Competitive Sport Setting Research Articles

Delivering project SCORE in competitive youth sport settings.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Project SCORE intervention in fostering Positive Youth Development (PYD) within competitive youth sport settings in Portugal. Project SCORE is an online PYD-focused tool developed to assist coaches in promoting the 4Cs-competence, confidence, connection, and character-within their coaching. The research involved 13 coaches and 70 youth athletes from football and rowing teams. Methodologically, this study analyzed the pre- and post- Project SCORE intervention data, assessing the perceptions of coaches and athletes towards the development of the 4Cs. Results indicated significant improvements in athletes' perceptions of 4Cs post-intervention, and among coaches' perceptions, there was a significant improvement in the practice and transfer of life skills. Particularly, coaches showed enhanced abilities in fostering life skills and facilitating the transfer of these skills to competitive environments, although some dimensions like sport climate did not sustain positive changes. The findings highlight the benefits of customized PYD-based programs in competitive youth sports and suggest the need for further research to enhance their widespread and consistent implementation.

“So, You’re Saying There’s a Chance …”

Competitive balance in sport is a desirable state for leagues to aspire to attain. Indeed, uncertainty of outcomes (Kringstad & Girginov, 2018) have been noted to be desirous. At the highest levels of professional sport, measures to promote competitive balance (e.g., amateur drafts, revenue sharing) are commonplace. It has been noted before (i.e., Wigfield & Chard, 2018) that competitive balance is similarly sought after in competitive youth sport settings. Here, the current study was completed to assess the competitive balance in various associations competing in Ontario’s boys’ representative minor hockey system. Results from the provincial championships since the 2005-06 season were analyzed for age groups ranging from U11 to U20 and across all competition levels (i.e., A, AA, AAA) by conducting a chi-square test of independence. Findings indicate that the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) dominates Ontario rep hockey across all age groups and competition levels—with few exceptions. This article offers an innovative solution to roster construction that Ontario minor hockey associations can implement to combat the GTHL’s dominance.

Understanding sport anxiety among competitive athletes: the role of shame, fear of self-compassion and self-criticism

ABSTRACT Self-compassion interventions have shown positive results in sporting contexts (e.g., lower levels of shame, self-criticism, and sport anxiety), yet athletes seem to be particularly resistant to embracing this attitude. The current study aimed to explore the association between athletes’ shame and anxiety through fear of self-compassion and self-criticism. Further, this study sought to explore differences in the mentioned variables regarding athletes’ sex and competitive level. A self-report questionnaire was conducted including athletes’ versions of the scales to assess shame, fear of self-compassion, self-criticism, and sport anxiety. The sample comprised of 258 Portuguese adult athletes (53.3% females; 47.7% males), with a mean age of 21.65 (SD = 3.49), currently competing in different sports and at varying levels. Results suggested that, when compared to males, female athletes presented higher levels of sport-specific shame, self-criticism, and anxiety, but no significant differences were found in fear of self-compassion. Also, no significant differences in the study variables were found regarding competitive level. A path analysis showed that, when controlling for the effect of age and years of practice, athletes’ shame had a direct effect on sport anxiety severity, and an indirect effect through increased fear of self-compassion and higher levels of self-criticism. Results confirmed the plausibility of the tested model, which accounted for 48% of sport anxiety’s variance. The results highlighted the importance of further understanding the role of fear of self-compassion on athletes’ mental health, as well as differences between male and female athletes in competitive sport settings.

Self-compassion in sport: a scoping review

ABSTRACT Sport is a domain that is rife with loss, failures, and disappointment. Self-compassion – the recognition of one’s own suffering and a desire to alleviate it – offers protection against maladaptive psychological experiences in sport. The purpose of this scoping review was to update and expand the results of the review by Röthlin and colleagues ([2019]. Go soft or go home? A scoping review of empirical studies on the role of self-compassion in the competitive sport setting. Current Issues in Sport Science, 4, Article 013. https://doi.org/10.15203/CISS_2019.013), and to identify new themes to help guide future research. Sixty-nine publications were identified using a variety of search strategies. Quantitative research (62.3%) and cross-sectional designs (83.3%) were most common, and most research was conducted by researchers residing in Westernized countries (81.2%). The majority of study participants (n = 10,025) were collegiate athletes (42.1%), and female/women sport participants were sampled slightly more frequently (52.4%). Researchers often investigated sex- or gender-based and competition level differences in self-compassion scores. Other common areas of research focus included well-being, mindfulness, striving for excellence, overcoming setbacks, negative thoughts and emotions, and self-criticism. New research areas that were identified included a need for theory, additional efforts towards conceptualization and measurement, acknowledgement of participant selection bias, integrating intersectionality, the relationship between self-compassion and performance, the distinctiveness between self-compassion and mindfulness, and future directions for interventions.

