Championship Science Olympiad Team: Coaching Influences on Student Performance

Abstract

The influence of coaches working with students in grades 6 - 12 in the context of an extra-curricular academic competitive team such as Science Olympiad has not been well studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of a successful head coach in the Science Olympiad program by studying a coach and team that has consistently reached the highest level of success in this program. This qualitative, intrinsic case study investigates one middle school Science Olympiad coach, Drew Kirian, and his team. Drew is one of only two coaches that has guided his team to six consecutive national championships in the Science Olympiad Program, making him a unique coach. Three categories emerged which help explain the components of successful coaching in the Science Olympiad program: structure, relationships, and expectations. These themes are well aligned with the coach-athlete relationship model developed by Mageau & Vallerand. This model may be useful in describing the necessary components of a successful coach in the academic competitive team context.