Abstract
Motivational variables and cognitive skills have been identified as important in an athlete’s development. The aim of this study is to explore the influence of each basic psychological needs satisfaction on player’s development regarding reflection and concentration disruption with the mediation of types of passion in Spanish young elite football players. A total of 487 elite U18 male football players (Mage = 17.43, SD = 0.71) completed measures of basic psychological needs satisfaction, passion for football, reflective thinking, and concentration disruption. Measurement models were defined using exploratory structural equation models. The results provide support for the model, where each psychological needs satisfaction prompted reflection and had a negative influence on concentration disruption with the mediation of harmonious passion. In addition, obsessive passion mediated the positive relationship between competence satisfaction and concentration disruption. Finally, competence and relatedness satisfaction influenced the development of reflection directly and positively and, exclusively, relatedness satisfaction had a negative influence in a direct way on concentration disruption. In sum, our results highlight that (a) the environment of young footballers through psychological needs satisfaction has a positive (i.e., reflection) or negative (i.e., concentration disruption) influence on the field, but only with the mediation of harmonious passion, (b) in a competitive environment, the perception of competence can have a positive influence on concentration disruption, but only with the development of obsessive passion as a mediator, and (c) relatedness satisfaction plays a key role in distinguishing between reflection and concentration disruption.
Highlights
The young athlete’s development could be based on, at least, two desired goals: continue improving sports skills and becoming elite athletes
Exploring the relationships among motivational variables [i.e.. basic psychological needs (BPN) and passion] and cognitive skills could help us to understand whether the influence of motivational factors in cognitive variables has an impact on the player’s development
With a sample of elite young football players, this study focuses on how motivational variables (i.e., BPN satisfaction and passion) can influence the development of those cognitive skill simplicated in athlete’s development
Summary
The young athlete’s development could be based on, at least, two desired goals: continue improving sports skills and becoming elite athletes. Green (2009) reports that out of 10,000 youngsters who play in the lower categories of professional English clubs each season, less than 1% will become professional players. These data show how difficult it is to become a professional player. This study is contextualized in the realm of elite U18 male football players This category could be considered as the last step before jumping to professional football (Chamorro et al, 2016). According to studies with this type of population (Mills et al, 2012; Drew et al, 2019), motivational variables, as well as cognitive skills, have a key role in the development of young athletes who practice sports. Exploring the relationships among motivational variables [i.e.. basic psychological needs (BPN) and passion] and cognitive skills (i.e., reflective thinking and concentration disruption) could help us to understand whether the influence of motivational factors in cognitive variables has an impact on the player’s development
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