as influential to well-being during rehabilitation
and pre-injury. All of the athletes who served as respondents in this study mentioned that
more support from the coaches would be appreciated. A similar study with 224
Taiwanese student-athletes indicated strengthening injured athletes' social support during
rehabilitation is beneficial to rehabilitation behavior and subjective well-being. Multiple
studies have shown that injured athletes who utilize social support during rehabilitation
not only cope more efficiently and effectively but also benefit in their general sense of
well-being (Lu, 2013; Robins & Rosenfeld, 2001).
Types of social support
To better understand the effectiveness of social support it is important to examine
and describe the different aspects of this concept. There are eight different types of social
support that have been distinguished by Richman, Rosenfeld, and Hardy (1993).
Listening support is described as listening without being judgmental. For example, in a
sports setting, an example would be a coach that listens to the athlete express their
emotional experiences that were caused by a certain situation. Emotional support is
termed as caring and comforting while emotional challenge support provides a challenge
3
to help the recipient evaluate his/her attitudes, values, and feelings. A coach may provide
emotional support by setting time aside to show his/her concern for athletes’ problems
and offering advice on how to overcome those obstacles. Reality confirmation support is
another type of support that confirms similar situations that the recipient is experiencing.
This is when a coach informs the athlete that he or she has been in a similar situation in
the past or gives examples of other athletes who overcame the same or worse injuries.
Task appreciation support is acknowledgment and appreciation of the recipient's effort.
Task challenge support allows the provider to challenge the thought process of the
recipient to motivate and increase participation and involvement. For example, task
appreciation support is when a coach lets the athlete know how his/her effort in the
rehabilitation has allowed his/her to be on track to return to competition. Tangible
support is when a coach provides financial assistance or gifts to their athletes. Personal
assistance support provides services to complete daily errands. For example, if the injured
athlete is on crutches the coach offers assistance with transportation in order to decrease
the physical and emotional stress of the athlete.
It is important to note that each of these types of support may be beneficial at
different stages of recovery to an injured athlete. In order to increase the effectiveness of
the support, one may consider timing, type, and the source of support that is provided
(Udry, 2001). The type of social support desired may change throughout the duration of
injury recovery (Yang, 2010). For example, a study done by Yang indicated that
emotional support was required more frequently in the beginning of injury compared to
when the athlete returned to competition. Corbillon (2008) evaluated the social support
that the Canadian intercollegiate athletes received while recovering from an athletic
4
injury using the social support survey. Their results indicated that the most available
support was listening support from coaches and teammates. The athletes expressed that
they were satisfied with the amount of listening and task challenge support they received
from their coaches. They were least satisfied with emotional support and reality
confirmation support. Based on these results, it can be concluded that certain types of
support are expected of specific support providers. Multiple studies agree that most
athletes seek task challenge support from their coaches throughout their injury recovery
(Bone and Fry, 2008; Corbillon, 2008).
Factors Related to Social Support Satisfaction
There are a number of factors that affect how much support is desired. Aspects
like gender, race, level of competition, severity of injury, player status, and the timing of
the injury can influence the desired support. For example, in an experiment by Corbillon
(2008) the results indicated that non-starters, those with more experience, and those who
have had more injuries, received less social support when recovering from an injury.
Starters, those with less experience and less sustained injuries receive more social support
(Corbillon, 2008). Athletes who have acquired multiple injuries throughout the season are
less likely to be taken seriously or receive social support. Non-starter athletes are often
victims of lack of support from their coaches; this is especially true when they get
injured. There may be a relationship between a non-starter’s lack of contribution to the
team and a coaches’ lack of support to a non-starting injured athlete (Robbins &
Rosenfeld, 2001). However, the athlete on the bench might feel isolated because his/her
contributions to the team are now completely non-existent. The athlete who is a starter
5
may have trouble dealing with their injury emotionally because they want to avoid
feeling guilty for not contributing to the team (Corbillon, 2008).
Gender influences social support preferences as well. According to Harris’ (2011)
in comparison to male athletes, female athletes require more emotional support from their
coaches during recovery than male athletes. After injury, women are more willing to seek
help from various individuals. They feel comfortable with specific support providers.
Other possible reasons for such a difference may be due to female athletes needing varied
types of support at different stages of recovery (Foster, 2010). Regardless of gender,
injured athletes have access to many different sources of social support that they can rely
on during their recovery.
Social Support from Coaches
Social Support Satisfaction
Throughout the process of recovery, athletes have many providers of social
support, including trainers, coaches, teammates, medical practitioners, friends and family
(Petitpas, 1999). Each of these providers may play a different role in an athlete’s recovery
and provide various types of support (Heil, 1993; Petitpas, 1999). For example, an athlete
may feel more comfortable receiving task challenge support from coaches and athletic
trainers in comparison to friends and family.
Robbins and Rosenfeld investigated athletes' perception of social support from
their head coach, assistant coach, and athletic trainer (2001). Thirty-five injured studentathletes from different sports responded to a modified form of the Social Support Survey.
According to the athletes, athletic trainers provide more social support than assistant
coaches and head coaches; however, social support was expected and appreciated more
6
from coaches rather than athletic trainers (Robbins, 2001). When social support is
provided by a coach to an injured athlete, an emotional connection is built. Emotional
closeness can act as an extrinsic motivator for the athlete; therefore, the athlete will
present extra effort to reciprocate the feeling for the caring coach. Coaches’ emotional
support not only strengthens the coach-athlete relationship but it also encourages the
athlete to work harder in returning and playing for the coach (Clover, 2010). In a study
conducted by Rees (2010) it was determined that task appreciation and task challenge
support were the most commonly desired support from coaches.
