The experience of Christian prayer in coaching: a qualitative investigation.

Egli, Trevor ; Czech, Daniel R. ; Todd, Samuel Y. 等

"Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire, a power to unite people in a way that little else can" (Nelson Mandela, 2000). Coakley (2009) stated "religion is powerful because it forms a foundation for general systems of meaning related to ultimate issues and questions. These systems of meaning affect the way people think about the world, about social life and social relationships, and even about sports." Sport and religion are two powerful avenues that when combined may create difficulties for those who attempt to make sense of both.

Sport sociologists have suggested several ways in which athletes and coaches use prayer, including (a) to cope with uncertainty; (b) to stay out of trouble; (c) to give meaning to sport participation; (d) to put sport into a "balanced perspective"; (e) to establish team solidarity and unity; (f) to reaffirm rules, expectations, and social control on teams; (g) to assert autonomy in the face of power; and (h) to achieve personal and athletic success (Coakley, 2009).

The current study focused on Christianity, the majority religion in the United States. Deford (1979) coined the term "Sportinaity" to refer to the social movement of coaches and athletes who live their lives as examples for Christ. One such organization is the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). FCA provides a resource to Christian athletes to connect and meet with others who have similar beliefs and values. This is only one of many Christian sports organizations (Coakley, 2009). Research has shown that Christian athletes can experience dilemmas when applying their faith within sport (Stevenson, 1997). The athletes reported that they coped best by "coming back to faith" which tended to help them within the dominant culture of sport. This refers to the athletes placing more importance on seeking out the meaning of their faith and how to apply it to their lives, especially sport.

Several studies have found that prayer is the most prolific response used to help Christian athletes cope with difficulties in sport (Czech & Bullett, 2007; Czech, Wrisberg, Fisher, Thompson, & Hayes, 2004; Park, 2000; Watson & Czech, 2005; Watson & Nesti, 2005). One such study examined Christian prayer in sport among Division I elite Christian athletes (Czech et al., 2004). Four uses of prayer were revealed: (a) performance prayers; (b) prayer routine; (c) thankfulness; and (d) God's will. This study helped show how athletes across different sports utilize prayer in similar ways to help reduce anxiety and discomfort (Coakley, 2009). However, further research exploring the phenomenon of prayer in sport is still essential (Watson & Czech, 2005; Watson & Nesti, 2005).

Another population within the Christian community of sport we know even less about is coaches (Czech & Bullett, 2007; Czech et al., 2004; Watson & Czech, 2005). Bennet and colleagues (Bennet, Sagas, Fleming, & Von Roenn, 2005) demonstrated the dilemma Christians may face within the dominant culture of sport. This NCAA Division I baseball coach struggled with the concepts of winning, social status, and his behavior in and out of the sporting environment. His response to these struggles included separating himself from sport and disconnecting his identity as a baseball coach, having a "take it or leave it" mentality towards baseball, and relying on what he saw as God's desires for his life. Further research regarding the Christian coach's lived experience regarding prayer in sport as a method of coping needs to be conducted.

Before examining the benefits associated with prayer used by coaches, it is important to determine 1) if prayer is used by Christian coaches and 2) what are the lived experiences of those coaches who do use Christian prayer in sport. Answering these inquiries could help sport psychology consultants obtain a better understanding of Christian coaches and how they interact with athletes.

Watson and Nesti (2005) also suggested that answers to these questions and other questions regarding spirituality and sport would allow sport psychology consultants to have a much more holistic approach. The holistic approach and existential phenomenology are grounded in the humanistic model, which involves the examination of the lived experience of an individual in their particular environment and context (Hill, 2001). Existential phenomenology involves obtaining a rich and thick description about a person's lived experience regarding some phenomenon (Patton, 2002). Existential phenomenology allows co-participants to speak freely, openly, and in-depth regarding their lived experiences of using prayer in coaching and the sport context. Although there has been some research regarding athletes' use of prayer in sport, little to no emphasis has been placed on coaches' use of prayer in sport. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine NCAA Division I Christian coaches' experience of prayer in sport using existential phenomenology.

Method

Bias Exploration and Bracketing

When utilizing existential phenomenology the primary tool of data collection is the researcher (Czech et al., 2004; Patton, 2002). Researcher biases have the ability to hinder and deter the co-participants' true experiences. Therefore, the first author underwent a bracketing interview that brought awareness to any themes he had regarding his own experiences of prayer as a Christian. This helped the researcher suspend his predispositions during the interview process, data collection, and data analysis to help depict the real and accurate reality of what was experienced by the co-participants.

