The role of mindfulness and occupational stress in the goal orientations of development and winning

Abstract

Emphasis on winning in youth sport, fueled by media, parents, coaches, as well as communities, has become a key concern for positive youth development in sport. By integrating the topic of mindfulness into organizational behavior in sport management, the author investigated how sport leaders in youth sports focused or refocused on the two athletic goals of development and winning in their stressful working conditions. Data were collected through an online survey completed by 478 sport managers across the United States. The results indicated that mindfulness was negatively associated with perceived stress and positively associated with development goal orientation. Additionally, perceived stress was positively associated with winning goal orientation and fully mediated the relationship between mindfulness and winning goal orientation. The findings of this research highlight the importance of mindfulness and perceived stress in the sport managers’ pursuit of two different goals in youth sport.