THE LINK OF A COACH’S PERCEPTION OF LOCUS OF CONTROL AND HIS/HER MOTIVATIONAL APPROACH TO ATHLETES

The locus of control is related to the perception of the cause of certain events. It is considereda general personality orientation, a kind of personal disposition, and can be internal and external.When the locus of control is internal, it is said to be autonomous, while external causality can becontrolled (by others) or it can be impersonal (under the influence of a coincidence or luck). Theapproach in working with athletes can be based on supporting autonomy or behavior control.The aim of this explorative research was to determine the type of locus of control of futuresports coaches, the a priori motivational approach to athletes and the potential link between thetwo variables. It has been presumed that coaches with an internal locus of control i.e. those whobelieve that they themselves are in control of events in their lives, would be more inclined, inworking with athletes, to apply the approach based on supporting autonomy. The sampleconsisted of 122 examinees, students of coaching at the College of Sports and Health in Belgrade.The results confirmed the preliminary hypothesis and showed that the autonomous causalityorientation (internal locus) dominates, linked with a supporting approach. The controlling andimpersonal orientations (external locus) are related with the approach which reinforces behaviorcontrol in athletes. Especially relevant is the fact that the approach to athletes which is based on amoderate supporting of athlete autonomy is linked with all three causality orientations. It isrelevant to further investigate which factors, personal and environmental, impact the orientationof the coach towards the supporting approach. Supporting athlete autonomy is an importantissue, not only in a theoretical sense, but practical as well, as it has positive consequences on thepsychological development and mental health of athletes, especially the younger categories.