Upon injury, athletes tend to expect more support from coaches due to the role
they play in the athletes’ lives (Bianco, 2001). A coach can have a tremendous influence
on the physical and psychological development of an athlete. Due to the amount of time a
coach spends with their athletes there is a high level of understanding of the different
emotions the athletes experience while injured (Rees, 2010; Robbins, 2001). Part of the
role of a coach is being able to instill hope and motivation that helps their athletes move
forward through the rehabilitation process. A study conducted by Zomermaand (2010)
examined coaches’ views on their relationship with their athletes and their roles in
motivation. Interviews with six coaches who were identified by their peers to be “quality
coaches” revealed they play a significant role in providing encouragement and building
personal relationships with the athletes. Most importantly, they helped the athletes focus
on improvement throughout the season. These results were similar to Vanderbush’s
(2006) findings of the importance of coach-athlete relationship. They found that taking
the time to show compassion to the athlete will gain the athlete’s respect and loyalty
towards the coach. It is understood that a coach may also be a counselor or a mentor. A
7
coach-athlete relationship is just like any other relationship; it requires interpersonal
feelings of trust, respect, appreciation, and commitment.
According to the results of a study by Bianco (2001) when coaches are willing to
interact with injured athletes through listening and providing reality confirmations,
athletes have a higher rate of recovery. This shows the impact that coaches have on
injured athletes by providing emotional support. Therefore, athletes not only look up to
their coaches as role models and teachers on the court, but approach them for guidance
and support at times of adversity. During these difficult times athletes expect coaches to
care for them like their own parents or friends would.
Understanding both coach’s and athlete’s perception of social support can help
identify the expectation disconnect and create possible solutions to the problem. A study
by Gould, Udry, Bridges and Beck (1997) with the U.S. Ski team showed that 67% of the
injured athletes perceived their coaches did not provide them with any kind of social
support. In a similar study student-athletes participated in focus groups to discuss their
relationships with their coaches. Athletes were least happy in their relationships with
their coaches. They felt the coaches were insensitive towards their injuries (Donohue,
2007). These studies suggest that there is often a lack of social support perceived by
athletes from coaches. This is a concern because research shows that most athletes turn to
their coaches and athletic trainers after they sustain an injury (Robbins, 2001). The lack
of social support perceived from coaches will only add to the athlete’s frustration when
dealing with their injury. Providing social support will help enhance the athlete’s sense of
control over the injury and reduce the complexity of the situation in which they are
placed (Judge, 2012). Coaches should attempt to acknowledge and understand the
8
emotions an athlete may experience during the injury and assist him or her through each
stage of recovery (Hatamleh, 2009; Judge, 2012).
Various studies show that athletes’ view their coaches’ social support as
inappropriate and insufficient during their recovery (Robbins & Rosenfeld, 2001; Udry et
al., 1997; Bianco, 2001). Some stated that their coaches had a negative influence on their
recovery because they were distant and insensitive to their injury. In other studies athletes
felt their coaches did not believe in their abilities (Crossman, 1996; Udry et al., 1997;
Robbins & Rosenfeld, 2001). An example of demonstrating insensitivity towards the
athletes’ injury is, “Why are you injured again?” These types of comments may
contribute to the guilt and frustration of the injured athlete. Coaches’ reaction to athletes’
injuries can affect their self-esteem, values, commitments, and belief system (Danish,
1986). If a coach responds to an athlete’s injury with sarcasm or frustration, it may
negatively impact the athletes’ self-esteem. These responses can slow the rehabilitation
process and the ability to return to full competition. However, responding with patience
and instilling confidence in the athletes’ abilities will increase their motivation to return.
In particular, teammates and coaches can play an important role in the facilitation
of and adherence to the rehabilitation process (Bianco; Schelley & Henschen, 1995;
Vergeer & Hogg, 1999). During rehabilitation, it is important for athletes to remain part
of the team. However, this link can often be severed. Injured athletes may feel isolated
and cut-off from their teammates and team activities (Gould et al., 1997; Udry, et al.,
1997). Part of the duties of a coach is to develop strategies to help athletes deal with their
emotions and overcome their challenges. Gould et al. (1997) found that 66.6% of the
skiers interviewed described feelings of intense isolation following their injury. Even
9
though injured athletes may feel isolated from their teams, they perceive that social
support provided by their teammates is different than delivered by their coaches. The lack
of attention and support from teammates is often more acceptable. Bianco (2001) found
that injured skiers knew their teammates primarily focused on themselves and did not
expect them to keep in contact. However, when teammates did keep in contact, it was
very helpful. This result confirms that athletes expect support from their coaches and
when they sense a lack of support, their frustration increases and their motivation for
recovery decreases.
