The Impact of Perceived Coach Social Support on Athletic Psychological Fatigue in the Context of the Internet of Things

With the continuous development of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, sports training is gradually moving towards intelligent and refined management, and real-time monitoring and data support of athletes’ physical and mental states are becoming increasingly possible. In contemporary sports science, the phenomenon of sport-related mental fatigue has emerged as a salient and increasingly prominent area of scholarly inquiry. In the context of the Internet of Things, this paper explores the impact of perceived coach social support on sports mental fatigue and examines the mediating role of sports engagement. The study used a questionnaire survey method to evaluate 338 athletes. The measurement tools included the Sports Mental Fatigue Questionnaire, the Sports Engagement Scale, and the Perceived Coach Social Support Scale. The results show that: (1) perceived coach social support is significantly negatively correlated with athletic psychological fatigue, and significantly positively correlated with sports investment, and sports investment is significantly negatively correlated with athletic psychological fatigue; (2) athletic investment plays a partial mediating role between perceived coach social support and athletic psychological fatigue, and the mediating effect accounts for 20.39% of the total effect. The conclusion of the study emphasizes that with the support of the Internet of Things, the social support behavior of coaches has a positive effect on the psychological state of athletes, and improving the level of sports investment is an effective way to alleviate athletic psychological fatigue. This study provides theoretical support and practical guidance for coach behavior optimization and athlete psychological intervention in an intelligent sports environment.