학술논문

Expecting the best or settling for less: Examining philosophies and expectations of wheelchair and stand-up basketball coaches.
Document Type
Theses
Source
Dissertation Abstracts International; Dissertation Abstract International; 65-04A.
Subject
Education, Physical
Recreation
Education, Educational Psychology
Language
English
Abstract
Summary: The results are characterized by five general themes labeled: (a) coaches' philosophies about coaching, athletes, sport, and injured athletes; (b) coaches' expectations for themselves and their athletes; (c) coaches' perspectives about people and challenges in basketball; (d) coaches' backgrounds, experiences, education, and reasons for coaching; and (e) coaches' disability awareness. The wheelchair and stand-up coaches' philosophies concerning behaviors, priorities, on-court, benefits and lessons, and injury were very similar. The most significant differences concerned stand-up coaches' focus on performance versus wheelchair coaches' focus on the person. Both wheelchair and stand-up basketball coaches held similar expectations for their athletes. They expected hard-working, team focused, and committed athletes. An underlying difference between the coaches suggests that wheelchair coaches tend to push to the limits of athletes' goals, while stand-up coaches keep pushing until their own expectations are satisfied. Coaches' perspectives differed, as wheelchair and stand-up coaches view the sport through different lenses. Wheelchair coaches reported numerous challenges, yet the majority of their comments focused on the positive aspects of their sport and those involved. Stand-up coaches, even though they reported fewer challenges than wheelchair coaches, focused more on the negative aspects of their sport and athletes. The coaches also differed in their background experiences, as wheelchair coaches had more variety than the stand-up coaches in their experiences, how they began coaching, and their education. The last theme, disability awareness, suggests that coaches' exposure to people with disabilities did not influence their coaching philosophies and expectations. Coaches with and without exposure to people with disabilities prior to coaching had similar philosophies and expectations for their athletes. Results suggest that all wheelchair and stand-up coaches are more similar than different, and the sport ethic is more influential than disability stereotypes when wheelchair basketball coaches develop their philosophies and expectations for and about their athletes' abilities. According to the coaches in this study, the basketball court is a place where people with disabilities are treated the same as people without disabilities and disability status is not the focus.