Measuring Athlete Coachability

1. ABSTRACT Correlations assessed relationships between the total APCS score along with its subscales and the total scores from the Task and Ego Orientation Questionnaire, Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28, Athletic Coachability Scale, and Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale. Details are shown in the Tables below. Measuring Athlete Coachability This study details the construction and assessment of the Athletic Performance Coachability Scale (APCS); an instrument designed to measure athletes’ cognitive and behavioral processing of coaching instruction, and the degree that coaches and other contextual influences affect this processing. The APCS also helps measure the relationship between coachability and performance. Michael J. Miller & Regan A. R. Gurung University of Wisconsin, Green Bay RESULTS Spearman’s rho Correlations Between APCS components/ APCS total and ACS, TEOSQ, R-SE and ACSI-28 Totals A principle component factor analysis resulted in seven components accounting for 73% of the response variance of participants. These components were labeled: trust/respect for coach, social assimilation, discipline /intensity of effort, creative adaptability, evaluation apprehension, equanimity, and openness to learn. 46% of respondents ranked discipline and mood, 35% ranked environment, and 32% ranked coach as either the first or second most influential contextual factor that mediated their coachability. Athletic Performance Coachability Scale (APCS) Subscales Contextual Influences Discipline / Mood Environment Coach Family Teammates Trust & Respect for Coach Social Assimilation Discipline & Intensity of Effort Creative Adaptability Evaluation Apprehension Openness to Learn INTRODUCTION Coachable is a term used consistently by coaches and researchers alike to describe athletes that display an openness to learn and develop quickly in their respective sports (Gould, Dieffenbach, & Moffett, 2002). Despite the pioneering work done by Peter Giacobbi (2000) in the creation of the Athletic Coachability Scale (ACS), the definition and conception of coachability has remained incomplete in the realm of sport psychology due to statistical and conceptual shortcomings within the ACS. The study of coachability entails the examination of both personality and motivational traits of athletes. I created the athletic performance coachability scale (APCS) as a means to uncover the differences between athletes’ cognitive and behavioral responses to coaching instruction- in essence, to measure their varying degrees of coachability. The APCS is a 23-item questionnaire combined with a rank ordering section to measure the impact of contextual influences. **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Several significant correlations were found between APCS components and personality traits represented by the TIPI big five subcategories of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience. Spearman’s rho Correlations BetweenAPCS & TIPI Subscales DISCUSSION The current test of the convergent and divergent validity of the APCS suggest this new scale supplements and enhances current measurements of coachability. Results support a seven component conceptualization of coachability (APCS), characterized by athlete’s motivation and personality characteristics, in particular their trust and respect for their coach, ability to interact with social influences, discipline and intensity of effort, ability to creatively adapt to situations, openness to learn, mood regulation, and how much they are affected by their perceptions of being evaluated- all within a coaching construct (i.e. developing through some form of coaching instructions). METHOD The APCS was administered to NCAA student athletes and college students with High School sport experience (N=74) along with four other scales: the Athletic Coachability Scale (ACS) (Giacobbi, 2000), Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) (Gosling et. al., 2003), Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) (Duda & Nicholls, 1992), Rosenberg’s Self Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1989), and the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI-28) (Smith et. al., 1995). **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Presented at the 2005 American Psychological Society’s Annual Conference. Los Angeles, CA. Email millmj04@uwgb.edu for more details.