• Niels Mertens, Filip Boen, Gert Vande Broek, Maarten Vansteenkiste, and Katrien Fransen.
• Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
• Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2018 Dec 1; 28 (12): 2734-2750.

PurposeGrounded in the Cognitive Evaluation Theory, the present experiment aimed to compare the relative impact of competence support provided by coaches versus athlete leaders on players' competence satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, and performance.MethodsWe recruited 18 existing competitive male basketball teams (ie, 126 players) to participate in the experiment. Each team was randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) the coach provided competence support (ie, by encouraging, providing positive feedback, and expressing team confidence); (b) the athlete leader provided competence support; or (c) neither the coach, nor the athlete leader provided competence support (ie, control condition).ResultsTeams in which the athlete leader provided competence support reported higher levels of competence satisfaction and intrinsic motivation than teams in the control condition, a difference that did not emerge when the coach provided competence support. Furthermore, teams in which either the coach or the athlete leader supported team members' competence performed better compared to teams in the control group.ConclusionOur findings highlight the importance of providing competence support to enhance team performance. Given athlete leaders' unique impact on teammates' competence satisfaction and motivation, instructing athlete leaders how to provide competence support constitutes an important motivational pathway for coaches to optimize team functioning.© 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

16 keywords...

hide…