Tough Coaching or Abuse?

Media attention on coach abuse is at forefront within collegiate athletics, with many stories reporting concerning behavior by college coaches. However, the problem is not new, and it seems to be pervasive within collegiate sport experiences. 

The coach-athlete relationship is one of the most important relationships within an athlete’s collegiate experience. However, this relationship and its impact is not inherently positive. Far too many athletes are leaving their collegiate sport experience with trauma, resentment, and health issues, both physical and mental. Although sport does have the power to transform, unite, and build, it requires human facilitation (namely coaches) to reach these outcomes. Therefore, sport also has the power to destroy and divide when it is facilitated in a way that instead fosters unhealthy environments. 

Although the NCAA promotes athlete well-being as one of their three pillars (among fairness and academics), evidence suggests that we are failing our athletes in regards to supporting their well-being. Many athletic departments provide resources such as clinical therapy and life skills development; however, the mental health concerns among athletes continue to rise and consequences intensify (i.e., suicide, depression, post traumatic stress disorder). The hiring of one mental health professional cannot meet the demand of hundreds of college athletes, nor in it of itself shift the problematic aspects of sport culture. 

Furthermore, most athletes report spending upwards of 30 hours per week within their athletic team environment. The current model for facilitating collegiate athlete well-being is situated around supplementary resources (i.e., counseling, life skill development); however, this needs to be flipped with an increased focus on facilitating well-being within the team environment and coach-athlete relationship. If we are going to flip this model, coaches need the education and support to do so. We need a clear delineation of tough coaching and emotional abuse, where abuse is not tolerated. 

Coaches may think, but I can’t control an athlete's mental health; that is beyond my competence and responsibility. Yes-it is. However, you can facilitate a team environment that demonstrates care and prioritizes well-being. You can cultivate an environment where athletes can show up to practice and competition as their authentic self. Environments where athletes feel they can make mistakes and ask for help. Environments where athletes don’t fear a coach's reaction. This should be at the core of our efforts to support collegiate athlete well-being.

While there is no excuse for abusive coaching tactics, our concern extends to coaches as well. There is little education and support for coaches. Many coaches coach how they were coached, which was likely abusive. Additionally, abusive coaching techniques are so pervasive, some coaches may not even recognize their harm because they have been normalized within sport. Coaches may even believe their tactics are in the best interest of their athletes (i.e., helping them be tough). 

So, what is emotionally abusive coaching? Emotional abuse takes three forms: (1) non-contact physical (i.e., punching a wall as an expression of anger toward an athlete), (2) verbal (i.e., belittling an athlete), and (3) deliberately neglecting an athlete and denying them attention and support (Stirling & Kerr, 2008). These tactics can be invoked individually or comprehensively to decrease an individual’s self-esteem to the point of diminished mental health. Furthermore, Stirling and Kerr (2008) define emotional abuse in sport as, “A pattern of deliberate non-contact behaviors by a person within a critical relationship role (i.e., coach-athlete) that has the potential to be harmful” (p. 178). Specifically, they identify five components of emotional abuse in sport: (1) sustained and repeated pattern of behaviors; (2) contact free, which distinguishes from physical abuse (3) occur within a significant relationship (i.e., coach-athlete); (4) deliberate in nature; and (5) intent does not equal consequence. The last point means that the behavior must be deliberate, but it doesn’t necessarily have to have the intent to be abusive to be emotionally abusive. For example, a coach may deliberately yell at an athlete with the intent to motivate them rather than abuse them; however, this can still foster an emotionally abusive environment. 

Therefore, how can we distinguish between tough coaching and emotionally abusive coaching? There are distinct differences. For example, when a coach experiences frustration with an athlete, they can communicate the frustration to athlete in a way that continues to show care for the athlete and helps them understand the reason for the coach’s frustration as well as the behavior change expected moving forward if a similar situation arises; however, expressing frustration via non-contact violence (i.e., throwing a ball at the gym wall) and/or establishing a relationship between their mistake and their character (i.e., verbal expressions such as: “You can never do anything right.You are so lazy. Why are you even on our team?”) denotes potential emotional abuse, if it is consistent and meets the other aforementioned criteria. As a coach, it is your role to clearly state your expectations while guiding athletes through the process with an understanding that athletes are human and make mistakes. However, mistakes should not be extended to be a reflection of the athlete’s personal character nor impact how you treat them, such as ignoring their presence, as these behaviors can lead to diminished self-esteem and diminished mental health.

We believe that coaches can be tough and kind. Coaches can have high expectations and foster an environment where athletes thrive. Peak performance and wellbeing are not dichotomous. Rather, well-being is an avenue to peak performance–and sustainable performance at that. College athletes deserve more than us saying we care about their wellbeing.

References

Stirling, A., & Kerr, G. A. (2008). Defining and categorizing emotional abuse in sport. European Journal of Sport Science, 8(4), 173–181. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461390802086281