Predicting Factors of Coaching Style Influencing the Success of Professional Muay Thai Athletes

Abstract

This study investigated the coaching styles predicted to influence the success of professional Muay Thai athletes in northeastern Thailand. The researcher collected data by developing a questionnaire about coaching style and athlete achievement with 0.93 reliability, and 140 people in the northeast-50 trainers and 90 professional Muay Thai athletes were selected as the sample study by using a multi-stage random sampling method. The collected data was analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation Coefficient Statistics, and Multiple Linear Regression Statistics.

The findings of the research suggested that each coaching style, ‘descriptive and demonstrative’, ‘positive reinforcement’, ‘democratic’, ‘supportive’ and ‘autocratic’, significantly correlated with the professional Muay Thai athletes’ success, r = 0.553, r = 0.498, r = 0.463, r = 0.454 and r = 0.212, respectively. According to the result of using the raw-score form of three predictor variables, only the descriptive and demonstrative coaching styles had an influence on professional Muay Thai athletes’ success at the statistical significance level of 0.01 and the variance of success at 29.80 percent (adjusted R² = 0.298, F = 38.865, p < 0.001). The research suggested that the descriptive and demonstrative coaching styles are the most powerful and appropriate for professional Muay Thai athletes’ achievement, which coaches could apply to their training efficiently.