Frequently Asked Questions

Tandem provides a barometer of relationship quality. It can quickly identify and resolve interpersonal issues that are holding you back allowing the coaching relationship to go from strength to strength. It is a tool that can profile the current state of the coach-athlete relationship but also track the development and effectiveness of your relationship  with one another over time. Tandem can offer :

• Diagnostic information about the current state of the relationship
• Prognostic information related to whether the relationship is likely to be effective now and in the future
• Educational information where feedback and recommendations are supplied to improve its quality and effectiveness

Tandem is a principal medium that can help coaches and athletes to express needs and satisfy goals. However, Tandem should NOT be used as a means to select or deselect athletes/coaches.

Tandem contains an assessment and a report. In the assessment, a number of questions or statemetns are listed that capture: (a) how you perceive the quality of the relationship and (b) what communication strategies you use to maintain its quality and effectiveness.  It takes approximately 10 minutes to respond to these questions or statements.

Within seconds, a report is generated that outlines your unique results. Results are presented in numerical, graphical and narrative form. In addition, it supplies recommendations and feedback about what you could do to improve the quality and effectiveness of the coach-athlete relationship. An individual report includes your own scores and feedback (approximately 10-15 pages long).

If both the coach and the athlete completed the assessment , then an additional report is available (approximately 12-14 pages long); this additional report is generated by combining the scores of both the coach and the athlete.

If your relationship has been found in an earlier assessment to be harmonious and stable, the next assessment may need to take place after 6 months. You are advised to continue checking the relationship status in 6-month intervals or as soon as you have identified weaknesses in relating, communicating and interacting.

If your relationship has been found in an earlier assessment to be less harmonious and stable, the next assessment may need to take place after a month or two. Monthly or bi-monthly assessments may aid break down the barriers to good quality relationships and in turn to performance success. Always consider the development plan that you draw following each assessment.

The assessment contained within Tandem has been used in research and practice (consultancy work) with as young athletes as 12 years old. Both the assessment (questions/statements) and report (feedback) are deemed appropriate for young athletes who train and compete regularly with a coach/es. It should be comprehensible, clear and logical for young athletes. The involement of young athletes should not pose any harm to them. However, it is advisable that parents are informed and consented to their young children both completing the assessment and receiving the report.

If you are a principal coach, assistant coach, manager, or trainer (e.g., fitness, condititioning, strength) and therefore you are in regular contact with an athlete/s over a period of time, then completing the assessment may be extremely informative. It could highlight how well you get on with each athlete in the team or squad, identify interpersonal strenghts and weaknesses and supply recommendatins for improving your relationships and communication. The goal is to enhance your interpersonal effectiveness by creating an optimal environment for coaching and training.

We use the term coach broadly to refer to anyone who is involved in the training and competition or performance regime of an athlete/s.

We use the term athlete broadly to refer to all sport performers. So if you are performing in a sport, training and competing, on a regular basis and you have a regular coach then you are very well placed to complete the assessment. If you have more than one coach then you may wish to complete the assessment with one coach in mind each time. This way you would be able to assess the quality of the relationships you have with the diferrent coaches and the corresponding level of their effectiveness.

If you decide to purchase a coach+athlete report then you need to be happy for your results to be available to the other member in the relationship. In some ways, this is a positive step toward inreasing your awareness about how you personally feel but also how the other feels for the coach-athlete relationship. This way it is possible to identify discrepancies in your own and the other's perceptions and ultimately find ways to close any gaps that may limit the effectiveness of the relationship and in turn your development and success. If you opt for a coach+athlete report, each member of the relationship will receive their own report and a combined report. Neither of you would be able to see the other's own report but both of you would be able to see the combined report. The combined report is developed based on data both the coach and the athlete have supplied. 

If you'd prefer that your results are not seen by the other relationship member then you are advised to opt for a single report.

The quality of the coach-athlete relationship as defined by the 3+1Cs (Closeness, Commitment, Complementarity and Co-orientation) relationship model has been found to be associated with athletes’ and coaches’ motivation (Adie & Jowett, 2010; Jowett, 2008), passion for sport/coaching (Jowett et al., 2012; Lafraniere et al., 2008; Lafraniere et al., 2011), satisfaction with performance and training (Jowett & Nezlek, 2012), interpersonal conflict and social support (Jowett, 2009), empathy (Jowett et al., 2012; Lorimer & Jowett, 2008), personality (Davis & Jowett, 2012), eating disorders (Shanmugam et al., 2013), physical self-concept (Jowett, 2008), team cohesion (Jowett & Chaundy, 2004), collective efficacy (Jowett et al., 2012; Hampson & Jowett, 2014), and psychological well-being such as happiness and vitality  (Felton & Jowett, 2013). This concerted scientific inquiry has highlighted the central role of the coach-athlete relationship for successful coaching and performance.

Communication has been thought as the "engine" of relationships and found that such communication strategies as conflict management, open dialogue, motivational and supportive talk and reasssurances associate with the maintenance and effectivenss of the coach-athlete relationship (Rhind & Jowett, 2012; Jowett & Zhong, 2014).

If you would like to know more about the research that underpins Tandem, please click Research.

Psychometric tests such as Tandem can help you become aware of interpersonal strengths and weaknesses by giving you a personal insight that will help you make positive and successful steps as you work hard to achieve your performance goals. A psychometric test is valid and reliable when has been statistically and vigorously tested. Tandem (and the results it generates) can be trusted because it has been subjected to sophisticated statistical research over time.

The single Tandem reports capture your own thoughts about your coach/athlete and about the quality of your sporting relationship. The combined report presents you with value for money because not only each one of you receive an individual report, but you also receive a combined report that allows to compare and contrast your current thinking regarding your coach-athlete relationship. Thus, you and your coach/athlete have the opportunity to readily understand similarities and discrepancies in your perceptions (thoughts, feelings, and behaviours) about the quality and effectiveness of the sporting relationship your have currently established.

While Tandem is not as expensive, it is as good as such psychometric tests as FIRO-B, Myers Briggs and Cattell16PF to name a few.

For pricing information, please email us by providing us briefly with information regarding your set up and the number and type of Tandem reports you would like: [email protected]

Annual subscriptions are available and allow UNLIMITED access. Unlimited access refers to using as many reports as you wish for a period of time usually 12 months. So if you are thinking to buy bulk (140 assessments/reports) then consider our annual subscription. It is certainly a better deal and value for money!

Annual subscriptions are value for money and offer Sport Clubs, Organisations (such as National Governing Bodies, other such sport authorities), Schools, Colleges and Universities unlimited access to Tandem for their athletes, coaches and teams as well as students (in Schools, Further and Higher Education).

For pricing information, please email us by providing us briefly with information regarding your set up and the number and type of Tandem reports you would like: [email protected]

If you require a large number of assessments (and generated reports), please don't hesitate to email us: [email protected]. We can discuss your individual needs and work a plan that best suits you.

Your personal information will be kept in the strictest of confidence. We do not share your name or email address with any third party. We may email you on occasion with offers we feel you might be interested in, but you are always welcome to opt out of any mailings.