Arab Educational Information Network

The purpose of this study was to examine physically disabled athletes’ perceptions of their coaches’ leadership behaviors as predictors of satisfaction with leadership. Data were collected from a sample of 63 disabled Jordanian male athletes. Descriptive statistics, including means, standard deviations, analysis of variance (ANOVA), multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and Pearson correlation (r) were used in examining data to answer the study questions. The results revealed a moderate-to-high satisfaction among disabled athletes with coaches’ leadership across all subscales (M=3.43). Athletes’ perceptions and the sports in which they engaged varied significantly on all subscales except autocratic behavior. Satisfaction with coaches’ leadership behaviors with respect to sport played was moderate (M=5.01). Significant correlation was found between athletes with physical disabilities’ perceptions and their satisfaction with leadership across all subscales (r‘s=.27 to .65), and negative correlation was found between coaches’ autocratic behavior and athletes’ satisfaction with personal treatment (r= -.39). To enhance athletes’ satisfaction, coaches should provide more training and instruction, reward good performance and allow greater participation in decision making and team goals, and game tactics and strategies. In addition, coaches should avoid behaviors likely to be perceived as autocratic. (Published abstract)