In performance-oriented team sports, coaches rely on their power to shape athlete behaviour and optimise team performance. Yet, frequent coach dismissals suggest this influence may be closely tied to team results. However, the empirical relationship between team performance and coach power has received limited attention. Furthermore, existing work on coach power has mainly examined why, rather than whether athletes actually attend to the coach's input and how this evolves over time. Therefore, this study examined how team attentiveness to coach feedback and correction relates to team performance across a season. All 13 male second-division volleyball teams in Belgium (N = 160 athletes) were assessed at four timepoints across a 9-month season: preseason start, competition start, mid-season, and season end. Athletes rated their team's subjective performance and attentiveness to coach feedback and correction. An expectations-adjusted objective performance (EAOP) score was calculated by comparing game results to teams` ranking expectations. Using three-level linear mixed-effects models, we tested our hypotheses. Only subjective performance predicted higher attentiveness (ß = 0.25, p < .001). Team attentiveness declined throughout the season (ß = -0.79, p < .001), even when subjective performance remained high. However, high perceived goal achievement buffered the negative impact of poor EAOP on attentiveness (ß = -0.04, p = .024). These findings suggest that, although team attentiveness to coach feedback and correction is positively tied to subjective performance, it declines towards season end regardless of performance. However, fostering high perceived goal achievement may help coaches sustain their teams` attentiveness despite objective underperformance.
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