Assessment of the Impact of Coaches' Leadership Styles on Building Social Support for Effective Performance in Nuga Athletics Competitions Among Universities in North-West Zone, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63561/jhssr.v3i1.1147Keywords:
Coaching Style, Social Support, Athletic Performance, Nuga Competitions, University SportsAbstract
This study assessed the impact of coaching style on building social support for effective performance in NUGA athletics competitions among universities in the North-West zone of Nigeria. The study was guided by one research question and one hypothesis. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The population of the study consisted of 348 coaches and athletes from selected universities in the North-West zone, while a sample size of 313 respondents was selected using multistage sampling techniques, including purposive, proportionate and simple random sampling methods. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled “Democratic Coaching Style and Social Support Questionnaire (DCSSQ)”, validated by experts and tested for reliability using Cronbach Alpha. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research question, while Chi-square analysis was used to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that servant coaching style has a positive impact on building social support among athletes, with an aggregate mean score of 3.37, indicating strong agreement among respondents. Specifically, results showed that coaching behaviours such as caring for athletes’ personal growth, providing emotional support, promoting team bonding, fostering trust and cooperation and ensuring emotional safety significantly enhance social support for effective performance. Furthermore, the Chi-square result (χ² = 40.72, df = 312, p < 0.001) indicated a significant impact of coaching leadership style on social support, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis. The study concluded that effective coaching styles play a crucial role in strengthening social support systems and improving athletic performance. It was recommended that coaches adopt more servant and athlete-centered leadership approaches to enhance social support, team cohesion and competitive success in NUGA athletics competitions.
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