Success and Failure, Fear of Failure, and Coping Responses of Adolescent Academy Football Players

Abstract

The study examined fear of failure among 81 male adolescent football players (age 16–18 years) in English football academies. Four players who reported high fear of failure were interviewed. They perceived the consequences of failure to be both interpersonal and intrapersonal. Fear of failure affected their sporting performance and interpersonal behavior. They employed predominantly ineffective coping strategies to deal with fear of failure, and both effective and ineffective strategies to deal with failure experiences. The findings of this study enhance understanding of the fear of failure construct in sport, contributing both to research and practice.