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Within the research literature there is little work that has examined how coaches (and coaching) can positively influence female athletes’ continued participation and development in performance sport. One barrier that has been recently cited that prevents more women from progressing in sport is the inability of coaches to understand how to engage their female athletes. With this in mind, utilising a phenomenological approach, the current study focused on the coaching preferences of female athletes within the elite coach-athlete dyad. Through interviews with 27 current high performance female athletes, four major coaching needs were found. These were: to be supported as a person as well a performer, coaching to be a joint endeavour, the need for positive communication, and recognition of the salience of gender within the coach-athlete dyad. The findings highlight the complexities and contradictions that are inherent within such a relationship, but ultimately provide evidence that the relational expertise of coaches is at the forefront of these women’s coaching needs. The present study also demonstrates that gender is a salient influence on the coach-athlete relationship. Such findings hold practical significance through demonstrating the need for gender-responsive coaching practitioners.

Cross-domain relationships (CDRs) involve coaches knowing and caring about aspects of athletes’ lives beyond the sport context (e.g., family, school, relationships). Purposes of the current study included (a) comparing athletes’ levels of cross-domain relationships with head and assistant coaches, (b) evaluating gender, roster size, and sport type as correlates of CDRs with head and assistant coaches, and (c) examining relationships between CDRs with head and assistant coaches and motivational variables. Collegiate athletes (N = 294, 139 male, 155 female) completed surveys assessing study constructs. Results indicated that levels of CDRs with head coaches and assistant coaches did not differ. Male athletes had stronger CDRs with head coaches than female athletes did. While female athletes with female head coaches had moderate levels of CDRs with head coaches regardless of assistant coach gender, female athletes with male head coaches had stronger CDRs with head coaches when the assistant coach was female than when the assistant coach was male. Stronger CDRs with head coaches were related to greater perceived competence, enjoyment, and sport commitment, while CDRs with assistant coaches were not related. Findings suggest that researchers should not assume that CDRs with assistant and head coaches are similarly related to athletes’ motivational outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore current research evidence to understand whether and how gender influences the coach-athlete relationship. Considering the importance of coach-athlete relationships, the field still remains under researched and the influences on this relationship require greater examination. Coach-athlete exchanges are shaped by assumptions and ideas about coaching and teaching relationships. Interactions are complex because sport makes a number of (at times competing) demands on participants. Varying individual characteristics increase this complexity. Yet within this multifaceted context, gender relations appear constant and problematic, particularly with respect to coaching. Evidence suggests that while male and female athletes share many similarities in what they want and prefer in terms of their coaching needs and expectations, there are specific nuances and differences that must be understood to facilitate an effective relationship. Furthermore, the evidence also suggests that male coaches, unwittingly, play a role in the perpetuation of the stereotype of women as the less able, less competitive and frailer athlete. These findings evidence the need to include a greater focus on gender-responsive coaching. The paper also highlights different coaching styles that may facilitate working with male and female athletes and emphasises the need for coaches to become relational experts to empower their athletes.