Outline
Sports’ Leadership entails giving direction to players as well as energizing and motivating them so that they get committed to a particular vision in sports. It is the responsibility of a leader to create a vision in the field of sports then find a way of influencing players to work towards achieving it. Leaders are found in various types of sports where they apply different leadership styles to achieve success. Leadership in the sports’ field has undergone a series of developments from the past when it had not gained much recognition through the present and a bright future has been predicted for the same. These developments in leadership have brought significant changes in sport psychology as it has made governments, institutions and individuals recognize the value of sports.
Introduction
(Carron, 2005) argues that, currently a lot of research has been carried out in the field of sports leadership due to the competitive environment experienced in sports. This competition is not only in professional sports but also in schools where players as well as their coaches strive to obtain success over other teams. Success in sports is always measured in terms of winning and /or losing which has brought so much attention on sports leadership whose quality determines success of a team.
How Research Has Shaped the Current Trends In sports leadership
Extensive research in sports leadership have made sports clubs’ managers realize the need to have their leaders trained on various issues of handling players as well as tactics so as to succeed in the field. It has also shown the need for diversity in terms of gender and age of leaders in sports. Thus, most women and children are now involved in sports than before giving them experience and opportunities to become leaders in the same field. Leaders in sports have changed from domineers and dictators and have started to observe respect while dealing with players. Directors and managers of sports are increasingly attending seminars and conferences on sports management giving them knowledge needed to improve performance of their players. Through these training sessions leaders have been made to realize that different leadership techniques apply to different players and they therefore take time to deal with players at individual levels. Situational leadership is another style being used by leaders where they apply different styles on different situations.For example, they use a different style on a team that is in its initial stage of development from the style used on a team that has already developed. (Case, 1986)
Research has also shown the importance of sports’ leaders to share their strategies with their players as it makes it easier for them to support a strategy they understand. More confident sports leaders have emerged making informed decisions for their teams according to expertise gained in the field. However it has been noted that the change in trends of sports leadership has not been without a reason and this is as a result of high bids offered to good leaders by team owners. Sports leaders have introduced diversity in the sports environment by introducing various types of sports. This has consequently called for leaders’ specialization in these fields for example, sports for the physically challenged where they train some disabled to play from wheelchairs.
Past Trends and How This Might Inform Future Developments
According to (Schwenderner,1942) In the past few decades women and children have been poorly represented in sports consequently leading to their under-representation in sports governance, coaching as well as administration. This situation has raised an alarm making sports governance get involved in actions that would encourage women and children to get involved in sports. Thus, more leaders have been developed from women through offering enticements to women players in the various fields of sports in form of cash tokens and medals. It is from this that women and children leaders are picked, hence motivating others to join the sports arena. In the past sports leaders applied autocratic styles of leadership to non-performing players which affected the leader- player relationship. This has led to the involvement of sports leadership trainers in making leaders understand that players can only perform well when a democratic style is applied on them. Democratic leadership in sports should be applied in future for better performance by players.
This involves incorporation of new programs of instructions where non performing players should be motivated as appropriate training techniques are applied on them rather than condemning them. In the past, learning institutions, governments and private sectors did not allocate enough resources in the field of sports which has been a limitation to leaders. Sports leaders have not been able to attend training sessions as well as organize tournaments for their teams which need to be looked upon since through funding leaders and players can access better skills. Leadership skills should be natured in young people involved in sports which will allow them to produce better leaders in the future and also improve the quality of sports.
Paradigm Shifts, Successes, and Failures and How They Have Impacted Current Developments in Sports Leadership
Leadership in the field of sports has also had its share of challenges and successes. One of these challenges is lack of highly educated sports leaders therefore, encountering difficulties especially during interaction and communication. Sports leaders need to move with current trends of technological developments so that they are in a position to respond and access information quickly and efficiently. Information technology has become very important to leaders in sports enalbling performance of analysis as well as organization of sports from using systems of entering data to management of results. Failures in sports leadership have been experienced where leaders have failed to lead their teams to success which has led to their loss of jobs. This usually occurs to professional coaches who operate on strict guidelines where they are expected to keep their teams on the lead if they want to retain their jobs. As much as it is a challenge to those loosing jobs ,it is serving as a motivational factor to sports leaders who are known becoming more competitive in the field. This has made sports leadership a career profession allowing people to earn a living from their talents. Shifts of leadership have been encountered in sports where unlike in the past, more women have also become competitive making large achievements in the arena. This has been experienced especially in athletics, where an increase of female participants has been recorded leading to their need for a leader who they can identify with; that is a female sports leader. (Ainsworth, 1955)
Conclusion
In the past ,sports leadership was taken as a talent with less importance associated with it and therefore it was of very low quality.This negligence was because the field of sports had not yet gained much popularity and there was no need for organized management. However, with time this field has undergone developments bringing fame to countries, individuals as well as teams leading internationally in sports. This has made sports leadership a necessity for success as the field of sports is being faced by challenges that call for professional management. With the current trend in sports leadership, one can predict a great change in the future of sports psychology as more expertise is being applied to ensure that leaders get the best out of players. Sports leaders are expected to offer quality and democratic leadership which will make the profession gain respect. (Singer, 1989)
References
Schwenderner N. (1942): A history of physical Education in the United States: As Barnes pp. 23-27.
Singer R. (1989): Applied sport psychology in the United States: Routledge pp. 43-46.
Ainsworth D. (1955): Individual Sports For Women: Saunders pp. 5-7.
Carron A. (2005): Group dynamics in Sports: Fitness Information Technology pp. 18-22.
Case R. (1986): Leadership Effectiveness In sport Settings: AMS Press pp. 11-13.