ABSTRACT
Despite a substantial body of evidence elucidating the benefits of an autonomy-supportive leadership style, it appears coaches often rely on controlling tactics that may negatively affect the sporting experiences of athletes. Given the reported adverse effects linked to a controlling coaching style and the cited benefits of an autonomy-supportive style, it is integral to educate and train coaches to adopt a coaching style that is consistent with an autonomy-supportive approach. The question of interest is how coaches can best be educated about the value of an autonomy-supportive coaching style and trained in the skills to implement autonomy-supportive behaviours. The following chapter utilises the transtheoretical model (TTM) of behaviour change to help coaches adopt more autonomy-supportive strategies. The TTM consists of six stages: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. Additionally, the TTM considers the construct of self-efficacy and 10 processes of change that facilitate the transition through the stages. In this chapter, we will apply the stages and processes of change associated with the TTM to advance the adoption of autonomy-supportive behaviours for coaches.
