PHE2 ACW Report: Analysis of Athlete and Coach Welfare Case Study

This report examines a case study involving Michael, a young soccer player, and his interactions with his coach, host family, and teammates. It analyzes the athlete-coach relationship, highlighting communication issues and the coach's dismissive attitude, and discusses the duty of care owed to Michael by both the coach and his host family. The report delves into Michael's motivation, cultural competence, and personality, exploring how his background and reticence impact his integration and performance. It also addresses concerns about his mental health, recommending cognitive behavioral therapy to help him navigate his challenges and improve his communication skills and overall well-being. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and recommendations, emphasizing the importance of understanding and supporting athletes from diverse backgrounds to foster their success and well-being.

Running head: ACW 1
ACW
Name of Author
Institution of Affiliation
Date of Submission

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Executive Summary
This paper discusses Michael and his relationship with his coach, team members, and his
host family. Moreover, it also talks about the duty of care that is related to the situation of
Michael. Furthermore, it also describes the cultural competence that a person must adhere to
when interacting with a person from either a different background or culture.
Background
Michael, currently aged 21, is a young male from Nirgunda, Central Australia. After
finishing his 10-year studies at a local secondary in Nirgunda, Michael started working as an
artist in the community. Previously, Michael participated in a talent search program and was
acknowledged as a gifted athlete. Moreover, Michael was given a two-year scholarship at the
Malvern Magic A-League soccer team, and therefore, Michael had to relocate to Melbourne.
Currently, Michael lives with a host family, which consists of Peter, Judy, and their two kids
Annabel and Tom. Because Michael has not yet received his driver’s license, his coach Bill
drives him to and from training. Since joining his host family, the family has noted that Michael
seems quite reticent, withdrawn, and “melancholic.” His coach Bill states that Michael seems to
be self-confident and very talented with mad ball skills. However, when Michael is training with
his teammates, he seems to lack confidence and at times, unmotivated to associate with other
players and the coach. Therefore, because of Michaels’s attitude, Bill is sometimes dismissive of
Michael. At his host home, Peter and Judy say that Michael wants to e alone and rarely comes
out of his room. Michael is very reluctant to associate with other team members and declines all
invitations to go out with them, despite several attempts from the coach and team leaders. While
talking with Judy and Peter, Michael stated that he had high expectations of himself and wanted
to represent and financially provide for his family. Currently, his host family has noticed that

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Michael spends more time on the computer playing games that contain a lot of violence.
Moreover, Michael has been asking for more money, and Peter and Judy, are concerned that
Michael may be betting heavily online.
Athlete-coach relationship
The athlete-coach relationship between Michael and Bill is poor. This is because, despite
Bill driving Michael to and from the training, Bill has not yet been able to find a way to
communicate with Michael effectively. This is evident from the fact that despite making various
attempts to convince Michael to interact with other team members or participate in any club
activities, Bill has not been successful. Additionally, despite knowing that Bill has exceptional
talent, Bill is sometimes contemptuous of Michael. With that attitude from the coach, it is hard to
get the best of the athlete. One of the ways that Bill can better the relationship is by improving
his communication with the player. In doing so, Bill also has to consider Michael individually
and communicate with him on a personal level and also consider his situation. Additionally, Bill
has to give Michael positive support and encouragement despite Michael’s attitude. This will, in
turn, help Michael more confidence even while engaging with his team members. Moreover, Bill
has to show Michael that he has a genuine interest to see him succeed (Jowett, 2017). The
interest must go beyond team-related issues. Moreover, Bill has to show that he is Available in
case any team member wants to talk.
Duty of Care
The coach is responsible for Michael’s development in terms of soccer. Bill
acknowledges that Michael is well talented; therefore, it is part of Bill’s responsibility to ensure
that Michael’s development does not decline, and therefore, he should not be dismissive of
Michael. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the host family to take care of Michael. From the

