University of San Diego Digital USD Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1999 The Community College Coach: Leadership Practices and Athlete Satisfaction Jodi P. Coffman EdD University of San Diego Follow this and additional works at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations Part of the Leadership Studies Commons Digital USD Citation Coffman, Jodi P. EdD, "The Community College Coach: Leadership Practices and Athlete Satisfaction" (1999). Dissertations. 651. https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/651 This Dissertation: Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Digital USD. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital USD. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE COACH: LEADERSHIP PRACTICES AND ATHLETE SATISFACTION by Jodi P. Coffman A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education University of San Diego 1999 Dissertation Committee Susan Zgliczynski, Ph.D., Director Ronn Johnson, Ph.D. Robert Mechikoff, Ph.D. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright © 1999 by Jodi P. Coffman All rights reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT The Community College Coach: Leadership Practices and Athlete Satisfaction Community college coaches and athletes completed the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), to assess the leader­ ship practices of coaches of various sports. Soccer coaches and their athletes were also surveyed to assess the impact of the congruence of leadership practices ratings upon athlete satisfaction. Two samples were taken from Spring and Fall, 1998 sports: (a) 225 full-time head coaches of team sports in which there was a male and female equivalent in California's community colleges, and (b) 280 men's and women's soccer athletes. The descriptive statistics conducted indicated that there were more similarities than differences between the male and female coaches, as well as coaches from different sports. Male soccer athletes' ratings of their coaches were lower, on all five leadership practices, than their coaches' ratings of themselves. While conversely, female soccer athletes' ratings of their coaches were higher, on all five Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LPI leadership practices, than their coaches' ratings of themselves. Male and female community college coaches (of the team sports surveyed) are similar in their leadership practices. However, the gender of athletes indicated the most satisfaction of female athletes with their female coaches. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION To my family, who has offered so much to my continued education and development. My father and brother, for their love, support, and guidance. And in loving memory of my mother, my eternal guide and inspiration. I live my life as she would want, to the fullest and as if each day was my last. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to thank various people for their much appreciated contributions. • To my dissertation committee, Drs. Susan Zgliczynski, Ronn Johnson, and Robert Mechikoff, who offered practical support and guidance. • To Dr. Bill Howe and Shari Gittleman, for their valuable advice and encouragement. Thank you, all. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................... ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .................................. X CHAPTER I. STATEMENT OF THE IS S U E .......................... 1 Introduction ................................... 1 Background of the Problem ................... 4 Statement of the Problem ..................... 6 Purpose of the S t u d y .......................... 9 Significance of the Study ................... 12 Research Questions ............................ 14 Scope of the S t u d y ............................ 15 Limitations ................................... 15 Delimitations ................................ 16 Definitions of T e r m s .......................... 17 L e a d e r s h i p ................................... 17 Leadership Behaviors ....................... 17 Satisfaction ................................ 18 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER PAGE I. (Continued) Coach Effectiveness ......................... 18 Community College ............................ 18 Summary ....................................... 18 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ........................ 20 Introduction .................................. 2 0 L e a d e r s h i p ..................................... 20 Coaching as Leadership ....................... 25 Introduction ................................ 25 Instructional Leadership .................. 26 Athletic Coaching ............................ 3 0 Satisfaction of Athletes .................. 32 Equity and Athletics ....................... 34 Gender and Leadership ....................... 35 Gender and Coaching ......................... 38 Leadership Instruments ....................... 43 Leadership Instruments in S p o r t s ........... 48 Summary ....................................... 54 III. RESEARCH DESIGN ................................ 55 Introduction .................................. 55 Methodology .................................. 56 D e s i g n ....................................... 56 S a m p l e s ....................................... 56 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER PAGE III. (Continued.) Procedure ..................................... 57 Instrumentation .............................. 59 Leadership Practices Inventory ........... 60 Scale of Athlete Satisfaction .............. 61 Data Collection Strategies .................. 62 Data Analysis ................................ 65 Human Subjects ................................ 66 Summary ....................................... 67 IV. ANALYSIS OF THE D A T A ........................... 69 Introduction ..................................... 69 Response Frequencies ............................ 70 Research Question #1A 73 Research Question #1B ....................... 75 Research Question #2 ......................... 77 Research Question #2A ....................... 7 8 Research Question #2B ....................... 83 Research Question #3 ......................... 8 8 Research Question #4 ......................... 9 0 Instrumentation .............................. 96 Summary ....................................... 97 Findings Related to Research Hypotheses . 98 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER PAGE V. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................ 104 Nature and Purpose of the Study .............. 104 Summary of Findings........ ........................ 105 Research Question 1A ....................... 105 Research Question IB ....................... 106 Research Question 2A ....................... 107 Research Question 2B ....................... 108 Research Question 3 ......................... 109 Research Question 4 ......................... Ill Implications for Community College Coaching System .............................. 113 Athlete/Coach Relationship and Instruments' Use in Leadership ................ 115 Recommendations for Enhancement of Current Study ................................... 117 Recommendations for Further Study ............. 118 Summary ....................................... 123 REFERENCES ................................................. 124 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES T A B L E P A G E 1. Characteristics of the Sample: Coaches .... 71 2. Characteristics of the Sample: Athletes . 72 3. Coaching Leadership Practices by Sport .... 75 4. Male and Female Soccer Coaches' and Female Athletes' Responses on the Five Leadership Practices ............................ 81 5. Female Soccer Coaches' and Female Athletes' Responses on the Five Leadership Practices . 82 6. Male Soccer Coaches' and Male Athletes' Responses on the Five Leadership Practices . 86 7. Soccer Athlete Satisfaction Scores ............ 89 8. Community College Coaching Sample: Qualitative Responses .......................... 91 viii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. Multidimensional Model of Leadership .......... 63 2. Male and Female Coaches' Leadership Practices ....................................... 74 3. Female Soccer Coaches' and Athletes' Responses of Leadership Practices ........... 79 4. Male Soccer Coaches' and Athletes' Responses of Leadership Practices ........... 84 5. Coach/Athlete Agreement on LPI Scales .... 88 6. Comparison of Athlete LPI Mean Scores: Mail and In P e r s o n .............................