Welcome

Welcome to the May issue of my newsletter.

Check out the summary below for a quick insight on what this issue looks at, and scroll through to find out more.

Enjoy!

At a glance

• A recent study by Morbée, Haerens, and Vansteenkiste (2025) tested the impact of different coaching conditions on athletes’ perceived experience, and found that coaches experiencing low pressure and positive feedback had more psychologically satisfied athletes who felt they received greater autonomy support

• I reveal and dismantle the information fallacy in coaching that is preventing coaching behaviours from improving, and leaving coaches and clubs frustrated. The added step of WHY is laid out

• Lots of great SDT based coaching episodes as well as wider learning on the pod, including an opportunity for you to feedback on the value of these resources!

In the (Journal) News

This study tested how pressure on coaches and feedback about team performance affected athletes’ experiences of their coaches in youth basketball. The study involved 262 youth basketball players and their 30 coaches, who were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions. When coaches were put under pressure by being told their tam was performing below expectations, athletes reported feeling less supported to make their own choices, with autonomy support by the coach perceived to be lower. In these conditions athletes also felt their psychological needs were less satisfied. The most positive perceived experiences by athletes occurred when coaches were not made to feel under pressure and received positive performance feedback. The study underscores the importance of coaching conditions that reduce pressure and heighten feelings of confidence for the positive impact it has on coaching behaviour, while illustrating how antecedent factors combine to create behavioural outcomes.

Citation: Morbée, S., Haerens, L., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2025). An Experimental Study of the Effects of Contextual Pressure and Performance Feedback on Coaching Styles and Athlete Experiences in Youth Basketball. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 102861.

⭐Have you got SDT based sport coaching research coming out, and want it featured in a future issue of the newsletter? Let me know!

Motivational science DECODE

Exposing the informational fallacy preventing effective behaviour change in coaching

Coaches often assume that finding out more about what to do will automatically make them better. I would say no. In my PhD research on the influences on coach behaviour I uncovered what I call the information fallacy. Well intentioned coaches read books and attend pricey courses to learn how to support autonomy, competence and relatedness, yet we still see controlling environments, chaotic sessions and disconnected coach-athlete relationships. Knowing what to do is not enough.

Part of the problem lies in how coach education is designed. Most national governing bodies aim to reach as many coaches as possible with the least resources. Programmes are top-down, with a set curriculum imposed rather than built around the real problems coaches face. This one-size-fits-all approach leaves minimal room for individualisation so coaches struggle to turn abstract information into real behaviour change.

On top of that there is a booming market for tools and technologies that promise to track and analyse every aspect of coaching behaviour. We buy cameras, software and even artificial intelligence packages under the belief that simply seeing our actions more clearly will spur change. What follows is a culture of self-policing and audit that often ends in frustration, apathy and burnout when behaviour does not improve.

The real alternative is to recognise that information itself is not the finish line; it is the start line. We must dig deeper by understanding why we do what we do. First comes reflection, looking back on a session to consider what went well and what did not, and pinpointing specific moments of success or breakdown. Then comes reflexivity, asking why we think something did not work and recognising our own anxieties, values and life experiences that shape how we coach.

I remember early in my coaching career I shouted at players because I wanted to impress a senior mentor. On reflection I realised I was projecting my own insecurities and living in a threat state. Once I understood that why behind the why I could allow the players to be themselves, give them space to learn and improve my own responses too. This shift taught me that exploring my motivations was more transformative than simply reading another coaching manual.

Developing criticality is also vital. Coaches need a “bouncer at the door” ready to reject information that does not fit their context or values. Sometimes control is necessary, for instance when safety or clarity is the priority, and autonomy support is not the right tool for every situation. Being discerning allows us to select the strategies that align with our coaching philosophy and the needs of our athletes.

Finally we must build procedural competency by practising new strategies until they become second nature. Just as you would hone a technical skill by repeating drills, you need to rehearse autonomy-supportive language, feedback techniques and reflective habits until they feel authentic. Only then can you fully critique or adapt them to your setting.

Coaching does not happen in a vacuum. Your environment may differ from the one described in a textbook. You work with different resources, colleagues, administrators, parents and external pressures. You need to understand how your surroundings afford or constrain the behaviours you want to enact and build support structures that enable change.

Only when you combine an understanding of why you behave as you do, a critical lens on the information you take in, the practical work to develop competency and a supportive environment that allows new behaviours to flourish can you translate knowledge into genuine change. Information starts the race but why finishes it.

What is one belief or habit you hold that, if examined more deeply, could help you turn information into lasting change?

You can hear more in the podcast episode for this blog being released on Friday May 2nd on Labours of Sport Coaching!

Wider learning from the Labours of Sport Coaching podcast

Recent episodes to check out:

• Supporting coaches’ psychological needs

• Merging psychology with footballing actions, with Dadi Rafnsson

• Athlete autonomy isn’t real! BITESIZE KNOWLEDGE

• Relatedness support 101

Upcoming episodes to look forward to:

• Quality coach-athlete relationships, with Sophia Jowett

• Live coaching consultancy call

• The future of AI in coaching, envisioned through SDT

• Leadership in coaching, with Keith Sharpe

That’s a wrap! But before you leave

Please take a moment to fill out this feedback form on how the Labours of Sport Coaching newsletter and/or podcast has impacted your practice. It does wonders for helping me understand the value, while providing opportunities for you to have input - or dare I say, autonomy - in the future development of both resources.

Find form HERE - THANK YOU!!!

You might also wish to check out these other links for more ways to support the Labours of Sport Coaching mission and connect with me:

Become a patron: https://shorturl.at/QgMCF

Access my consultancy services: https://markjcarrollcoaching.wordpress.com/consultancy/

Connect with me on social media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markjcarrollresearcher/

See you next month!