Shy Like Me: Exploring Links Between Coaches’ Shyness and Beliefs About Shy and Exuberant Children in a Team Sports Context

This study examined links between coaches’ shyness and their perceptions of shy and verbally exuberant children in a team sports context. Participants were a community sample of N = 465 adults ( n = 379 males; n = 86 females) aged 18–78 years ( M = 43.48 years, SD = 9.96) with previous experience coaching children in team sports. Measures included demographic questions, respondents’ self-reported shyness, responses to vignettes describing hypothetical shy and verbally exuberant children in a team sports context, and an assessment of potential problems for shy athletes. Among the results, coaches’ shyness was significantly associated across both vignettes with overall worry ( F (1, 406) = 5.40, p = .021), greater anticipation that these children would experience peer difficulties ( F (1, 401) = 4.39, p = .037), and lower efficacy for working with these children ( F (1, 405) = 6.12, p = .014). These findings suggest that shyness among coaches may be manifested as higher threat perception and lower confidence in the context of children's behavioral management. As a result, children with different behavioral tendencies may not reap all the benefits that team sports participation can provide. This highlights the importance of sports coaches’ personality traits on the outcomes for shy and verbally exuberant team members and the need for support for shy coaches.