Ford and Gordan (1999) studied athletes with injuries that required surgery and
found that the participants who were included with their team after their surgery were
happier (Ford & Gordan, 1999). This information helps coaches design programs for
injured athletes to remain involved with the team throughout their rehabilitation. Coaches
are able to provide support by instilling hope in their injured athletes. In order to enhance
athletes’ psychological well-being, educational programs and workshops that focus on
remaining motivated should be included in injured athletes’ rehabilitation regimens
(Gould & Udry, 1997; Robbins, 2001). Providing hope to injured athletes can be helpful
with their progress in the process of recovery. By providing social support and creating a
sense of personal connection, coaches can help reduce stress and improve athletes’
overall satisfaction.
Studies have shown the lack of social support perceived by injured athletes from
coaches; however, only few have focused on the coaches’ perspective on social support
provided to injured athletes (Robbins, 2001). Coaches often try to maintain an emotional
distance between themselves and their athletes to avoid privileging them (Rosenfeld,
10
2008). Coaches also feel that due to the presence of other health care professionals, it is
not their primary responsibility to deal with injured athletes. It is crucial to understand
coaches’ perceived role in the recovery process in order to close the gap between the
support provided and the support the athlete needs for recovery.
The Role of Websites in Improving Social Support
Understanding the importance of social support provided by coaches to injured
athletes is not enough to make a difference in the future of athletic injuries. Research
without awareness is not of use to any particular field or person. Websites have been
known to efficiently distribute information that is dedicated to one topic (Walther, 2012).
There is a need for a website dedicated to coaches in order to inform them on the
psychology of injury recovery. The most important aspect is presenting the various roles
coaches can play in influencing the athlete’s rehabilitation. Websites are a good source to
utilize because it is free for all and accessible to anyone that has Internet access
(Wakefield, 2011).
A website can contain a hyperlink to any other website allowing access to recent
research articles related to the topic of social support in injury recovery. A website is also
used as a network where coaches are able to communicate with one another to discuss
their opinion and share knowledge. Establishing a website to educate coaches on how to
provide social support to injured athletes is an effective way of providing information to
coaches worldwide. Links that are included on websites will enable a single site to serve
as a gateway to unlimited information on any chosen injury (Wakefield, 2011). Websites
also allow access to news and media which can be effective in communicating
information to a large number of people (Walther, 2012). Aside from containing
11
invaluable information and sharing experiences worldwide, a website can serve as a
social support in of itself. The purpose of this project was to establish an informative
website for coaches to have access to knowledge on various social support strategies for
injured athletes. A secondary purpose was to gather coaches’ opinion on the usefulness
of the website.
12
Chapter 3
Methods
Participants
The study sample consisted of male and female coaches in individual and team
sports. Of the 31 coaches who participated in the surveys, one was excluded from the
analysis due to submitting an empty survey. The participants had at least one year of
experience coaching in high school, college or professional levels. Coaches were at least
18 years old and fluent in English. A total of 30 high school, college, and professional
level coaches from nine different sports were included in the analysis. Of these,
approximately two-thirds were males (n=20, 66.7%) and one-third were females (n=10,
33.3%). The average age of participants was about 36 (M=36.7, SD=14.4). The
participants of this study were diverse in race; Caucasians (33%), African Americans
(27%), Asian or Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and other were (10%) each.
The mean ratings for coaches’ years of experience were (M=12.3, SD=11.5) and coaches
had an average of 12 years of experience. Football coaches comprised the largest number
of participants (23.3%), followed by basketball (20%), and Track and field (13.4%). Of
the 30 coaches, 14 were head coaches and 16 were assistant coaches. In addition, high
school coaches were the highest number of participants (50%), college or university
coaches (37%) and the least number of participants were the professional level coaches
(13%). In summary, the participants were a diverse group of coaches from various levels
of competition and sport categories.
Procedures
13
The website was designed on weebly.com. It consists of seven informative pages
which can be accessed by anyone who has Internet. The pages are as follows: Home,
Role of a Coach, Social Support (Strategies & Research Articles), Survey and
Biography/Contact. The first page introduces the concept behind this website through a
video. The second page is the role of coaches in an athlete’s life. The third page defines
different types of social support and demonstrates the application of different types of
social support strategies through videos. The fourth page includes written examples of
social support strategies that coaches may apply to their athletes’ lives. The fifth page
includes recent research articles that are related to coaching injured athletes and social
support. The sixth page includes an optional opinion survey for the purpose of this study.
Finally, the last page displays the author’s biography and contact information.
The opinion survey page includes three sections: a consent form, demographic
questionnaire, as well as an open-ended opinion questionnaire. The consent informs the
participants of their rights of partaking in the study and what the study will be used for.
The demographics section includes 11 questions which provide information about the
participants such as age, gender, and years of experience. The third section includes
seven open-ended opinion questions in regards to coaches’ thoughts on the website. For
example, the information learned and their critique of the website. A sample of each form
is included in the appendix. The preliminary coaches’ recruitment was initiated through
personal contact and URL’s were sent out through electronic mail or text messages. The
survey took about 15 minutes to complete.
14
Chapter 4
Results
Descriptive Statistical Analysis in Frequencies
The results of our descriptive statistics which calculated the frequencies of
characteristics of participating coaches were completed through Statistical Package for
the Social Sciences (SPSS).
Content Analysis
Analyses of the open-ended questions based on coaches’ perspectives on the
website revealed that coaches typically considered themselves as social support
providers. A website such as this reinforced their beliefs that supporting their injured
athletes is important. Almost all the coaches found the website to be beneficial to them
and their careers. Most coaches mentioned that they learned from the website and are
going to implement their gained knowledge in their everyday practice. Table one
describes the type of questions that were asked from the participating coaches and the
answers to those questions were categorized based on the most popular concepts that
were expressed by the respondents.