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signs of Michael playing games that portray violence, not talking, and wanting to stay alone,
Peter and Judy have a responsibility to find out what is going on with Michael and find a way
that would make Michael express his feelings to them. Moreover, the loans which Michael was
asking for, it is the responsibility of Peter and Judy to question Michael on how he is spending
his money rather than jump into speculations that he is gambling heavily.
Motivation
Michael relocated to a family that he has not much associated with. Despite the fact that
his host family, coach, and even team members know that Michael has mad skills, none of them
has been able to communicate with him effectively. Therefore, they are jumping into conclusions
like Peter and Judy, they have not found a way to talk and motivate Michael, and when he has
started asking for more loans since they do not know how to communicate with him, they jump
to the conclusion that Michael is heavily gambling. Now, if Michael knows that, he may be
unmotivated to talk to his host family. Moreover, as a coach, you must be tolerant of the players
and show support no matter what. Now, even though Bill knows that Michael is a talented
athlete, he is sometimes dismissive, and when a person feels like he is not regarded highly,
his/her motivation to the course may diminish. This is for the case of Michael in that he does not
want to participate in any social activity of the club or go to an invitation from the team members
(Ryan & Deci, 2017).
Cultural Competence
Cultural competence is used to describe the principles, skills, and values that respect,
acknowledge and work towards the best interaction between a person and different ethnic and
cultural groups that the person may associate with (Betancourt et al., 2016). There are three main
components of cultural competence:

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1. Attitude: The importance of attitude in cultural competence is to outline the dissimilarity
between just knowing cultural differences and actively examining your own internal
beliefs and developing awareness.
2. Awareness: Knowing your own individual reactions to persons who are of different
backgrounds or cultures from yours.
3. Knowledge: A person’s beliefs and values about equality may not be the same as his/her
actual behavior. Moreover, there is a wide difference between a person’s beliefs and
actions.
Now while working with Michael, his host family, Bill, and his teammates must all know
that Michael is from another town, and therefore, his actions may have been influenced by where
he grew up. Therefore, their attitude towards him, even though for them, it may seem right;
maybe it is unusual for Michael. As a result, Michael’s host family, Bill, and team members must
all find a way to relate with Michael while also considering these facts.
Personality
Michael is not much of a talker, and therefore, his host family, Bill, and his team
members are unable to connect with him. This is evident when he asks for more money, yet Peter
and Judy think that he gets a good wage and has few spending ways. Therefore, because of his
attitude of not talking, Peter and Judy jump to the conclusion that Michael is heavily gambling.
Furthermore, despite Bill acknowledging that Michael is a talented athlete, he is sometimes
dismissive of him. This is because Michael appears to lack confidence in the field while training
with his team members. Moreover, at times, Michael appears unmotivated to associate with Bill
or the other players, and therefore, the coach sees him as unworthy. Furthermore, it is hard for
the coach and Michael’s team members to connect with him while he is refusing to participate in

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any social activity by the club or go to an invitation from his team members. One of the persons
who owe Michael a duty of care is the sports administrator. This is because he is responsible for
ensuring that Michael is properly prepared to participate in sporting activities. This includes
fitness training and health checks. The other person is the issuer of the driver’s license. The
issuer must be certain that Michael is mentally stable and can drive without any supervision.
Mental Health
I do not think that Michael is suffering from a mental illness. This is because even though
Michael may show a lack of confidence, He was confident enough to participate in the talent
search program and showed his skills to be recognized as a gifted athlete. Moreover, even though
Michael is not talking much, he was able to communicate with Judy and Peter. He told them that
he wanted to represent his family and provide financially for his siblings successfully. This
statement shows that Michael is sane and is aware of his actions. Furthermore, when training
alone, Bill states that Michael is self-confident and has great skills. This shows that even though
Michael may lack interactive skills, he tries in his own way to express his feelings to his coach,
host family, and the team members.
Recommended services
I would recommend that Michael participate in cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive-
behavioral therapy is a short-term, goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that aims at changing
patterns of behavior or thinking that are causing an individual’s problems, and therefore, change
how they feel (Zettle & Hayes, 2015). Now, cognitive behavioral therapy would be crucial to
help Michael find out why he is not connecting with other people. Moreover, the therapy would
assist Michael in finding ways that would help him communicate with his coach, host family,
and his team members effectively. Furthermore, cognitive-behavioral therapy would enable

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Michael to know the root cause of his difficulties and ways of countering it. In so doing, Michael
will be able to relate well with others.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the paper helps individuals who are not able to relate with other people
from a different background or culture.

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References
Betancourt, J. R., Green, A. R., Carrillo, J. E., & Owusu Ananeh-Firempong, I. I. (2016).
Defining cultural competence: a practical framework for addressing racial/ethnic
disparities in health and health care. Public health reports.
Jowett, S. (2017). Coaching effectiveness: The coach–athlete relationship at its heart. Current
Opinion in Psychology, 16, 154-158.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in
motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford Publications.
Zettle, R. D., & Hayes, S. C. (2015). Rule-governed behavior: A potential theoretical framework
for cognitive-behavioral therapy. In The Act in Context (pp. 33-63). Routledge.