Analysis of the bracketing interview revealed four themes. The first theme was prayer used to thank God for opportunity. Being physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy are aspects of his life he was very grateful for and expressed through prayer. As a coach, he would always mention how thankful he was for the athletes and their abilities to be able to perform. Second was the theme of safety. In a coaching role, he felt responsible for those they watched over and expressed this concern to God through prayer. Third, praying to glorify God was a theme that emerged. It was important that his actions, words, and effort were pleasing to God across all situations. The fourth and final theme of the bracketing interview entailed team and individual prayer. Settings in which he prayed were either with the team aloud or in his own prayer time, as well as praying with and for individual players.

Co-participants

The co-participants included six NCAA Division I Christian head coaches (3 male, 3 female). Five of the co-participants were Caucasian and one of the co-participants was African-American. The co-participants coached soccer, basketball, track and field, and swimming, respectively. The co-participants all coached female athletes. Purposeful sampling was used to obtain information-rich cases on Christian coaches' experiences of prayer in sport (Patton, 2002). This meant choosing a particular population that allowed the phenomenon of interest to best be explored. The co-participants were considered Christian through self-profession and agreeing to the "Vision" and "Mission" of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) http://www.fca.org/AboutFCA/

Procedure

Co-participants were reached through personal contacts of the head researcher and research team. The term "co-participants" is used due to the nature of phenomenological interviewing being understood as a give and take between those being interviewed and the interviewer in an attempt to make the interviews an open dialogue (Thomas & Pollio, 2002). E-mail, telephone, and personal encounters were methods of meeting the coaches, and those interested and willing to participate were interviewed. Interviews took place in private, either in the coach's office or an agreed upon location, to allow for confidentiality. Consent forms were signed before each interview was conducted. Those who were interviewed over the telephone (N=3) agreed to consent through e-mail correspondence. Co-participants were informed that they were able to withdraw at any time due to the voluntary nature and that there was no monetary reward for their participation. Each co-participant was aware that the sessions were recorded for accuracy. Afterwards, each co-participant was e-mailed a copy of the transcript to review, and he or she was informed that the first author and the research team would review the transcripts for data analysis. Anonymity of participation and the data was explained to each co-participant. Each co-participant was given a pseudonym when being reviewed by the research team or anyone outside of the main researchers to maintain confidentiality. Each member of the research team involved in reading the transcripts and data analysis also signed forms of confidentiality. The members of the research team consisted of fellow graduate students who had knowledge of the phenomenological method through graduate-level studies.

Interview Protocol

The same interview question was asked of each co-participant to gain an understanding of the Christian head coach's experience of prayer in sport: "When you think about praying as a coach, what comes to mind?" This question enabled the co-participants to think freely regarding prayer without any bias or direction from the researcher. The interview question was also created so as to not conflict with any of the researcher's biases uncovered in the bracketing interview. After the initial question, the first author used probing questions to allow for elaboration and clarification of experiences. These were based on the co-participant's response and, whenever possible, were in the form of their vocabulary (Dale, 1996). Example questions include: "You mentioned --, could you elaborate more on that?"; "What was that experience you described like for you?"; "What did you mean when you said --?"; and "Are you able to tell me about another time you experienced prayer in sport?"

The interview process was consistent with the existential phenomenological approach. Since existential phenomenology aims to expand knowledge on a given phenomenon, the initial interview question allowed the co-participants to describe their experiences openly and freely.

Data Analysis

Data for this study was analyzed by adopting an analysis procedure developed by Czech et al. (2004) and Patton (2002) which included four steps: (a) approaching the interviews; (b) focusing the data; (c) phenomenological reduction; and (d) releasing meanings. Approaching the interviews involved transcribing the interviews and obtaining a grasp of the interviews. This entailed having the recorded interviews transcribed verbatim by the first author and a professional transcriptionist so they could be thematized. After being transcribed, the first author sought a better knowledge and understanding of those interviews by listening and reading the transcripts numerous times to grasp their experience.

The second step was focusing the data. This was accomplished by bracketing the data. Bracketing the data allowed the researcher to become aware of any of his biases and create a mindset where "all elements and perspectives having equal weight" (Patton, 2002, pg. 286). It is important to control any of the first author's presuppositions so as not to skew the data and contaminate the co-participant's experience. The first researcher's biases were accounted for, there is always the potential for some bias. The research team was able to analyze the transcripts and provide awareness as to whether themes from the bracketing interview were being revealed in the themes created by the co-participants.

Phenomenological reduction was the third step in the process and consisted of eliminating any irrelevant and repetitive data, verifying the elimination of said data, and member checking. Elimination of data involved the removal of meaningless utterances such as, "um," and "uh." It was done in a way so as not to lose the essential meaning of the co-participants' experiences but to allow for a smaller and more manageable transcript (Czech et al., 2004). Summaries of the transcripts were then given back to the co-participants to ensure no meaning of the phenomena had been lost. Co-participants were also allowed to view the transcripts at any time throughout the analysis, known as member checking, to provide any additional insight or modification of the recordings to ensure their experiences were truthfully conveyed.

