A Comparison of the Use of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Embedded in the Coaching Styles of Three Filipino Sport Coaches: Case Studies of Three Successful Filipino High School Coaches

Abstract

Communication is necessary for any human activity to take place. Even in human activities where communication is not as blatantly shown such as activities that seem purely physical in nature like sports, communication is ever present and crucial. The performance of athletes, which leads to the achievement of major aspects of goals in sports, is a product of intensive communication between the coach and the athlete. Schools at present do not only increase sporting activities because it is popular to students but also because, they have now realized that participation in sports and various activities contribute and play a role as well in the holistic development of adolescents. The complexities of sports more often than not require athletes to have someone to provide them with guidance to help them achieve the goals and objectives of sports: the coach, who employs coaching styles to help the athletes succeed. In the past studies on sports focused solely on the coaching process, and few and limited resources dealt with the communication aspect of sports, while none has been done on the verbal and nonverbal communication embedded in coaching styles. While studies in the Organizational Program of UP Manila do include verbal and nonverbal communication, none however include information on the verbal and nonverbal communication in a sports setting. A gap in knowledge thus exists, and it is in this light that this study was undertaken and sought to answer the following problem: “How do the three selected successful Filipino high school sport coaches compare in their use of verbal and nonverbal communication embedded in their coaching styles?” To arrive at the answers, an exploratory-descriptive research design was used, and employed through a case study, using qualitative data gathered from coaches and athletes using interviews and observation techniques. Purposive sampling method was done to garner information. The population studied included three successful Filipino high school sport coaches and three athletes per coach. Interview schedules and observation checklists were utilized to garner information from the coaches and athletes. To analyze the data gathered, thematic analysis was employed, after which the data were integrated. From the data it was found that coaches and the athletes are all members of their respective teams by choice. They have been with their teams for less than ten years and athletes have been members since their first year in high school. Geared towards the achievement of physical and affective needs of the athletes, the goals of all the coaches are holistic in nature. When coaching their athletes, coaches employ a combination of the cooperative and command styles, which is evident in their verbal and nonverbal communication that is clear, effective and appropriate. The nonverbal communication supplements their verbal means in both cooperative and command styles of coaching. Generally clean in appearance and are in appropriate sporting apparel, they use movements and facial expressions. In addition, they coach in the appropriate time and place, and use necessary equipments. Moreover, they observe intimate and personal distances. Lastly, they use sparingly sentence fillers and vocalizations.