Mood States of NCAA Division II Female Soccer Athletes Over Seasonal Play

Abstract

To maintain consistent performance from match-to-match, soccer requires a stable disposition. Most prior studies, however, have focused on single-observation descriptive investigations to quantify psychological indices deemed essential for success. With soccer becoming one of the fastest growing sports in the United States, limited research efforts have been directed toward quantifying psychological status throughout a competitive season. PURPOSE: To quantify the mood state changes of NCAA Division II female soccer athletes over seasonal play. METHODS: Following written informed consent, 32 female NCAA Division II athletes from a top 20 program (Record: 43–15–3; mean age = 19.87 ± 2.03 yr) completed the Profile of Mood States [(POMS; McNair et al., 1971): tension (TEN), depression (DEP), anger (ANG), vigor (VIG), fatigue (FAT), confusion (CON), total mood disturbance (TMD)] weekly over three consecutive seasons. Data were grouped by position (defense, forward, goalkeeper, midfield), classification (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior), and season (y02, y03, y04). Statistical significance was determined a priori at the 0.05 level. RESULTS: Repeated measures MANOVAs (Wilks' Lambda) indicated no significant main effects across position by time (F12,2= 0.404; P = 0.874; n-β = 0.069), classification by time (F18,3 = 0.396; P = 0.915; n-β = 0.078), or season by time (F61 = 0.207; P = 0.930; n-β = 0.05) demonstrating that mood states were neither affected by an athlete's position, classification, or season. Although not statistically significant, negative mood states increased concomitantly with match losses throughout seasonal play. CONCLUSION: NCAA Division II female soccer athletes exhibited profound but insignificant shifts in mood states during seasonal play. The negative shifts in mood states can be attributed to the affect of critical losses during conference and post-conference play, the strength of opponents, and other noncompetitive stressors such as problematic interpersonal relationships and personal injury. Further study over seasonal play is warranted to delineate the optimal level of mood states required for successful performance, from potential stressors reinforcing a maladaptive mindset.