Lastly, the meanings were released by forming categories, identifying themes, and describing themes. Forming categories involved recognizing comprehensible, small segments of text known as meaning units and placing these meaning units into similar clusters (Cote, 1993). These clusters were then placed into themes by the first author, as well as by the research team to help limit bias. The researcher and his advisor then identified themes based on the clusters that captured the essence of the data. Describing themes involved balancing the data by both focusing and interpreting the data. It was important to omit information that did not contribute to the meaning of the phenomenon at hand. It was also vital to use direct quotations from the transcriptions to present the phenomenon in an accurate and truthful fashion. That being said, the use of direct quotations and interpretation of the themes was balanced in a way to present the phenomenon in a concise yet truthful fashion.

Reliability

Reliability can be understood as the ability to replicate particular methods and attain consistent results across people and time. According to Patton (2002), in order for a qualitative study to be reliable, one must consider the co-participants as trustworthy. During the course of this study, four questions helped guide the reliability throughout the collection of data (Czech et al., 2004; Goodrich, 1988): (a) Did the descriptions capture the experience?; (b) Did the structure match the participant's experience?; (c) Did the structure emerge from the data?; and (d) Do others see the description? Throughout data analysis these questions were addressed by the lead researcher, and the research team, which led to the working and reworking of the thematic structure. Member checking, where transcripts are reviewed by the co-participants to ensure recordings as accurate to their experiences (Patton, 2002), demonstrated further reliability since no changes were suggested. The themes conveyed by the co-participants were deemed trustworthy, thus indicating reliability of the results. Although consistent findings

may be observed in phenomenological research of a particular phenomenon, one must consider that "human descriptions and meanings change over time as a result of changing experiences" (Thomas & Pollio, 2002, p. 40).

Validity

The degree of a study's validity is based on a reader's ability to experience the descriptions as truthful (Czech et al., 2004). The reader should be able to follow the process that steered the researcher to the conclusion of analysis, regardless of whether or not he or she agrees with the researcher (Czech et al., 2004; Dale, 1996). Creswell (1998) described eight procedures that help increase the trustworthiness or validity of qualitative projects. They include the following: (a) prolonged engagement and persistent observation; (b) triangulation (or crystallation); (c) peer review and debriefing; (d) negative case analysis; (e) clarification of researcher bias; (f) member checking; (g) rich, thick description; and (h) external audit. Glesne (2011) stated that all the procedures do not need to take place in every study; however, they were all utilized in this project to enhance trustworthiness.

Results

This exploration sought to create a thematic structure of the experience of prayer by NCAA Division I Christian head coaches. Following analysis of the data, four themes were discovered: (a) relying on God's guidance; (b) roles of coaching; (c) prayer types; and (d) subtle influence. Each of the four themes created a structure of the experience of prayer for the co-participants.

Subthemes were found for three of the four overall themes. Relying on God's guidance comprised of the following subthemes: (a) wisdom with team issues; (b) trusting God's will; and (c) coping. Subthemes for roles of coaching consisted of (a) impact; (b) preparation as coach and leader; and (c) success. The theme of prayer types comprised of two subthemes, (a) team prayer; and (b) personal prayer. Subtle influence did not show any subthemes.

Table 1 presents a model of the themes and subthemes and how their interrelationships developed from the lived experiences of the co-participants. Each theme was found in each of the six co-participants' interviews, while the subthemes were found in a minimum of five of the interviews.

Theme #1: Relying on God's Guidance

The first theme from the data involved seeking God's guidance and wisdom regarding various team issues, whether related to sport or outside of sport. The co-participants also believed God had a plan for their lives and situations they found themselves in and trusted in God's will. The coaches in this study found this theme to be vital in their prayer experiences.

Wisdom with team issues. The coaches realized that they are often faced with many difficult decisions regarding the players on their teams and understood the impact their decisions may have had on their players and believed it important to pray about these instances when encountered. These circumstances entailed giving well thought-out responses in addressing life issues, such as academics and relationships, the responsibilities of their player development, and disciplinary matters. One co-participant mentioned the magnitude of their responsibilities to the players they coach and a need to ask for guidance. This coach shared his experience on why he must give his responsibilities to God in prayer:

So my foundation has to be very, very strong in what we're trying to do with these kids and all and I gotta believe in that. I know what God's plan is for me. I don't know what it is for each one of these other girls.

