Study 1
Jacob, R., Couture, S., Lamarche, B., Provencher, V., Morissette, É., Valois, P., Goulet, C., & Drapeau, V. (2019).
Methods
In their study, the researchers aimed to assess sports coaches’ intentions and their psychosocial determinants relevant to providing nutrition and nourishment recommendations to the athletes that they coach. The coaches (forty-seven) were instructed to complete an online questionnaire containing questions on the theory of planned behavior for assessing their readiness and intentions to provide recommendations on nutrition for athletes (Jacob et al., 2019). The researchers implemented several regression analyses aimed at identifying the variables that had the strongest relationship to their intentions.
Results and Conclusion
In the study, it was found that almost 92% of coaches had positive intentions to provide sound advice on nourishment of their athletes, recommending them higher-carbohydrate foods, an increased intake of proteins, and the importance of hydration (Jacob et al., 2019). Among the studied determinants, the subjective norm was the only one found to be significant for coaches to recommend a higher consumption of nutrient-dense foods. Besides, it was found that behavioral control was essential for coaches to instill an adequate understanding of nutrition in athletes, which is instrumental for improving their overall wellness. The results of the study imply that almost all coaches that train athletes understand the importance of nourishment for enhancing the health of athletes and providing environments in which they are not deprived of anything. When coaches show care, they are more likely to be facilitators of the good emotional health of their trainees, which is expected to have an overall positive influence on the overall athletic outcomes.
Study 2
Bissett, J. E., Kroshus, E., & Hebard, S. (2019).
Method
In their study, the researchers aimed to review the available evidence about the part that sports coaches play in sustaining the emotional well-being of players, including obtaining export consensus regarding practical, appropriate, and feasible coach behaviors. The method employed in the study was the modified Delphi methodology combined with a narrative review and a phase of evaluation (Bissett, Kroshus, & Hebard, 2019). The sample involved in the research included twenty-one articles gathered from various online publication libraries. In addition, the researchers included some literature published by notable sports organizations as they tend to reflect the latest news and developments in the fields of sports and coaching.
Results and Conclusion
The study found that coaches played a crucial role in fostering a culture conducive to the good mental health of athletes, encouraging the seeking of care in areas such as nutrition, mental health, physical health, and others. It was determined that coaches’ education about their role in helping athletes maintain their emotional health on a high level is fairly limited. It has been recommended for coaches to engage in effective education, so they know how to detect at-risk athletes and connect them with the relevant resources on emotional well-being (Bissett et al., 2019). The behaviors in which coaches engage to provide good advice to trainees range from one individual to another; however, a common theme is acting as models for positive behaviors to establish a team culture conducive to emotional well-being. However, there is a gap between expert recommendations and resources available to coaches, with the increased need for programming to help improve coaches’ capacities to foster team cultures that enable athletes to be healthy and successful in terms of accomplishment. The range of recommendations that coaches are expected to provide needs to cover as many topics as possible to ensure that they are well-prepared to address the needs of athletes.
References
Bissett, J. E., Kroshus, E., & Hebard, S. (2019). Determining the role of sport coaches in promoting athlete mental health: A narrative review and Delphi approach. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 6(1), e000676. Web.
Jacob, R., Couture, S., Lamarche, B., Provencher, V., Morissette, É., Valois, P., Goulet, C., & Drapeau, V. (2019). Determinants of coaches’ intentions to provide different recommendations on sports nutrition to their athletes. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 16(1), 57. Web.