The perceived importance coaches have on student-athletes' academic performance

There is a dearth of literature on the coach and student-athlete relationship within the academic realm. Various research reports that the relationship between athletes and coaches is important and can influence the athletes' athletic performance. However, the effects of this relationship on the student-athletes' academic performance has been scarcely studied. This study examined the perceived importance coaches have on student-athletes' academic performance by interviewing 20 scholarship, upper-division student-athletes at a Division I institution. The inductive method of qualitative data analysis was used to analyze the results. Three theories were applied to this study to understand the impact coaches have on student-athletes' academic performance. The three theories are the 1) social cognitive theory 2) expectancy-value theory 3) attributional theory. Two research questions were addressed in this study 1) What are the student-athletes' perceptions of their coaches regarding their academic performance? 2) How do student-athletes perceive that their coaches influence their choice, persistence, and effort in their academic work or behavior? The findings indicate that student-athletes' perceptions of their coaches influence their academic performance. Implications for practice highlight the importance of the student-athlete and coach relationship and how this relationship can affect the student-athlete academic experience.