So I've gotta trust God and say, okay Lord, show me through whether it be [chaplain], or [wife], or my pastor, or You, whoever. Show me what I'm supposed to help develop in this young lady today. You know, where do You want her going so I can help her in that direction. And I can't do that by myself. You know, I've got to just say, no, alright Lord, where do you, what do you want me to do in this situation? (Co-participant #3)

Wisdom was also sought out when enforcing team rules and policies. The following co-participant recalled a time when she asked for wisdom when she had to suspend some of her best players:

So I think that Saturday night was just spent, God I really need direction and wisdom on how to lead this team. And I think that Sunday morning that I was there early and was one of the first times that I've really probably prayed over our field and sat and really prayed and sought his wisdom and guidance ... and it was a time where we did end up ... I did end up suspending the players ... and we played with players we had never played with before and it was the only game we had ever won. (Co-participant #1)

Co-participants portrayed how prayer was used when giving advice to players outside of sport:

We need to be very careful not just to tell kids stuff, there needs to be thought going into it. Always pray and ask God for the right things to say because I don't have all the answers. And I make sure our team, and especially they ask and they seek some advice on things not necessarily related to basketball, they seek that and it's your responsibility that what you say to them the advice you give you put some thought into it, you put some prayer into it and ask God for some wisdom and I think those kinds of things are very important. (Co-participant #4)

In summary, the co-participants asked for wisdom or guidance on a variety of team issues in matters pertaining both inside and outside of sport.

Trusting God's Will. This subtheme emerged as the coaches accepted situations and job positions to be within God's Will or plan. They described God as sovereign or all-knowing and placed their trust in God's hands on issues that are not within their control. Co-participants found prayer to be an act of God's Will. Here a coach describes how her prayer for her program coincides with God's Will:

I don't think that anything can be done outside of prayer that ... nothing can be done that isn't the will of God, or within God's will without inviting God into whatever you're doing. I do have ... prayer is the way that we invite God into all that we're doing because that is a conversation I have with the Lord and that He has with me. So if I want to create a program, a soccer program that is excellent and that with ... to glorify God in all they do and then also seeks to share Him with everyone around them then everything that I do from recruiting to training to our devotionals, any aspect of the program should be something that I seek to invite God into at all times ... so that it's His program and not mine. (Co-participant #6)

Lastly, co-participants described their coaching jobs as God's plan for their lives. This particular coach describes his desire to be a coach as within God's Will:

I'm one of those that honestly believe that we've all got a purpose in life and that God places us where He wants us as long as we're open to following his will. And for me, I thought ever since high school, as an athlete, that I never doubted what I was going to do in life. I knew, or felt like this what God's wanted me all along. (Co-participant #3)

In summary, the co-participants felt like prayer was important in understanding God's Will for their lives. This was seen in both their programs and their understanding of where God has placed them professionally.

Coping. When being exposed to the different emotions and feelings that come along with sport, many of the coaches found prayer to be a way to cope with the situation. In particular, co-participants found prayer to reduce stress in their coaching lives:

I mean honestly prayer keeps your sanity. Because let's be real here, you're responsible for a group of people from all different walks of life. And then with me, being who I am in God, there's a responsibility that I have no matter who I'm around. (Co-participant #2)

In summary, coaches sought out prayer to cope with various stresses presented to them due to the nature of their profession. This allowed them to feel stress free and feel confident in God's provisions.

Theme #2: Roles of Coaching

The original question presented to the co-participants, "When you think about praying as a coach, what comes to mind?" created a plethora of responses regarding their outlooks concerning their professional responsibilities. However, when considering their experience of prayer the co-participants seemed to have a much bigger picture of their role as a coach from what many called the "Xs and Os" of the sport. Subthemes that emerged include the following: impact beyond sport, preparation as coach and leader, being an example, and success.

Impact. Many of the coaches believed their job was to impact the lives of their players in much more than just their particular sport. Therefore, prayer was used to gain perspective because they felt their role extended far beyond their time spent with their players during their collegiate athletic career. Certain co-participants noted the opportunity they have been given as a coach to have an impact on their players within sport to affect their lives outside of sport: "And since I'm a coach I ... God's put me in a position to impact a lot of kids lives for His kingdom, which is cool." (Co-participant #6)

Other co-participants saw their roles as a coach as an obligation to develop young people. The coaches put this idea into perspective regarding their prayers:

More so, my direction as it relates to my job and my career and my dealing with young people, I pray for vision in terms of leadership. I think that is such a big part of it. Not necessarily specifically how the team is doing and that we are successful. But as someone who has a responsibility and has an obligation to young people. (Co-participant #4)

These coaches understood their role as a coach entailed being an example to their team. This includes being a role model:

Again it's an awesome responsibility and that kinda goes with being in the public eye. You're a mentor whether you like it or not. You're a role model whether you like it or not. You're a coach. I mean a lot of pro athletes, they don't want to be role models and they want to do their own thing and they want to ... but hey, you're in the public eye so whether you like it or not. You're a role model so you better understand that. You better understand the consequences. (Co-participant #5)

Co-participants also took the idea of being an example to others to reflect the example of their Christian faith and relationship with Jesus Christ:

It looks like that in all things that my heart is to make God look like the most valuable thing in my life and not me. So and that's taking the spotlight off of me, my achievement, my desire, my want, my paycheck and putting the spotlight on God who's the most important thing in my life. So if I want to ... whatever the spotlight shines on would be the thing that I'm glorifying in my life so if I want the spotlight to be on God then I gotta take the spotlight off of me. (Co-participant #6)

In summary, in order to be an effective coach, co-participants utilized prayer as a reminder of accepting the responsibility of being a mentor to their players and to live a life, which demonstrates their own personal relationship with Jesus.