Social support
The first question was “How would you define social support?” The majority of
the respondents defined social support as providing help for the athlete mentally,
physically, emotionally and psychologically. Being there for the athlete both on and off
the field was the most popular response. One coach said, “Providing information and
experiences for athletes to help improve their quality of life both in and out of the sport.”
15
Coaches emphasized the need for good communication with their athletes. They wanted
to understand their athletes’ needs so they could provide the best support possible for
their specific situation. Social support could be summarized as providing a comfortable
and judgment free environment.
Satisfaction with the Website
As a pilot study on the effectiveness of an informative website, it was important
to include questions that help gauge coaches’ likes and dislikes. Many expressed their
appreciation of the chosen topic. An example comment is, “I have been in the sports field
both as an athlete and as a professional coach for over 20 years and I have yet to see this
issue addressed and this can be a revolutionary idea in the sports world.” The topic
seemed to have intrigued many of these coaches. Many mentioned that it was good to see
studies done on the influence coaches have in an athlete’s life. One of the most popular
responses was in regards to the coach’s satisfaction with the strategies that were
suggested. A high school coach specifically stated, “I liked the examples of different
types of support and the way they were modeled by the coaches in the demonstration
videos.” When asked if this website changed their perspective on providing social
support to their injured athletes, only three participants said that it did. The majority
stated that it did not change their perspective because they were already providing their
injured athletes support; however, the website reinforced their opinion of the importance
of social support coming from the coaching staff.
The majority of coaches were not satisfied with the quality of the videos;
specifically, the acting and sound. Most wanted more examples and videos; however,
they also wanted a faster video upload. There was a complaint that the information on the
16
website was not applicable to coaches at the professional level. There were few
comments regarding the layout of the website. Some thought it was visually pleasing and
user friendly. Others disagreed and mentioned that the website felt disorganized and the
basic graphics did not grab their attention.
Effectiveness of the Website
To evaluate the effectiveness of the website coaches were asked, “What were
some things you learned from this website?” Majority of the coaches mentioned learning
various strategies when dealing with injured athletes. Some example of their responses
include, “Providing alternative physical activities to keep athlete feeling involved” or “I
learned that during recovery you can do many task challenge activities.” Coaches
expressed their lack of awareness on the influence they had on their athlete’s mental and
emotional well-being by solely providing social support. One coach stated, “I didn’t
know athletes cared so much about me being involved in their personal lives. Now I
know to get to a more personal level with my athletes.” Some of the coaches were happy
to familiarize themselves with the terminology and definitions of terms in order to better
understand and support their athletes.
One of the main objectives of choosing this project was to observe if the provided
information would be implemented based on the strategies learned. Majority of the
respondents reported that they would implement all of the strategies on the website.
Many specified that they would ensure the involvement of their injured athlete through
alternative activities and communication. There were two coaches that did not think they
would be implementing their findings. One of them mentioned that he would not change
his strategies since most of his athletes get released once they are injured. He also
17
mentioned that it is too hard to follow-up with the athlete. In this instance, it may be the
case that this coach does not think he is responsible for providing support to his injured
athletes. The other participant was an NFL coach whose response was as follows, “There
is not enough time, we do not deal with the injured athletes, the sports medicine team is
responsible for them, and in fact most mediocre players once injured get released at pro
level football.”
Improvements and addition of different strategies
It is important to acquire the effective techniques of support coaches currently
utilize in their daily lives. This is the reason that coaches were asked, “What other
information or features need to be added to this website in order to make it more
helpful?” A woman’s high school basketball coach stated that she provides financial
support. She assists her injured athletes with obtaining scholarships while injured, which
helps decrease their stress and improve their recovery rate. Another coach stated that his
contribution extends beyond the specific sport. He wrote, “I help my athletes understand
they are not defined by what they do and their purpose in life is not just to race.”
However, many coaches suggest involving the whole team. They emphasized the need to
delegate the responsibilities of providing social support for an injured athlete between
members of the team. For example, head coaches encouraged teammates and position
coaches to call, text, visit and follow-up with the injured athlete. Coaches mentioned
having close communication with athletic trainers and sport psychologists to sustain a
network of close-knit support for the injured athlete. Majority of coaches stated, “The
website did a great job of explaining multiple strategies and giving various examples for
18
viewers to understand.” This was their reasoning for not having any additional strategies
to share.
Coaches were asked what information or features needed to be added to this
website in order to make it more helpful for them. Some of the responses were related to
including information on severity of injury and the most beneficial support that coaches
could provide. “A coach should know the level of activity that he is providing the injured
athlete, such as the task challenge support that is appropriate for the post surgical ACL
tear.” The site needs to incorporate information for coaches supporting athletes with nonphysical adversities such as death, family, and school challenges. Useful strategies should
be included for professional level coaches. The current strategies listed on the website are
basic and not as applicable to professionals. It was suggested that interviews with coaches
and injured athletes will add a realistic and relatable dimension to the website; which, in
turn, will attract more attention to this important topic.
