Coach behaviors, coach-athlete relationships, and competitive psychological processes in elite sport: a temporal narrative synthesis.

BACKGROUND

Research on coach behavior, coach-athlete relationships, and competitive psychological processes has developed in partly separate literatures, limiting understanding of how these domains interact across an elite competitive cycle.

AIMS: This review examined how these domains are represented across foundation building, competitive maintenance, peak competition, and post-competition transition, while distinguishing direct temporal evidence from interpretive phase placement.

METHODS

Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and Scopus were searched for peer-reviewed English-language studies published from January 2016 to 22 June 2026. Of 645 records identified, 481 unique records were screened, 205 underwent eligibility assessment, and 30 empirical studies were included.

RESULTS

Evidence was strongest for competitive maintenance and peak competition. Repeated-measures, diary, prospective, and event-based studies linked coaching behavior and relationship-related judgments with motivation, well-being, perceived justice, burnout, appraisal, coping, affect, confidence, and perceived performance. Evidence for foundation building was limited, while direct evidence on post-season evaluation and cross-cycle carryover was largely absent.

CONCLUSION

The proposed temporal framework should be viewed as an evidence-informed research architecture rather than an established causal sequence. It highlights phase-specific hypotheses for future research, coach education, and psychological support.