Preparation as coach and leader. The co-participants prayed for leadership. They desired to be a leader to the best of their abilities for their team:

For me, I think, I can tell a difference in the times I pray before practice of, God help this be organized and help this to be ... help me to lead in the way that I need to lead, as opposed to the ones where I'm rushed in and you're running in late and it's a quiet, murmured prayer of, God let me lead here or I don't even pray at all and I think that's something I'm trying to grow in as a coach. is to make sure that that's something I give to God consistently. (Co-participant #1)

Many of the coaches saw that in order to be a good leader, one must serve. The following coaches experiences of prayer involved being a servant:

As a coach ... I think about being similar to a shepard. As a coach, I see myself as a leader so in my prayers it's not isolated to what I need, it's more of looking over a flock or being that overseer. So when I pray, I pray the needs of the flock and not necessarily my own. (Co-participant #2)

In summary, the co-participants thought leadership to be a crucial part of being a coach, which included serving those around them.

Success. As mentioned earlier when discussing the overall theme, which includes outcome, winning has been a dilemma for Christian coaches at the Division I level (Bennet et al., 2005). Despite the co-participants mentioning winning as part of "the nature of sport," winning was not always discussed in terms of a dilemma because winning is not always success to them:

No, [investigator], I say just prayer, to me, I'm a firm believer in it because I think it works, but the answers that I hope for sometimes may not be the ones that I was expecting. They come in a whole different package, in other words. I don't think God gives a flip whether we win or lose because that coach I'm coaching against may be a Christian and may be praying even more than I am. I mean, He's not going to, okay I like you today and don't like you tomorrow. I don't believe that's the way it works. I think He's got a long range plan out there and I think everything works for the good of that and that's what I meant about the external thing. It's not about the X's and O's all the time. (Co-participant #3)

In summary, success is an idea coaches addressed in their own terms. They recognized that one cannot coach without realizing the outcomes that come with the job, but many used prayer to see that winning did not define success for them as a coach.

Theme #3: Prayer Types

Prayer types refers to the context in which prayer took place. Co-participants spoke of team environments, as well as prayer being used in his/her personal life.

Team prayer. This subtheme describes how the coaches experienced prayer with their team both collectively and also as individual team members. When praying as a group within competition, whether before or after, it was a tool to bring team members together and unite them. Both memory prayers, such as the Lord's prayer, as well as conversation prayer was used before competition:

Most ... and I've been around a lot of sports in my life ... most of us all do that because it's common ground. It's common ground. You don't put anybody in the position to feel uncomfortable. Most everyone, even those that are, do not profess the faith, even those people. They've heard it. They've seen it. It's been in somebody's house before so it allows them to connect even in a way that they don't ... they may not even fully understand it, but for me to be able to speak this with you ... wow ... we have something in common and when you're dealing with a college team you're dealing with people from different states, different backgrounds, different cultures so that's ... that ground is so common that it gives them even peace in that that I know at least three other people here understand where I am. (Co-participant #2)

An example of a conversation prayer is described by this co-participant:

Normally it's just, you know, we thank you God for ... just thanking him for his goodness and for the abilities he's given each one of our players and that ... pray that we step out and play together as a team and use the abilities that You've given us to glorify you and keep us safe and enjoy each other as we're out there ... kind of a gist. (Co-participant #1)

Co-participants mentioned what bringing a team together in prayer means to them:

And it reminds me a little bit of pro football, when there's an injury, you know, a lot of the guys from both teams will kneel and pray. You know, and that's awesome because it transcends jersey color and it gets to the heart of the matter and that's Jesus Christ as Savior, as Lord. (Co-participant #5)

So the power of the Holy Spirit. for His love to unite us, for all the things that He does that can overwhelm. Basically, overwhelm and change our hearts forever. And that's something that unites us, makes us stronger, builds us up and then we get to share that to others every time that we pray. (Co-participant #6)

Team prayer also involves situations where coaches prayed with and for athletes on their teams:

There was one particular girl, regularly we would have, I would have a prayer with her sometimes with team issues, things that were going on with the team and she would come to me and say, coach can we sit down and have prayer a few minutes? And we would do that coming back from a road game, there would be a problem or two developing that she'd see on the inner part of the team that I don't get to see, that I'm not privy to and she would see it coming and she would want to bait in prayer and we would do that. So I would certainly do that with her. (Co-participant #3)

In summary, prayer was used in different ways by Christian coaches with the team as a group and as individuals. Prayer as a team was used as a tool to unite a group in both a physical sense and also a mindset.

