LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR AND CHALLENGES OF SWIMMING COACHES IN THE PROVINCE

OF ALBAY

ABSTRACT

Coaches play a huge role in a swimmer’s career. From the first stroke to the first big meet, coaches are always there beside the athletes. Many athletes see the great things coaches do to ensure well-being. A strong coach-to-athlete relationship is important for an athlete. Coaches are in a prominent position to promote active lifestyles, inclusion, and engagement in physical activity. Good coaches are equipped to deliver these expectations and unlock athletes' potential.

This study aims to determine the Leadership Behavior and Challenges of Swimming Coaches in the Province of Albay. The participants of the study include 30 swimming coaches in the 1st and 2nd district of Albay during the school year 2017- 2019. Purposive sampling was used in this study. The researcher utilized the mixed method of research, the Quantitative and Qualitative design.

Findings showed that majority of respondents are typically married men in their late 30s. To coach in any sporting event, they must be college graduates or have completed their baccalaureate degree. Most of the swimming coaches attended the same trainings and seminars in swimming. Swimming coach credentials should be reviewed by the Department of Education. New swimming coach candidates must be carefully screened and picked. Swimming coaches must continue to receive instruction and attend regional and national trainings and seminars. The most or strongly observed behavior among the coaches are the training and instruction behavior and positive feedback or rewarding behavior. It only shows that they focused more on the training process towards the athlete's improvement. Autocratic behavior ranked last among the leadership behaviors. Coaches who exhibit this type of behavior must concentrate on the training process in order to enhance their athletes' results. They must be able to teach an athlete/swimmer how to learn the requisite skills. The coaching leadership style should be suited to the situation. Excellent coaches can switch between styles automatically, depending on the behavior of the athlete and the task at hand. Among the five leadership behavior, autocratic is the least effective and the most effective is the positive feedback followed by training and instruction, democratic and social support. The swimming coaches in the Province of Albay are less practicing the democratic nor the autocratic style of coaching. The level of effectiveness of the leadership behavior showed that coaches exhibited a higher leadership style in training and instruction followed by positive feedback, social support, and democratic and low in autocratic behavior. Swimming coaches should keep their swimmers motivated whether they are losing or winning. Also, coach must listen to what the swimmers/athletes have to say in order to have a better their performance in the team.

Being a swimming coach can be one of the greatest experiences in life. Unfortunately, things don’t always go perfectly, and often coaches find themselves in situations that they had not originally thought or planned for as part of the job. During the interview, the swimming coaches in the Albay Province enumerated several issues and concerns that need immediate action or attention. The researcher developed an action plan to address the challenges faced by the swimming coaches along with democratic behavior, autocratic behavior, training behavior, social support, and positive feedback.

Keywords: Swimming Coaches, Behaviors, & Challenges

INTRODUCTION:

Engagement in sports, especially swimming, can foster personal growth. Coaches are there to help produce positive outcomes, whether that be a win or team development and athlete personal development. They are in a prominent position to promote active lifestyles, inclusion, and engagement in physical activity. This is something that takes time, which involves guidance and an understanding of the power of sports. Equipping excellent coaches to deliver these expectations and unlock athletes’ potential is essential. Thus, providing trainings and resources to coaches are vital to the development and success of athletes.

The flip side is that a negative sports experience can also hinder development. Sports researchers link it with negative experiences and outcomes, such as stress, burnout, dropout and low self-esteem. That is why coaches have such an important role in the lives of athletes. It’s important for athletes to understand their failures and to learn from them to reach their potentials. This makes the role of all coaches, including swim coaches, even more important.

Every year, United States research companies in sports industries publish research on the advances in swimming. These studies are the reason for the evolution of the sport. Kuuvas and Scurati (2017) concluded that knowledge gathered in swimming throughout the years is so great that the athletes themselves have a hard time knowing what is best for them. It is also difficult for athletes to stay up-to-date with modern advances in the sport. In addition, some advances are so detailed that it takes a trained professional to determine if the swimmer’s training and technique is ideal to reach his or her individual goals. 

Therefore, Lee, Alfermann, & Würth (2015) stressed that a good coach has the ability and the resources to always know the latest advances in the sport and has the skills to implement it in his athletes’ training, but it takes an even better coach to have the foresight to develop his training before the rest. Coaching is integral to the success of today’s athletes; thus, it is important to know how coaches can lead their teams effectively while maintaining a high satisfaction and performance rate within their swimmers.

In sports, leadership is also an aspect that coaches, sports leaders and heads should pay attention to. The researcher then considered it important to understand the styles and principles of leadership that coaches use. A coach must have received related knowledge on leadership and management competence. Coaching is one of the fundamental pillars of the formation and development of sports teams, and their important role in the performance of the players cannot be left ignored. Coaches can create and cultivate an environment around the team that affects athlete development and team performance.

Leadership behavior of coaches is a complex process and a very important strategic skill in today’s society. In the sport field, coaches’ leadership behavior is given with the critical value of decisive factor to the improvement of athlete and team performance. Therefore, it is important for a coach to possess leadership ability in order to effectively guide a team.

The Philippines recognizes the importance of sports in developing the youth’s great potential to become globally competitive citizens. The country puts a premium on the “Palaro” as a venue to showcase the talents of future world-class athletes. 

The Palarong Pambansa is an annual multi-sport event involving student-athletes from 17 regions of the Philippines. The event started in 1948, organized and governed by the Department of Education. Student-athletes from public and private schools at elementary and secondary levels can compete, provided they qualify by winning at their regional meets. 

For young Filipino student-athletes, Palarong Pambansa is theculmination of school sports competition, which start with local schoolintramural, followed by the congressional district, provincial, and regional athletic meets. The 1987 Philippine Constitution Article XIV stipulates the legal basis of the Palarong Pambansa. The Philippine constitution, Article XIV, Section 19, stipulates: 

see PDF attachment for more information