Elite Disability Sport Coaches’ Views on Sport Psychology

Abstract

Although the coach is a key element in the psychological preparation of the athletes, few is known about whatcoaches from disability sport context think about the importance of psychological preparation. Therefore, thisstudy aimed to explore: 1) the educational background of disability sport coaches, 2) the perceptions of thecoaches on the importance of psychological preparation for their athletes, and 3) the opinions of the coachesregarding the role of sport psychologists. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Portuguese elitedisability sport coaches (n=10; male=8 and female=2; swimming =4, track and field=2, boccia=3 and rowing=1)included in the Paralympic Project London 2012. Standard qualitative methodology and content analysis wereused to analyse the data. The participants revealed an educational background in sport sciences and in sportpsychology. A high status of sport psychology and psychological preparation also emerged from the data. Fullreceptiveness to work with sport psychologists was exhibited, although some participants mentioned barriers tosport psychologists’ intervention (e.g., coach awareness, athlete receptiveness, time, finances). In general, thefindings of this study highlighted the importance of sport psychology in Portuguese disability sport.