In order to develop a more interactive website a forum should be created to allow
the exchange of information between different social support providers. This would be an
opportunity for coaches and athletes to post their comments, concerns or questions about
various injuries, and receive feedback. Coaches could share their preferences and their
techniques based on their personal experiences. Including video discussions would also
add to the interactive component of the website and help increase clarity of content. As
for the layout of the website, it was suggested that the home page should include a
written summary in addition to the introductory video. This would accommodate
individuals who would prefer to read the content instead of uploading a video. The
younger coaches suggested selecting more visually pleasing graphics and improving the
19
accessibility of website on various smart phones. It was mentioned that including
information that pertains to sport psychologists, counselors and athletic trainers would
also be beneficial to coaches.
20
Chapter 5
Discussion
In this project an informative website was created for coaches to utilize different
support strategies to help injured athletes. No authors have previously assessed the
change in coaches’ behavior after providing them with a source of information focused
on enhancing their social support knowledge. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to
evaluate the effectiveness of an informative website geared towards coaches.
Findings were similar to previous research in that athletes’ perceived social
support received differs from coaches’ perception of support provided. According to
(Corbillon, 2008) athletes with more years of experience in their sport were significantly
less satisfied with their coaches. Our findings confirm that their access to the sport
medicine team is a reason for this discrepancy. Although most coaches believe that they
provide support to their athletes, a few professional football coaches state that their time
is limited. Coaches at the professional level feel less responsibility to provide support.
Corbillon’s finding demonstrates that experienced athletes want and expect more from
their support providers in helping them asses their attitudes, values, feelings, thoughts
and motivations in times of injury. It is likely that more experience equates to more
injury. Therefore, more social support is expected from an experienced injured athlete,
but sadly, less is provided by coaches at higher levels of competition.
As suggested in other studies (Robbins 2001), in order to provide task
appreciation and task challenge support, coaches can question the athlete’s progress and
provide alternative activities to make the athlete feel involved. In this study, it was
21
obvious that most coaches agreed with this concept and used these support strategies
towards their injured athletes. Coaches agreed that if athletes are ready and willing, they
may be assigned stationary position drills and various activities that would prevent
exacerbating their injuries. By involving athletes, even in minor ways, they feel more
appreciated and noticed. This helps them feel less isolated from the team or frustrated
with their situation. Coaches testify that directly observing the rehabilitation process by
visiting the athlete once or twice a week; instead of indirectly monitoring their progress
through the athletic trainers tend to have closer relationships with their athletes. A pat on
the back, a concerned remark, or a visit to the athletic training department from a coach
may be all an injured athlete needs to ensure a positive recovery experience. Coaches
mentioned that strategies that provide clear goals and protocols to pursue a successful
recovery help enhance injured athlete’s hope pathways and, hope agency and in turn,
enhance their adherence (Lu, 2013). On this website many strategies were included that
would support athletes through involvement and communication. The website has a lot of
information for coaches to take advantage of so that lack of knowledge is not a reason for
them not provide support. According to the participating coaches, browsing this site
taught them something new. They also mentioned that they would like to see more
strategies that they could relate to and learn from in order to apply it to their career. This
shows that the website fulfilled a need of informing coaches on the topic of social
support.
Lessons learned
If this project were continued there are many areas that need improvement. First,
the quality of the website can be enhanced. Easy navigation is important for convenient
22
use of the website. In addition, the website can be more visually pleasing. Accessing the
website through smart phones is one of the fastest and more convenient ways that people
choose to browse the Internet in today’s society. It must be that the website is fully
functional and pleasing to the eyes even through a smart phone.
Taking into account that this was a student project, some improvements may
benefit its overall quality. For example, adding better quality pictures and graphics may
attract more attention to the website. Coaches would have a better experience navigating
the website and absorbing the information. One of the major areas that need improvement
are the videos. According to the coaches, the quantity and quality of the videos needs to
be increased. The quality of the videos could be improved with access to better camera,
lighting and sound equipment. Unfortunately, there was no budget to access professionals
in industries of videography, directing, acting, lighting, and camera. As it was noticed,
some videos were not visually pleasing due to the sound. For example, in some locations
such as the gymnasium, it was very hard to capture the sound of the actors without an
echo, the background noise of other machines in use. The lighting could have been much
better in the close-up scenes to get a better feel for the scenario that was being
introduced. Problems also existed with our recording devices. Three different cameras
were used to get the best quality of the voices and lighting; unfortunately, they were not
professional cameras; the voices were not loud or clear enough to understand. Due to the
imperfections of the videos, a video editor was used to enhance the quality. Even with the
help of an experienced editor, the back ground noise and the voices of main character
were still unclear. She attempted to attach the retakes to other scenes. Using the three
different cameras became problematic when we realized her editing program was not
23
compatible with one of the cameras that we recorded with. We were forced to re-shoot
one of the scenes. We also had to have a computer tech help us with the speed of the
video uploads on to the website. However, according to the surveys, there is still need to
improve the speed of uploading videos and make it more accessible both through the web
and various cell phones.
One of the major issues was the acting. Most actors were family and friends who
did not have much experience in front of the camera. Due to the lack of experience,
multiple retakes were inevitable, because the actors were not only forgetting their lines,
but they were also camera shy. There was no compensation for the acting roles, which
made it harder to keep the actors motivated and capture the perfect scenario. The positive
aspect of utilizing these volunteers was that most were previous athletes themselves,
which allowed them to emotionally connect to the characters they were playing. The few
individuals who did not have an athletic background had difficulty understanding the
characters’ state of mind.
