Coach communication across competition phases: effects on athlete psychology and performance—a systematic review

Abstract

This comprehensive literature review, spanning from 2020 to 2026, explores the profound impact of coach communication on athletes' psychological states and performance across the three temporal phases of competition: pre-competition, in-competition, and post-competition. Utilizing the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and drawing from the Scopus database, the review meticulously analyzed 50 high-quality studies to bridge the gap between sport psychology, coaching science, and communication research. The thematic analysis revealed that verbal and non-verbal communication, precise and timely feedback, confirmation messages, and structure-giving strategies are consistently linked to enhanced athlete self-esteem, perceived capability, and drive, while effectively reducing competition-related anxiety. Moreover, overall communication quality directly influences team cohesion and objective performance outcomes. However, the effectiveness of these interactions varies depending on critical contextual factors, such as the specific stage of competition, the athlete's developmental level, the type of sport, and the strength of the coach-athlete partnership. Notably, post-competition feedback emerged as a vital component for athlete learning and burnout prevention. From a theoretical standpoint, these findings extend both general communication theory and the relation-inferred self-efficacy framework into competitive sports contexts. Practically, the review provides an evidence-based foundation for coaches to fine-tune the content and timing of their messaging according to the exact competition phase. Finally, the authors recommend that future research prioritize longitudinal study designs, cross-cultural comparisons, and standardized measurement tools to better establish causal relationships in sports communication.