Coaches' Leadership Styles and Coach-athlete Relationship among Student-athletes of Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State

The quality of the coach-athlete relationship plays a pivotal role in determining the success, motivation and psychological well-being of student-athletes. This study examined the leadership styles of coaches and coach–athlete relationships among student-athletes of Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State. A descriptive survey design was employed. The population consisted of all 180 student-athletes, with a sample size of 166 respondents. The census sampling technique was used. Standardized and validated instruments were adopted for the study: They were Coaches’ Leadership Style Scale (α=0.94) and Coach–athlete Relationship Questionnaire (α=0.91).  Frequency counts and percentages were used to analyse the demographic characteristics of respondents, while Multiple Regression was used to analyse the hypotheses at the 0.05 alpha level. Results showed that there was a significant joint influence of leadership styles (F(3,162)=1689.45,p<.005) on coach–athlete relationship among student-athletes of Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State. There was a significant relative of autocratic (β=0.747, p<.005), democratic (β=0.512, p<.005), and laissez-faire (β=–0.272, p<0.05) on coach–athlete relationship among respondents.  Based on the findings, this study concluded that the manner in which coaches lead, communicate and interact with student-athletes play a crucial role in fostering trust and cohesion between the coach and athletes. It was therefore recommended that coaches should provide consistent and timely feedback during training sessions to enhance athlete motivation, trust and overall coach–athlete relationship.