More improvement could be made throughout the website layout as well. It was
suggested the page on coaches’ role was suggested to be removed due to its lack of
helpfulness. It was also recommended to include more information for coaches at the
professional level sports. One of the major recommendations was to make the website
interactive. For example, to include video discussions, comments section, or a forum that
would allow coaches to exchange thoughts and ideas of what works and what does not.
This way coaches would have access to the theories behind the social support and
strategies that other coaches are actively using throughout the nation. Since majority of
24
the coaches asked for more strategic examples, this could allow us to see what has
worked and constantly create more strategic videos for coaches to take advantage of.
Creating a section where coaches can access information on severity of injury in
correlation with appropriate support provided at different stages of rehabilitation could be
beneficial. This is to prevent further injuries and to decrease recovery time by taking into
consideration the severity of the injury. Providing the appropriate tasks results in a faster
recovery. This section should combine the knowledge from athletic trainers and sport
medicine physicians regarding the different injuries and stages of rehabilitation. It should
include recommendations for the best exercises to enhance their recovery and exercises
that should be avoided entirely.
It is also important to include a section informing coaches on how to deal with
other adversities. Perhaps utilize the knowledge of sports psychologist and, counselors to
provide another dimension of information for the coaches to help support their athletes.
Physical injuries are not the only adversities that affect the athletes’ performance. There
are concerns such as, mental injuries which require athletes to receive appropriate care, in
order to recover completely. Awareness of all types of injuries and tools that allow
maximal support for the athletes is important for coaches.
Going into this project I did not realize the amount of work, knowledge and
experience needed to create a website. When I was asked to include videos and create an
interactive website, I was inexperienced as to what making videos actually entailed.
There were many details that I did not prepare for, however, I learned along the way. Just
to name a few details that I over-looked: directing, wardrobe, location, sound, lights,
25
cameras, equipment failure, and editing. Also, finding volunteers to act was not as easy as
I expected. We were working with non-actors which made it challenging to communicate
our vision and expectations. Encouraging the actors to say their lines correctly and hold
the appropriate facial expressions was time consuming. It was an interesting experience
to manage each individual’s responsibilities and keep them on task. It taught me how to
appropriately interact with various personality types in different settings. Maintaining a
focused work environment, while re-shooting scenes, was exhausting.
One of the major learning opportunities in this project was working with the
editor. She had to be meticulous about every minute detail of the videos. She made sure
lighting, sound, music and the acting scenes were appropriately played out in each clip.
Through the process of directing I learned a significant amount of information about
videos that I was not previously aware of. Putting all the pieces together and compiling
the information in a coherent manner as a website was very exhilarating. Following the
project from an idea to its finished product was very rewarding.
Using weebly.com was not as straight forward as I anticipated. They provided the
template, however, it was not as simple as inputting the information. I learned, just like
the video editor, the person who builds websites must be very detail oriented. Starting
from the different fonts, sizes and colors, to picture selection, video uploads and coding.
At first I had to learn how to code for the survey page and link it to another page outside
of my website. After the pilot launching of the survey, various problems arose and I was
forced to change the survey settings entirely. Coding was an unexpected challenge that I
overcame beautifully. It is a completely different language, which is not solely for
computer savvy individuals. I learned the basics from a volunteer coding professional and
26
a computer programmer. I am grateful to this project for providing me with the
opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and inspire me to create a successful website.
We also attempted to attract more participants by including an opportunity to win
a 60-minute full body massage in exchange for completing our survey. However, our
survey was designed to be anonymous which did not allow us to have access to
participants contact information. As a result, we were not able to select a prize winner.
The challenges and obstacles I faced were not solely technical. One of the lessons
I learned through this project was the importance of attracting participants towards the
study. Near the end of data collection, I was lacking participants to take the time to fully
complete the survey. The reality was that individuals who promised to fill out the survey
never followed through. I learned that we cannot entirely depend on personal connections
for acquiring participants for a study. Initially, through working with many athletes over
the years and networking with coaches, I was promised full cooperation with my survey.
However, towards the end of my project, I was disappointed to find only a few networks
participated. After several notifications via e-mails, text messages, and phone calls, I
realized that I cannot force people to participate, especially when there is no
compensation. As a solution, I started to reach outside of my personal connections to
complete the data collection in a timely manner.
It was interesting to note that coaches at high school and college levels were more
cooperative in comparison to coaches in the professional level. Finding coaches’ e-mail
addresses was a full-time job in itself. Convincing them to participate was an entirely
different challenge. Another problem that I faced were the incomplete surveys. Some
27
coaches would answer one or two of the open-ended questions and leave the rest blank
while others would pick and choose the questions they wanted to answer. Having the
opinion surveys allowed coaches to express themselves. The hardest lesson for me to
learn was to be open to criticism and potentially utilize the honest feedback to improve
the website.
Limitations
The study has several limitations. Conclusions drawn from the results of this
investigation are limited by the relatively small sample size and the collection of the data
in multiple sports. More studies on coaches might have yielded additional information on
the impact of social support during various stages of recovery. Overall the most important
limitation of this study is the inability to account for possible individual differences and
realizing the degree of support provided is subjective. Some coaches, for example, may
think they are providing more social support than what they are actually providing.
