Abstract
Competitive swimming is a popular sport in the United States. Over the course of a competitive season, swimmers enter into intensified periods of training consisting of increased training volume and intensity. Although necessary to improve performance, this increased training load often results in increased mood disturbance, a syndrome that reverses when the training load decreases during the taper phase. Relatively little research has looked at whether such mood changes occur in age group swimmers across a season of training. PURPOSE: To examine mood changes in age group swimmers across a training season. METHODS: Mood was tracked in age group swimmers (N = 22; 7 males, 15 females; M age 15.0, SD = 1.8 yrs) throughout the 3.5 month summer training season using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and the Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List (AD ACL). Collection time points were grouped into 3 phases: (a) early season (E); (b) middle season (M); and (c) taper at the season's end (T). Additionally, coping style was examined to determine whether this predicted any mood changes during the course of the season. RESULTS: A significant increase in Fatigue (POMS) and decrease in Energy (AD ACL) was observed from E to M, with a subsequent significant reduction in Fatigue from M to T. Although not significant, a general trend showing increases from E to M and reductions from M to T was observed for the negative mood subscales of the POMS (Depression, Anger, Confusion, Tension, Fatigue) and AD ACL (Tension, Tiredness). Trends were also seen for decreases in Vigor, Energy, and Calmness from E to M, with subsequent increases from M to T. Coping style was not all predictive of changes in mood during M or T. CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrate that, as in collegiate swimmers, age group swimmers show a characteristic worsening of mood during periods of heavy training, with subsequent returns to baseline levels as the training load is reduced during the taper phase.
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