Einleitung

Although attempts have been made to explore coaches and athletes relationships, sport psychology research in this area has been accused as being cursory and superficial because its focus has been on either one or another interactant. Therefore this study is focused on dyads, in particular coach-athlete relationships in top level sport in order to provide a more intricate relational picture. According to Kelley and coworkers (1983) a "relationship" refers to the situation in which two people's behaviours, emotions, and thoughts are mutually and causally interconnected. The constructs of closeness, co-orientation and complementarity have been used independently, to examine either two person's emotional, or cognitive or behavioural interdependence in different settings. However from experience and observation it would seem appropriate to consider coach-athlete relationships as a holistic relationship-system which involves emotions, cognitions and behavioural interactions. Therefore the above constructs form this study's conceptual model and the basis from which coach-athlete relationships are examined. The purpose of the study was to unveil the following a) close relationship-member's experience co-orientation or "perceptual congruence", in other words, cognitions regarding their relationship and their partners, including their expectations, goals, philosophies, roles, are in agreement; b)"perceptual congruence" takes place. Hence relationship-members" interations are reciprocated in as much as to "affirm and validate (their) chosen style of living and being. Einleitung