Personal prayer. Co-participants listed numerous accounts of their own personal experiences of prayer. This includes not only within sport, but also is understood as a part of their being. Many of the coaches found prayer gives them life:

And then, as far as my prayer life, I'm definitely a morning, noon, and night girl. Like I rise early to seek the face of God. To me, it's my lifeline. Like if you know, somebody's in the hospital, whatever, and they're on that breathing machine ... prayer is that for me. (Co-participant #2)

Prayer also entailed to their purposes and identities as a Christian:

Well I think first of all that it is very important to remember that is not a separate deal as a Christian or a coach, your prayer life should be consistent regardless of your occupation. I don't see it as praying as a coach, I see it as praying daily and spending time in scripture, prayer and meditation for my life as a husband as a father of two, that is what I pray for as much as anything. (Co-participant #4)

It's just a...part of what we do and that's part of being a Christian, just talking to God, you know? (Co-participant #5)

In summary, Christian coaches see prayer as not only an action to take place within and for their profession, but also in every other aspect of life.

Theme #4: Subtle Influence

It was prevalent for the each of the co-participants to have a desire for others around them to experience their own way of life; however, they acknowledge the fact that others, specifically their team, may not have the same worldview or beliefs. Coaching at the NCAA Division I level did not always provide the appropriate setting for faith to be dialogued and many times this desire took the form of prayer:

We're not going to push it on anybody. Where you're at spiritually is up to you. Each one of us, we're all at different levels where we want to be. Some don't want to be anywhere. So we're not going to say, you've got to do this.. .purely voluntary. We don't bring it up all the time. It's just kinda known if the kids need to talk they know they can come talk to me or the staff. We're just not going to force it down their throat so if you're going to play for me, if you're going to play, it's going to be this, this, this, and this.. .that's not how we do it. It's just kinda here if you need it. If it's never brought up, it's never brought up. You kinda take what you can get, or what you want. (Co-participant #3)

Discussion

Relying on God's guidance, roles of coaching, prayer types, and subtle influence were the four themes found through data analysis with all themes, excluding subtle influence comprising of two or more subthemes. The results of the study will be examined with previous research revolving around spirituality in sport, more specifically the Christian faith. This section also includes how this may apply to sport psychology consultants.

Theme #1: Relying on God's Guidance

The co-participants in the study articulated seeking God's wisdom through prayer and accepting His decision as part of His plan for their lives. Such thoughts were expressed by each of the coaches when thinking of their experiences of prayer as a Division I coach.

Wisdom with team issues. The co-participants in this study sought wisdom and guidance from God through prayer when facing team issues. This group of Christian coaches found that their position as a head coach meant facing and making executive decisions over issues outside of their expert knowledge of their sport. Before making these decisions and oftentimes recognizing they are unavoidable because of the nature of their position, they believed that in seeking advice from God they would be answered. The co-participants' responses demonstrated a readiness to make decisions or have conversations over tough issues because it is expected of them. However, they credit their ability to do so from wisdom God has given them.

The coaches sought wisdom in carrying out the policies and rules, which were expected to be followed by the team. When considering sport and religion, Coakley (2009) describes the idea of respecting authority and expectations by athletes for the rules as an act of obedience and correlated with success. Enforcing such policies when broken, whether consciously or unconsciously, may cause seeking wisdom in prayer because they are not only making a coaching decision, but also a possible moral decision in lieu of their Christian faith.

The Christian coach's experience described by Bennet et al. (2005) was said to rely on God's guidance through faith, but never mentioned how this was accomplished. Stevenson (1997) also mentioned that when faced with a conflict between faith and sport, Christian athletes would question the meaning of sport and "come back to faith", yet how this happened was not discussed. Co-participants in this present study found prayer an important step for them when relying on God's guidance within team matters that may be easy or difficult.

Trusting God's will. The coaches in this study found any situation they were given had a purpose and served a greater plan, which they accredited to being within God's will. Prayer was used as an act of acceptance or understanding of God's will.

Similar to Christian athletes' experiences with prayer (Czech et al., 2004), Christian coaches attributed their circumstances and outcomes to God's will. Both athletes and coaches of the Christian faith found prayer to be a way to understand the dominant nature of sport in which they are consumed and the dilemmas and victories of sport as part of God's greater plan. Essentially, being a coach was meant to happen through God's design, which they chose to accept. Although it was not expressed through prayer, it was mentioned that a Christian coach resolved success and the supply of job positions as part of God's plan for their life (Bennet et al., 2005).

