Running head: USING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN COACHING ATHLETES Using Emotional Intelligence in Coaching High Performance Athletes: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Emotional intelligence is an important and popular concept within coaching. This randomised controlled trial investigated the short term impact of coaching using emotional intelligence on three factors related to performance in athletes: anxiety, self-efficacy and team identification. Twenty high performance netball players were divided into coaching and control groups. The coaching group completed the Bar-On EQ-i to produce emotional intelligence profiles that formed the basis of the solution-focused coaching session. Coaching improved self-efficacy and anxiety but not team identification. There was no change in the control group. Self-efficacy and anxiety are directly linked to scales on the EQ-i whereas team identification is not directly linked. The findings indicate that solution-focused coaching using emotional intelligence is effective, but only when a direct link is identified between a particular component of emotional intelligence and a particular outcome.