Is there a correlation between coaches’ leadership styles and injuries in elite football teams? A study of 36 elite teams in 17 countries

Abstract

BackgroundDo coaches’ leadership styles affect injury rates and the availability of players in professional football? Certain types of leadership behaviour may cause stress and have a negative impact on players’ health and well-being.AimTo investigate the transformational leadership styles of head coaches in elite men’s football and to evaluate the correlation between leadership styles, injury rates and players’ availability.MethodsMedical staff from 36 elite football clubs in 17 European countries produced 77 reports at four postseason meetings with a view to assessing their perception of the type of leadership exhibited by the head coaches of their respective teams using the Global Transformational Leadership scale. At the same time, they also recorded details of individual players’ exposure to football and time-loss injuries.ResultsThere was a negative correlation between the overall level of transformational leadership and the incidence of severe injuries (rho=−0.248; n=77; p=0.030); high levels of transformational leadership were associated with smaller numbers of severe injuries. Global Transformational Leadership only explained 6% of variation in the incidence of severe injuries (r2=0.062). The incidence of severe injuries was lower at clubs where coaches communicated a clear and positive vision, supported staff members and gave players encouragement and recognition. Players’ attendance rates at training were higher in teams where coaches gave encouragement and recognition to staff members, encouraged innovative thinking, fostered trust and cooperation and acted as role models.ConclusionsThere is an association between injury rates and players’ availability and the leadership style of the head coach.

Facilitators to support the implementation of injury prevention training in youth handball: A concept mapping approach

“…Reviews of sport injury prevention studies underline the inadequate use of theory-based methods to increase the effectiveness of such behavior change interventions. 33,39 To conclude, the findings of our study, and similar results reported by others, 1,[33][34][35][36][37]39 indicate that psychological components may constitute an important part of injury prevention training for youth handball players.…”

“…The way in which coaches communicate with players appears to play a role here. Recent studies have reported that a democratic leadership style (involving motivating and inspiring players) is related to a lower incidence of severe injuries among male soccer players, 36 and that strong coach feedback results in worse game performance than mild, unobtrusive coach feedback in youth soccer players. 37 In addition, Go-zone statements 11 and 71 underline the long-term benefits of preventing sport-related injuries, and highlight the importance of maintaining injury prevention training over time.…”

Epidemiology of injury in English Professional Football players: A cohort study

“…The creation of injury prevention programmes during this timeframe has aimed to reduce injury incidence. However, training programmes, such as the FIFA 11+ are not enforced or used consistently (Bahr, Thorborg, & Ekstrand, 2015), with differences in training philosophies and coaches leadership styles at individual clubs often dictating the loading and injury prevention schedule, leading to a subsequent variance in injury incidence (Ekstrand, 2016;Ekstrand et al, 2017;Malone et al, 2017).…”

“…Therefore, football staff should consider looking at current practices around suggested risk factors such as coaching philosophy, previous injury and load management (Ekstrand et al, 2017;Hägglund et al, 2006;Malone et al, 2017), in order to reduce the incidence and prevalence of injury over subsequent seasons.…”

From microscopic to macroscopic sports injuries. Applying the complex dynamic systems approach to sports medicine: a narrative review

“…MSS susceptibility to injuries may change as a result of bottom-up (from subcellular or cellular level to the MSS level) and top-down influences of constraints (from social and psychological levels to the MSS level), recently reported through the association found between coaches' leadership style and injury rates. 64 The effects of fear, anxiety, stress, motivation and emotional arousal on motor coordination, 14 65 66 often disregarded in some models of sports injury, should also be taken into account due to their longterm effects on MSS.…”