The Association between Leadership Styles of Adolescent Football Coaches and Players' Social Skills.

Background/Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the effect of the leadership style of adolescent football coaches on the social skills of players. Method/Statistical analysis: To that end, a questionnaire was administered to a total of 215 athletes registered with the Korea Football Association as of 2018. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 for frequency, exploratory factor analysis, reliability, correlation and multiple regression analysis. Findings: The findings were as follows. First, an analysis of the correlation between the leadership types of adolescent football coaches and the social skills of players showed that the training order had a positive correlation with empathy, self-direction, self-control and self-expression. Democratic behavior, social support and positive reinforcement had a positive correlation with empathy, self-direction and self-control. The authoritative style showed a positive correlation with empathy and self-expression. Second, a review of the association between leadership types of adolescent football coaches and empathy of athletes found a positive effect between the training order type (β=.653, p<.001) and positive reinforcement (β=.102, p<.05), while a negative effect was detected between authoritative guidance (β=.-.152, p<.001). Third, a review of the association between the leadership types of adolescent football coaches and the self-direction of athletes found a positive effect between the training order type (β=.255, p<.001), social support (β=.139, p<.05) and positive reinforcement (β=.364, p<.001). Fourth, a review of the association between leadership types of adolescent football coaches and athletes' self-control showed a positive correlation between democratic behavior (β=.302, p<.001) and social support (β=.464, p<.001). Fifth, a review of the association between the leadership types of adolescent football coaches and athletes' self-expression showed a positive impact of authoritative leadership style (β=.152, p<.05). Improvements/Applications: As democratic behavior and social support play a positive role in selfcontrol, coaches of adolescent football players should adopt these coaching styles for adequate self-control of players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]