Don’t be a Pygmalion-prone coach

Andrea Becker, a sport psychologist who is an associate professor of kinesiology at Cal State Fullerton, talks here about how your expectations as a coach can influence the performance of your players – both positively and negatively.

One of her main points is that coaches need to avoid the Pygmalion syndrome, where they provide certain athletes with a better chance to succeed by treating them differently than other athletes. This can lead to negative results, including stunting the potential of players who might flourish under a coach who gives them as much instruction as he or she gives the “star” players.