Coping. Many of the Christian coaches found prayer to be a stress release when considering the demands and responsibilities of their profession. As mentioned earlier, they often understood each placement and scenario of their lives as God's will; however, prayer was an act of coping when the burden was heavy and caused stress. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) define coping "as a process of constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands or conflicts appraised as taxing or exceeding one's resources" (p. 141). Weinberg and Gould (2003) state problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping are the two widely accepted categories of coping. Problem-focused coping entails employing behavior change tactics and actions to change or come to terms with the stressor, such as goal setting or problem solving. An emotion-focused coping focuses on the emotional responses caused by stress and is often managed through behaviors, such as relaxation and meditation. Because the co-participants discuss their stress from their responsibilities of their coaching profession, of which the situation is unlikely to change, Lazarus and Folkman (1984) would categorize their prayer for coping as emotion-focused.

Not only within this study, but also in various other studies prayer was found to be utilized within athletics as a coping mechanism (Vernacchia, McGuire, Reardon, & Templin, 2000; Park, 2000; Czech et al., 2004; Watson & Nesti, 2005). This is also consistent with Czech et al. (2004), who found co-participants used prayer to cope when those uncertainties cause anxiety and stress with all of the different expectations, responsibilities, and consequences others and themselves place on their performance.

Theme #2: The Roles of Coaching

For the co-participants in the study as part of their roles as a coach they mentioned their tactical responsibilities, but typically levitated towards their relational duties to their players. This took the form in a variety of avenues both within and outside of competition, in which they utilized prayer. The subthemes will be discussed individually and then collectively at the end where they will be understood through the coach-athlete relationship.

Impact. Co-participants used words such as "help," "impact," and "build" which led to the emergence of this subtheme. Overall, they reflected the coaches' belief that they are expected to be a role model and have influence in the lives of the athletes they coached. Coaches spoke of their responsibility as an "obligation to young people." It was understood through the co-participants' prayers of knowing their lives reflected what was meaningful to them--their relationship with Jesus Christ. Being a Division I coach they described this situation as not only being noticed by their players, but also the public.

Coakley (2009) states sport is typically a "self-indulgent" and "self-centered" activity, but when faith is brought into this world it may disrupt or cause a conflict for this type of thinking. Coaches in this study used prayer to achieve a greater meaning within their coaching role, and they found purpose in their relationships with their players. This belief in the importance of their relationship with athletes was never expressed as a dilemma, which is different from what Christian athletes may experience within the sport culture. Stevenson (1997) noted these athletes struggled to discern how their faith influences their relationship with both coaches and teammates.

Being an example was recognized as an opportunity to reflect Jesus Christ for the co-participants, as well as in the study conducted by Bennet at al. (2005). Co-participants in both studies recognized that serving as a role model and being in the public limelight meant their actions were held to a higher accountability than if they were in a different profession. Bennet et al. (2005) spoke about this opportunity as a struggle and a difficult task to handle, whereas co-participants within this study acknowledged the magnitude of such a responsibility, they seemed to find solitude in reminding themselves of the power of whom they desire to replicate, Jesus Christ.

Success. It was prevalent for the Christian coaches to discuss the idea of success in light of their faith. Prayer was used to comprehend the meaning of success because they were aware of the sport culture and the importance it places on winning; however, the co-participants did not always see winning as success in their own eyes or in the eyes of God.

Coakley (2009) suggests that within sports one inevitably will experience loss. Through the use of one's religious beliefs, in this case Christian prayer, one is able to put sport into perspective and not solely define oneself in light of sport. Czech et al. (2004) found that Christian athletes were able to attribute outcomes of their sport performance to God's will, which allowed them to put sport into perspective for them. Placing a high priority and enjoyment on winning is a dilemma that has created conflict within a Division I Christian coach's life (Bennet et al., 2005).

Jowett, Paull, Pensgaard, Hoegmo, and Riise, (2005) suggests there are three primary factors that contribute to the complex phenomenon known as the coach-athlete relationship: (a) individual difference characteristics of the coaches' and athletes' (e.g., gender, race, age, experience); (b) athletic environment where the relationships are rooted (e.g., level of sport); and (c) cultural environment (e.g., values, philosophies, norms, beliefs). The co-participants within this study demonstrated an awareness of each facet, which ultimately led to belief that the coach-athlete relationship is able to affect both performances in sport and as human beings, which is supported by previous case studies (Jowett, 2003; Jowett & Cockerill, 2002; Jowett & Meek, 2000).

Theme #3: Prayer Types

The following theme demonstrated the different situations of where and how prayer was utilized seen through the experiences of the coaches. Prayer is done inside and outside of competition with and for their athletes. Utilizing prayer was demonstrated not only to occur in the work place, but was a part of their being.

