INTRODUCTION High-performance swimming requires extensive training loads (Maglischo, 2015), often characterized by monotony and isolation. It requires persistence and commitment to develop performance and eventually be successful in elite swimming. Therefore, motivation plays an essential role. The coach is the athlete's most important reference and influences athletes` motivation (Mageau & Vallerand, 2003). This systematic review investigates the influence of coaching behaviors in the motivational context of competitive swimming. METHODS PubMed, PsycArticles®, and SURF databases were systematically searched for studies published in English. The results were checked for duplicates and evaluated regarding the chosen in- and exclusion criteria. A total of eleven swimming-specific studies were found. RESULTS The studies had a sample size of between 119 and 799 subjects (between 10-22 years, male and female competitive swimmers). The findings show that autonomy-supportive behavior and a task-involving climate were positively associated with self-determined motivation. Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between autonomy-supportive behavior, taskinvolving climate, and basic need satisfaction, which can be considered a predictor for selfdetermined motivation. In addition, autonomy-supportive behavior and self-determined motivation were connected with persistence in swimming. DISCUSSION Coaches should focus on goal-oriented and satisfying basic psychological needs and provide choices and opportunities for self-determined swimming practice. Autonomy-supportive coaching behavior instead of controlling coaching behavior and a task-involving training climate instead of an ego-involving environment significantly affect athletes` self-determined motivation. Further researchers should investigate the impact of situational, leader, and member characteristics on coaching behavior and determine coaches' views. The findings can be used to develop recommendations for (the education of) swimming coaches.
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