The relationship between an empowering and disempowering motivational climate created by the coach and the motivation and well-being of young tennis athletes

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between the perceived empowering and disempowering motivational climate created by the tennis coach and young athletes’ achievement goals, behavioural regulation of motivation, basic psychological needs, tennis enjoyment, intention to drop-out of tennis, and well-being. Participants were ninety-two male and one hundred and twelve female Greek tennis athletes (N = 204), aged 10 to 18 years (Mage: 14±2.76 years), who voluntarily enrolled in the present study with parental consent. Data were collected via an online questionnaire. Results showed that an empowering motivational climate created by the tennis coach was positively related to the athletes’ task orientation, self-determined forms of motivation, basic psychological needs, tennis enjoyment, and well-being, while it was negatively related to their intention to drop-out of tennis. Furthermore, results showed that a disempowering motivational climate created by the tennis coach was positively related to the athletes’ ego orientation, extrinsic forms of motivation, and amotivation, while it was negatively associated or unrelated to athletes’ task orientation, basic psychological needs, enjoyment, and well-being. It seems that the motivational climate created by the tennis coach plays a key role in the motivation of young athletes, their intention to continue playing tennis and their psychological well-being.