"The Coach is Like an Orchestra Conductor": An Examination of Athlete Parents’ Perceptions Towards the Coach Through the Metaphor Method

Abstract

The quality of communication between athletes’ parents and coaches plays a crucial role in ensuring positive experiences for young athletes. In this regard, examining parents’ perceptions of coaches can offer valuable insights into the communication between these two key stakeholders. The aim of this study is to explore the metaphoric perception of young athletes’ parents toward the concept of a coach through metaphor analysis. A total of 235 parents (137 fathers, 98 mothers; Mage = 40.75 ± 6.06) selected through convenient sampling participated in the study. Participants were asked to complete the sentence, “A coach is like ..., because ...” via online or face-to-face forms. The collected data were thoroughly analyzed, and meaningful metaphors and categories were created by the researchers. An additional expert opinion was sought for the generated categories, and a good level of inter-coder reliability was established (Cohen’s Kappa = .77). As a result of the analyses, it was determined that parents produced 51 different metaphors for the concept of a coach, which were grouped under 21 categories. The most frequently used metaphors to describe a coach were “teacher,” “father,” “older brother,” “family,” “friend,” and “mother.” The categories with the highest number of metaphors were “educator-instructor-developer coach,” “supportive-protective coach,” and “guiding-directing coach.” While only one category reflected negative characteristics, all other categories were positive in nature. In conclusion, the findings revealed that athletes’ parents predominantly perceive coaches as educators, protectors, guides, mentors, role models, and individuals who make efforts to create a positive team environment. However, negative parental perceptions of coaches also exist. This study addresses a gap in the literature on coach-parent relationships and contributes to the development of effective communication and collaboration strategies within the sports environment.

Keywords

• Parent
• coach
• metaphor
• perception.

"Antrenör Orkestra Şefi Gibidir": Sporcu Ebevynlerinin Antrenöre Yönelik Algılarının Metafor Yöntemiyle İncelenmesi

Abstract

Sporcuların ebeveynleri ve antrenörler arasındaki iletişimin kalitesi sporcuların olumlu deneyimler yaşaması için önemli bir konudur. Bu doğrultuda, ebeveynlerin antrenörler ile ilgili görüşlerinin incelenmesi bu iki paydaşın iletişimine yönelik ipuçları sunacaktır. Bu araştırmada, aktif olarak futbol oynayan çocukların ebeveynlerinin antrenör kavramına yönelik algılarının metafor analizi yöntemiyle incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında, kolay ulaşılabilir durum örneklemesiyle seçilen toplam 235 ebeveynin (137 baba, 98 anne; X̄yaş=40.75±6.06) görüşlerine başvurulmuştur. Katılımcılardan çevrimiçi veya yüz yüze formlar aracılığıyla, “antrenör ... gibidir, çünkü ...” cümlesini tamamlamaları istenmiştir. Elde edilen veriler detaylı biçimde incelenerek araştırmacılar tarafından anlamlı metaforlar ve metafor kategorileri oluşturulmuştur. Oluşturulan kategoriler için farklı bir uzman görüşü alınarak kodlayıcılar arası iyi düzeyde uyum tespit edilmiştir (Cohen Kappa=.77). Analizler sonucunda ebeveynler tarafından antrenör kavramı için 51 farklı metafor üretildiği ve bu metaforların 21 kategori altında toplandığı belirlenmiştir. Antrenörü tanımlamak için ebeveynler tarafından en sık kullanılan metaforlar “öğretmen”, “baba”, “abi”, “aile”, “arkadaş” ve “anne” olurken, en fazla metafor içeren kategoriler ise sırasıyla “eğitici-öğretici-geliştirici antrenör”, “sporcunun yanında olan-koruyan ve destekleyen antrenör” ile “yol gösterici-yönlendirici antrenör” olarak öne çıkmıştır. Kategorilerden yalnızca bir tanesi olumsuz özellik taşırken, diğer tüm kategoriler olumlu niteliktedir. Sonuç olarak, araştırmaya katılan sporcu ebeveynlerinin antrenörleri ağırlıklı olarak eğitici, koruyucu, yol gösterici, yönlendirici, çaba-emek harcayan, olumlu bir takım ortamı oluşturan ve rol model olarak algıladıkları belirlenmiştir. Öte yandan antrenöre yönelik olumsuz ebeveyn algısı da bulunmaktadır. Bu araştırma, antrenör-ebeveyn ilişkisine dair literatürdeki eksikliği gidermekte ve spor ortamında etkili iletişim ile iş birliği stratejilerinin geliştirilmesine katkı sunmaktadır.

Keywords

• Ebeveyn
• antrenör
• metafor
• algı.

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