Team prayer. Co-participants spoke of many instances where prayer was utilized within competition as a way to create unity among their teams by performing this action aloud. Coaches also found it important to pray with and for individual athletes when given the opportunity. Christian coaches within this study often spoke on their understanding of the power of prayer and its ability to bring people together despite individual differences. For example, one coach mentioned how each girl on her relay team may have a different mindset going into a race, but prayer before the race created "common ground." It may have a completely different meaning to the athletes; however, coaches see it as a time to connect.

Coaches have used Christian beliefs and prayers as powerful mediums in sport, which many find are able to create bonds between athletes and bring them together (Coakley, 2009). Although co-participants within this study found prayer to be used in this way, a study on Christian athletes' experiences of prayer themed this idea as more ritualistic (Czech et al., 2004). Christian coaches' experience of prayer within competition did not support this idea.

Personal prayer. Praying as a Christian was passionately described as a way of life for the co-participants. Prayer was understood as a phenomenon that was meant for much more than just their identity and life as a coach, but as a person and as a Christian. The co-participants not only strive for prayer to be a part of their lives, but also experience it to be rewarding and source of life for their overall well-being.

Theme #4: Subtle Influence

Each co-participant in this investigation found prayer to be important in recognizing that faith is very individualistic. They wanted their players to know Jesus Christ, but never to force their beliefs on anyone. These findings suggest that Division I Christian coaches recognize the independence of the spiritual or religious practices of their athletes on their team. This is parallel to what is recommended to sport psychology consultants when confronting the idea of spirituality within sport with athletes (Watson & Nesti, 2005). Due to the fact Christian coaches address the issue of spirituality within themselves, taking their athletes' development into consideration may be understood as using an overall holistic approach to the growth and development of an athlete, including the spiritual awareness (Bell, 1997).

Although the sample size was small, qualitative researchers are not as concerned with the number of co-participants as long as sufficient data is collected. Findings do not reflect collegiate coaches who compete at other levels (i.e., Division II, III), men's sports, or head coaches with other value-laden belief systems. Also, some of the co-participants were interviewed via telephone, which may have reduced any inclination to respond with socially desirable responses, as the primary researcher in the study is a professed Christian who utilized prayer in sport. Although measures were taken to eliminate these biases, they cannot be completely eliminated.

Implications for Sport Psychology

The findings of the present research add to the knowledge of how Christian coaches utilize prayer. That being said, the overall use of prayer within sport, has been neglected (Watson & Nesti, 2005). Knowledge of how Christian coaches and athletes utilize prayer within sport may allow consultants to provide more appropriate or holistic services (Watson & Nesti, 2005). Since sports psychology consultants generally work with coaches in a manner consistent with their belief system, further research would provide sports psychology consultants a deeper understanding of how coaches use prayer in sport. This would allow for more effective consultation by relating to the coach in a manner that they as coaches are comfortable. As stated by Watson and Czech (2005), it is also necessary to examine the idea of how prayer may be used as a tool for performance enhancement, as well as understanding educational models of sport psychology to address various spiritual and educational issues.

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Trevor Egli

Johnson University

Daniel R. Czech

Samuel Y. Todd

George W. Shaver

Noah Gentner

David D. Biber

Georgia Southern University

Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Trevor J. Egli, Ph.D., Professor in Sport and Fitness Leadership, Johnson University, Johnson Drive, Knoxville, TN 37998; tegli@johnsonu.edu

Trevor Egli, Ph.D., is now Professor of Sport and Fitness at Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee. He serves as a sport psychology consultant to local athletes and coaches. His research interests lie in the connection and integration of faith and sport, and cultural competency.

Dr. Dan Czech is a former Collegiate and Professional Baseball Player and Major League Baseball International Envoy to over 54 different countries around the world. Dr. Czech is currently a Professor and Director of the Sport Psychology Graduate Program at Georgia Southern University.

George W. Shaver is the Director of the Regents Center for Learning Disorders at Georgia Southern University. Education includes a Psy.D. from George Fox University, an M.Div. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at the University of Virginia Medical School. Research interests include the effects of effort in cognitive testing and the integration of spirituality and psychology.

Dr. Sam Todd (Ph.D., Florida State University) specializes in the practices and policies that govern the personnel management function within organizations. He is currently on the Sport Management faculty at Georgia Southern University.

Dr. Noah Gentner is currently a Professor of Fitness and Health Promotion/Kinesiology at Humber College in Toronto, CA. Education includes an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee.

David. Biber received his M.S. in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Georgia Southern University. His research interests include the relationship between sport and prayer along with exercise and behavior change, well-being and optimism, and youth sport.

Table 1
Description of Themes and Subthemes

THEMES                       SUBTHEMES

Relying on God's guidance    Wisdom with team issues
                             Trusting God's Will
                             Coping

Roles of Coaching            Impact
                             Preparation as coach and leader
                             Success

Prayer Types                 Team Prayer
                             Personal Prayer

Subtle Influence