Future research directions
Future studies could assess whether coaches’ perceptions of the social support
during athlete’s rehabilitation matches the athlete’s perception of the support they
receive. Future research in this area should evaluate coach’s and athlete’s journey
through the rehabilitation process in variety of settings such as, high schools, colleges
and professional level sports. The lack of participants in each category of sports is a
limitation when drawing conclusions. In addition, comparison among different divisions
and age groups of athletes may provide insight in the affect competition level has on the
process of social support. Other studies could focus on interventions that are designed to
28
explain the psychosocial effects of injures to coaches. Research in the area of social
support and athletic injury has the potential for helping coaches, athletic trainers, sport
psychologists and athletes, decrease the negative effects of injury and promote a positive
experience for everyone involved (Robbins, 2001). Even with the stated limitations, this
investigation supplies evidence that future research in this area can be beneficial.
29
Conclusion
The findings identify the potential benefits of developing an educational resource
for coaches that work with injured athletes. It strongly suggests that coaches have a
critical role in meeting the psychosocial needs of an athlete. Coaches need to obtain
knowledge and the necessary strategies to provide positive psychological support to their
athletes during rehabilitation. Specific training is required to better equip coaches with
the knowledge and skills for providing services beyond the prevention and care of
athletic injuries (Foster, 2010). Therefore, there is definitely a need for websites such as
this to help inform coaches of what they can do to be helpful in the world of sports and
improve the quality of athlete’s lives during recovery.
30
References
Anymous, B. (2003). Injury rates in sports. Journal of Physical Education,
Recreation & Dance, 74(9), 9.
Baker, K. (2001). Promoting your physical education program. Journal of Physical
Education, Recreation and Dance, 72(2), 37.
Clover, J., & Wall, J. (2010). Return-to-play criteria following sports injury. Clinics
in Sports Medicine, 29(1), 169-175.
Corbillon, F., Crossman, J., & Jamieson, J. (2008). Injured athletes' perceptions of the
social support provided by their coaches and teammates during rehabilitation.
Journal of Sport Behavior, 31(2), 93-107.
Donohue, B., Miller, A., Crammer, L., Cross, C., & Covassin, T. (2007). A
standardized method of assessing sport specific problems in the relationships of
athletes with their coaches, teammates, family, and peers. Journal of Sport
Behavior, 30(4), 375-397.
Evans, L., & Hardy, L. (2002). Injury rehabilitation: A qualitative follow-up study.
Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 73(3), 320-329.
Foster, D., Heiden, E., Lowe, J. (2010). Social support patterns of collegiate athletes
before and after injury. Journal of Athletic Training, 45(4), 372-383.
Gould, D., Udry, E., Bridges, D., &Beck, L. (1997). Coping with season-ending
injuries. Sport Psychologist, 11(1), 379-399.
Granito, V. (2002). Psychological response to athletic injury: Gender differences.
Journal of Sport Behavior, 25(3), 243-259.
Gutkind, S. (2004). Using solution-focused brief counseling to provide injury support.
Sport Psychologist, 18(1), 75-88.
Hardy,C.J.,Richman, J.M.,& Rosenfeld, L.B.(1991). The role of social support in the
life stress/injury relationship. Sport Psychologist, 5 (1), 128-139
Harris, B. , Judge, L. , Bellar, D. , & Bell, R. (2011). Male and female differences in
perceived social support from strength coaches among injured student-athletes.
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 25, S86A.
Hatamleh, M., Ruz, H., &Hindawi, O. (2009). Coach's leadership behavior as a
predictor of satisfaction with leadership: Perceptions of athletes with physical
disabilities. International Journal of Applied Educational Studies, 4(1), 14-33.
31
Heil, J. (1993).Psychology of Sport Injury. Champaign, IL: Human kinetics
Hoar, S., & Flint, F. (2008). Determinants of help-seeking intentions in the context of
athletic injury recovery. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology,
6(2), 157-175.
Judge, L., Bellar, D., Blom, L., Lee, D., Harris, B., et al. (2012). Perceived social
support from strength and conditioning coaches among injured student athletes.
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research / National Strength &
Conditioning Association, 26(4), 1154-1161.
Leddy, M., Lambert, M., & Ogles, B. (1994).Psychological consequences of athletic
injury among high-level competitors. Journal of Exercise and Sport 4(1), 347354.
Lee, S., Ungson, G., & Russo, M. (2011). What determines an engaging website: An
empirical study of website characteristics and operational performance. Journal of
High Technology Management Research, 22(1), 67-79.
Lu, F., & Hsu, Y. (2013). Injured athletes' rehabilitation beliefs and subjective wellbeing: The contribution of hope and social support. Journal of Athletic Training,
48(1), 92-98.
Macci, R., & Crossman, J. (1996) after the fall: Reflections of injured classical ballet
dancers. Journal of Sport Behavior, 19(2), 221-234.
Maffuli, N., Baxter-Jones, A., & Grieve, A. (2005). Long term sport involvement and
sport injury rate in elite young athletes. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 90(5),
525-527.
Malinauskas, R. (2010). The associations among social support, stress, and life
satisfaction as perceived by injured college athletes. Social Behavior and
Personality: An International Journal, 38(6), 741.
Manuel, J., Shilt, J., Curl, W., Smith, J., Durant, R., et al. (2002). Coping with sports
injuries: An examination of the adolescent athlete. Journal of Adolescent Health,
31(5), 391-393.
