Does a coach’s reputation affect an athlete’s creativity in team sports?

Purpose Leadership is a key factor that shapes an athlete’s development, also within team sports; most of this responsibility falls on the coaches. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the relationship between a coach’s reputation and athlete creativity as perceived by athletes within team sports. Design/methodology/approach The paper examined the reputational construct of coaches vis-a-vis athlete creativity. The researchers surveyed athletes from a variety of team sports and professional levels ( N = 203). Structural equation modelling was utilised for testing the hypotheses. Findings Findings suggest that a coach’s reputation has a significant influence on the development of an athlete’s creativity. Coach reputation affects the creative development of an athlete, with knowledge sharing and openness to experiences being the principal means of influence. Originality/value Our study (1) examines the influence of a coach’s reputation on an athlete’s creativity, (2) tests the role of knowledge sharing in the influence on an athlete’s creativity and (3) considers openness to experiences in the development of an athlete’s creativity.