Abstract
Given the positive influence of emotional intelligence (EI) on sports performance, particular attention should be paid on how to improve it. Following promising results, previous research concluding that it was possible to improve EI via specific training programs also raised considerable debates. Indeed, previous EI training programs were very time-consuming for participants. This lessens consequently their suitability with the schedule constraints of elite sport. While, in the absence of sport psychologists, numerous coaches or physiologists try to work with players to improve their emotional competences, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of EI training programs fitting the schedule constraints of elite team sports, provided by three different EI trainers: the team’s coach, the team’s physiotherapist, and an expert in sport psychology. Young elite rugby union players (N = 96) participated in this study. Based on schedule constraints imposed by the head coach of the French u18 rugby union national team, the program consisted in three 1 h group-based EI training sessions occurring the last 3 days before a game (1 per day). Linear mixed-effects models showed that despite the constraining organizational challenge imposed by the coach, the intervention helped the players to increase some emotional competences at the trait level. Furthermore, a pairwise analysis showed that the type of emotional competencies developed depended on the status of the EI trainers. These findings highlight the suitability of a group-based approach in the training-week structure. They also point the way to EI improvement in a short period of time. Moreover, the specific influences of the EI trainer’s status on players’ EI development invite coaches and researchers to jointly combine their efforts in order to increase the EI training opportunities and to maximize the effects of their interventions. Together, these preliminary results provide first evidence facilitating the integration of such work in the preparation periods during international seasons.
Highlights
Emotions play a key role in sport performance (e.g., Lane et al, 2010; Laborde et al, 2013; Doron and Martinent, 2017; Martinent and Nicolas, 2017; Campo et al, 2018; Martinent et al, 2018), and rugby is no exception (Campo et al, 2012)
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of emotional intelligence (EI) trainer status on EI training effectiveness, regarding a shortterm EI training program realized during a training camp before a competition
We first hypothesized that the current EI training would improve emotional competences in comparison to the control condition
Summary
Emotions play a key role in sport performance (e.g., Lane et al, 2010; Laborde et al, 2013; Doron and Martinent, 2017; Martinent and Nicolas, 2017; Campo et al, 2018; Martinent et al, 2018), and rugby is no exception (Campo et al, 2012). The influence of emotions have often been considered as states, it is acknowledged that athletes should develop stable emotional competences, such as the ability to regulate ones’ own emotions (Lazarus, 2000). This trait perspective has received increased attention with the concept of EI, that is, how individual deals with their own and others’ emotions through five main emotional competences: identification, expression, understanding, regulation, and use (Petrides, 2009; Brasseur et al, 2013). EI training suggests that acting on the knowledge and ability levels would provoke changes at the trait level (Campo et al, 2015, 2017; Hodzic et al, 2017; Laborde et al, 2017a, 2018a; Kotsou et al, 2019)
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