Determinants of coach motivation and autonomy supportive coaching behaviours

• A model predicting autonomy-supportive behaviours in coaching was tested.
• Environmental factors, motivation, and autonomy-supportive behaviour were tested.
• Structural equation modelling was used to test the model.
• Results found administrative pressure and athlete motivation impacted motivation.
• Autonomy-supportive behaviour was predicted by coach and athlete motivation.

ObjectiveThe objective of the present study is to build upon the existing literature examining the coaching context and how it relates to coaches' use of autonomy-supportive interpersonal behaviours (i.e. Stebbings, Taylor, Spray, & Ntoumanis, 2012) by identifying additional environmental factors and exploring the role of coach motivation.DesignAn academic model designed by Pelletier, Seguin-Levesque, and Legault (2002) to predict teacher motivation and autonomy-supportive styles in academic settings, was adapted to the coaching context.MethodsThe influence of pressure from above (sport administrations) and pressure from below (athlete motivation) on coach motivation and autonomy-supportive coaching behaviours was tested using structural equation modeling.ResultsResults support the fit of the model in a sport context.ConclusionsPressure from above, pressure from below, and coach motivation predict coaches’ reported use of autonomy-supportive behaviours.