‘He may not be qualified in it, but I think he’s still got the knowledge’: Team-doctoring in combat sports

Several studies have examined the provision of medical care in a variety of competitive sport settings. These are important contributions, but the majority of this work has focused on elite sports that tend to have a group of medical health professionals as part of the team, with little attention given to sports that lack access to such services. This lack of dedicated medical support may result in athletes being more likely to engage in ‘team-doctoring’ – a term used to describe athletes seeking medical advice from teammates and coaches. This concept is yet to be theorised and empirically described. In this paper, we begin to define, explore and contextualise the process of team-doctoring in relation to sociocultural interactions, beliefs embedded within the combat sport subculture and the critical role it plays in shaping fighters’ perceptions of health and injury. In so doing, we demonstrate that team-doctoring is the process whereby apparent medical knowledge is (mis)understood, recommended, transferred, interpreted and developed within a somewhat coherent team.

An analysis of in-game feedback provided by coaches in an Australian Football League competition

ABSTRACT Background: Coach observation studies have been a mainstay of coaching science research for decades, with a major focus on the use of instruction and feedback by coaches. However, relatively few studies have investigated feedback provided in a live competition setting, with a majority focussing on the training environment. As such, little is known about the way that feedback changes as a result of the intensity of a competitive setting. Additionally, feedback variables of interest are featured inconsistently between studies. Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the quantity and nature of feedback from coach to player in an Australian rules football context, specifically the elite-level Australian Football League (AFL) competition. An entire season's worth of coach-player feedback was recorded and coded against a wide range of feedback variables most commonly found in the literature. A secondary aim of the study was to examine changes in feedback against various game metrics (winning/losing quarter, margin). Method: Five coaches from one AFL team, all with several years of experience at the elite level, were recorded across 21 regular-season games from the 2018 season. Feedback quantity, along with several feedback variables of interest (valence, autonomy-support, descriptive/prescriptive, individual/group, etc.), were coded during each quarter of play. Game information (game outcome, quarter outcome, margin at the start of the quarter, point differential for the quarter) was also recorded. Results: Across 84 quarters of football, 1301 coach-player feedback instances were observed. Mean values across all quarters revealed more negative (20%) than positive (13%) feedback, more prescriptive (81%) than descriptive (19%) feedback, more controlling (58%) than autonomy-supportive (8%), and more individual (70%) than group (30%) feedback was provided. Task-related feedback (60%) was more common than process-related (37%), self-regulation feedback (3%) or self-level feedback i.e. praise (2%). More positive feedback was provided in winning quarters than in losing quarters, while more controlling feedback was present during losing quarters than during winning quarters. Coaches provided significantly more feedback overall when the game was in the balance than quarters where the team was 95% or more likely to win or lose. Conclusions: The paper presents novel findings about feedback use in an elite competitive team sport setting. Areas where the use of feedback does not align with current theory and evidence are highlighted, particularly regarding feedback valence and autonomy support. Feedback variables more commonly associated with improved learning and performance in the literature appear to generally be provided more frequently during winning quarters, but a causal relationship is yet to be determined.

Go soft or go home? A review of empirical studies on the role of self-compassion in the competitive sport setting

Self-compassion describes a supportive attitude towards oneself. Research outside the sport context suggests that self-compassion might be beneficial in terms of psychological processes that are helpful for athletic performance. At the same time, there are reasons to assume that athletes may fear a negative influence of SC on their self-improvement motivation. Therefore, it seemed worthwhile to clarify the role of self-compassion in the competitive sport setting by reviewing the current research. A literature search was conducted using PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, PSYNDEX, and SPORTDiscus. Eligibility criteria were peer-reviewed publication, publication in English, original research and research investigating self-compassion in competitive athletes. From 17 publications that met the inclusion criteria, we identified 19 studies, most of which were quantitative, employing a cross-sectional design. Additionally, we found only one intervention study, one experimental study and four qualitative studies using interviews. We provided an integrative narrative description of the study aims, hypotheses, methodological characteristics and study results. Based on the reviewed findings we concluded that future research should relate their research question more often to existing theoretical models and that more intervention and longitudinal studies are needed. Thus far, qualitative studies highlight the potential ambivalence of athletes towards SC. Quantitative research indicates that SC is beneficial for athletes’ well-being and their ability to deal with adversities in sports, whereas the role of self-compassion for self-improvement motivation remains unclear.

