A Conditional Process Analysis of the Coach-Created Mastery Climate, Task Goal Orientation, and Competence Satisfaction in Youth Soccer: The Moderating Role of Controlling Coach Behavior

The purpose of this study was to investigate controlling coach behavior as a boundary condition for the relationship between a mastery climate, task goal orientation, and competence satisfaction in youth soccer. Latent conditional process modeling was conducted with a sample of 1,119 female and male youth soccer players 10–15 years of age. Results indicated that the interaction between controlling coach behavior and coach-created mastery climate accounted for 4% variance in task goal orientation. Furthermore, the indirect link between coach-created mastery climate and competence, through task goal orientation, was significant at all levels of controlling coach behavior, yet decreased from low (–1 SD; B =.40, 95% confidence interval [CIBC] [.28,.52]), to moderate (M; B =.35, 95% CIBC [.26,.46]), to high levels (+1 SD; B =.31, 95% CIBC [.22,.41]). Findings are interpreted as supporting the idea that controlling coach behavior abates the internalization of mastery values, thereby undermining the relationship between the coach-created mastery climate and players' competence satisfaction.