Petipas, A., Danish, S. (1995). Caring for injured athletes. In S.M. Murphy (Ed.),
Sport Psychology Interventions (pp.255-275)
Podlog, L., &Eklund, R. (2009). High-level athletes' perceptions of success in
returning to sport following injury. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 10(5), 535544.
32
Podlog, L., Lochbaum, M., & Stevens, T. (2010). Need satisfaction, well-being, and
perceived return-to-sport outcomes among injured athletes. Journal of Applied
Sport Psychology, 22(2), 167-182.
Quackenbush, N., & Crossman, J. (1994). Injured athletes: A study of emotional
responses. Journal of Sport Behavior, 17(3), 178-177.
Rees, T., Mitchell, I., Evans, L., & Hardy, L. (2010). Stressors, social support and
psychological responses to sport injury in high- and low-performance standard
participants. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11(6), 505-512.
Richman, J.M., Rosenfeld, L.B., &Hardy, C.H. (1993). The social support survey: a
validation study of a clinical measure of the social support process. Research on
Social Work Practice, 3(1), 288-311.
Robbins, J., & Rosenfeld, L. (2001). Athletes' perceptions of social support provided
by their head coach, assistant coach, and athletic trainer, pre-injury and during
rehabilitation. Journal of Sport Behavior, 24(3), 277-297.
Udry, E., Gould, D.Bridges, D., & Beck, L. (1997). Down but not out: Athlete
responses to season ending injuries. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology
19(3), 229-248
Vanderbush, K. (2006). The expanded role of the high school strength coach:
Becoming a more valuable asset to your athletic program. Strength and
Conditioning Journal, 28(4), 68-69.
Wadey, R., Evans, L., Evans, K., & Mitchell, I. (2011). Perceived benefits following
sport injury: A qualitative examination of their antecedents and underlying
mechanisms. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 23(2), 142-158.
Walther, J., & Jang, J. (2012). Communication processes in participatory websites.
Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 18(1), 2-15.
Wakefield, R. L., Wakefield, K. L., Baker, J., & Wang, L. C. (2011). How website
socialness leads to website use. European Journal of Information Systems, 20(1),
118-132.
Yang, J., Peek-Asa, C., Lowe, J., Heiden, E., & Foster, D. (2010). Social support
patterns of collegiate athletes before and after injury. Journal of Athletic Training,
45(4), 372-379.
Zomermaand, K. (2010). The views and roles of coaches in youth athlete motivation:
A qualitative approach. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences, 1(3), 11-23.
33
Appendix A
Table 1 Categorized Content Analysis of Coaches Responses to Open-Ended Survey
Questions
Category 1
Category 2
How would you
define social
support?
mental/physical/psy
chological/physical
9
providing
comfortable
environment
6
What did you
like?
Topic
8
strategies/videos
9
overall
information
10
website/organizat
ion/layout
2
What did you
dislike?
website quality
(design/videos/acto
rs)
19
too broad / basic
3
not enough
videos
4
topic/ specific
strategy/narrator
5
What did you
learn?
athletes mental/
emotional
wellbeing depends
on coaches SS
6
Strategies
11
Definitions
3
Left blank
10
yes involvement
& alternative
activity
4
communication
/ emotional
support
10
no ; not enough
time
2
no , already
providing support
10
No
1
Left blank
14
Would you
implement?
Did this website
change your
perspective on
social support?
yes all of them
14
Yes
5
What SS
strategies you
use but is not
listed?
financial support
1
lead by example/
teach beyond sport
2
What other
information
needs to be
added?
coaches knowledge
on severity of
injury
2
how to deal with
other adversities
1
34
Category 3
help athlete
understand
beyond the
sport
2
provide
support
through other
team or staff
members
4
strategies for
professional
level coaches
2
Category 4
being there for
athlete on and off
the field
13
None or left
blank
23
Better quality &
more quantity of
videos
17
Appendix B
Demographic Questionnaire
1. Gender:
Male ( ) Female ( ) Prefer not to respond ( )
2. Age :_____ Yrs
3. Race/Ethnicity
African American/Black ( )
Asian/Pacific Islander ( )
Caucasian ( )
Hispanic/ Latino ( )
Middle Eastern ( )
Native American ( )
Other ( )
Prefer not to respond ( )
4. Total years coaching:_____yrs
5. Primary sport currently coached :____________________
6. Current coaching position: Head coach ( ) Assistant coach ( )
7. Amount of time in current coaching position :____ years _____months
8. Gender of current team :
Boys/ men’s ( ) girls/ women’s ( ) co-ed ( )
9. Level of current sport: High school ( ) College/university ( )
Professional ( )
10. How would you define social support?
_____________________________________________________________________
11. Do you consider yourself a social support provider? Yes ( ) No ( )
Explain your answer
_____________________________________________________________________
35
Open Ended Questionnaire
1.
What were some things that you liked about this website or the information in it?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
What did you dislike about this website or the information provided in it?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
What were some things you learned from this website? Please explain your
answer
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4.
Would you implement any of the strategies that you learned from this website? If
yes which one(s) if not, why?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
5.
Did this website change your perspective on social support to your athletes? Why
or why not?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
6.
What were some social support strategies that you use but were not listed or
explained in the website?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
7.
In your opinion what other information or features need to be added to this
website in order to make it more helpful?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
36