YOUTH COACHES BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT THROUGH SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION

Yannis Tzioumakis¹, Maria Michalopoulou¹, Nikos Aggelousis¹, Athanasios Papaioannou²,

& Triantafyllos Christodoulidis¹

¹ Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Hellas

² Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Thessaly, Trikala, Hellas

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was two-fold: Firstly, the adaptation and reliability examination of the Coaching Behavior Assessment System (CBAS; Smith, Smoll & Hunt,1977) for Greek population (Gr-CBAS) and secondly, the coaching behavior assessment of nine youth Basketball and team Handball coaches according to the instrument’s 12 feedback pattern categories. Average reliability coefficients were k=.79 for Interobserver and k=.81 for Intraobserver agreement. Mistake-Contingent Technical Instruction and General Technical Instruction were the most frequently recorded behaviors, while General Encouragement and Positive Reinforcement followed. Consistent with previous findings, results revealed that mistake correction and encouragement/ rein- forcement are the most frequently recorded coaching behaviors.

Key words: CBAS, feedback, coaching behavior, systematic observation.