Predicting Factors of Interest in Coaching for Female Basketball Players

The purpose of this study was to clarify support and barriers for female basketball players to become coaches, using the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) (Lent, et al., 1994). We questioned 165 female basketball players who played in the Women’s Japanese Basketball League (W league). We conducted a questionnaire survey which included demographic information and 12 contextual factors on coaching based on the SCCT (Watanabe, et al, 2016). The results showed that concern about lack of support had negative influence on interest in coaching, and that working status of coaches had negative influence on coaching self-efficacy. It is said that contextual factors such as working status and support influence career choice behavior, and we could find that the contextual factors influenced coaching self-efficacy and interest in coaching. It was suggested that it is necessary to improve the environment surrounding female coaches in order to raise female athletes’ interest in coaching and coaching self-efficacy. On the other hand, we could find that discrimination against females, which has been known as a barrier factor, influenced interest in coaching positively. This result showed that the participants grasped the status of female basketball coaches, and that they believed that they could overcome difficulties and become coaches. However, we could find that the experience of having been coached by female coaches influenced their choice of gender of role model. This result suggested that increasing the number of female basketball coaches can contribute to advancing female basketball athletes’ interest in coaching and coaching self-efficacy.