A Review of the Game-Based Approaches to Coaching Literature in Competitive Team Sport Settings

ABSTRACT Game-Based Approaches (GBAs) have been advocated as a pedagogy to improve decision-making, skill execution, and physical fitness in physical education teaching and sports coaching. To date, no review paper has reported on the use of GBAs in competitive team sport settings. The purpose of this article was to review the research evidence conducted on GBAs specifically within competitive team sport settings and discuss the implications of these findings for sports coaching researchers and practitioners. The current review identified 23 articles investigating GBAs in competitive team sport settings. The review supports the efficacy of GBAs in the development of athlete decision-making and tactical awareness. GBAs promote personal and social development (e.g. player responsibility) along with positive affective outcomes for athletes (i.e. motivation, enjoyment). There was less support for the development of technical skill through GBAs. The review concludes by identifying future research directions and implications for competitive team sport coaches’ practice.

Identity and access management in a doping control use case

The PARADISE project is in need of a solution for a very specific set of requirements regarding identity and access management (IAM), in particular for the identity and attribute delegation and the authentication of users and roles within the competitive sport setting. Additionally, athletes have to share whereabouts information with doping control officers. Due to the complex relationship between entities in the doping control use case, innovative authorization solutions regarding location and role information are required. In this article, we present our response to this challenge using decentralized attribute-based access control (ABAC) and access control based on whereabouts using geofences.

Just for the fun of it: coaches’ perceptions of an exemplary community youth sport program

ABSTRACTBackground: A growing body of research has studied sport as a vehicle for positive youth development (PYD). While much of this research has investigated the developmental outcomes associated with sport participation, less is known about the mechanisms through which PYD occurs in a sport context. Further, much of the research on PYD in sport has studied competitive sport settings, while comparatively less is known about recreational sport.Aims: This qualitative descriptive study explored coaches’ perceptions of a successful recreational community youth basketball league. Specifically, this study aimed to describe coaches’ perceptions of the structure of the league, the developmental outcomes associated with youth’s participation in this sport program, as well as the mechanisms through which these outcomes are realized.Participants: A total of 12 volunteer basketball coaches (6 males and 6 females) were purposefully selected to participate in this study. The coaches were between 16 and 59 years old, had an average of 10.1 years of coaching experience, and 6 of the coaches previously played in the league in their youth.Data collection: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with each basketball coach.Data analysis: The interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to a thematic analysis that was driven by both the data and extant PYD conceptual frameworks.Findings: Identified themes were integrated into an existing PYD conceptual framework. These themes related to immediate (e.g. enjoyment), short-term (e.g. competence, confidence, connection, and character), and long-term developmental outcomes (e.g. contribution), as well as social and contextual processes (e.g. activities, social relationships, and settings) which underpin these outcomes.Conclusion: This study extended the current body of research on PYD in sport through emphasizing the importance of ensuring that youth have enjoyable, positive immediate experiences in sport, and that accumulated positive experiences result, over time, in lasting effects on athletes’ development.

Reproducibility of a Laboratory Based 1-km Wattbike Cycling Time Trial in Competitive Cyclists

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability of a 1-km cycling time trial using a Wattbike cycling ergometer in competitive cyclists. Ten competitive male cyclists (mean ± SD; 63.9 ± 5.1 mL·kg -1 ·min -1 ) performed a VO 2max test and a familiarization of the 1-km time trial (TT) on the same day, and 3 separate 1-km TT (TT1, TT2 and TT3) separated by >24 hours. Mean performance time was not significantly different between TT (70.27 ± 5.95 vs. 70.06 ± 5.75 vs. 69.79 ± 6.0; P = 0.47) and displayed a low coefficient of variation (CV%; 90% CI: 0.6%; 0.4 – 1.1%). The mean reliability, expressed as the coefficient of variation and typical error of measurement over the three TT was performance time 0.6%, 0.42 s (95% CL 0.28-0.77); mean power 1.2%, 6.3 W (95% CL 4.7-12.0); peak power 7%, 64.8 W (95% CL 45.3-124.9); blood lactate concentration 3.2%, 0.5 mmol·L -1 (95% CL 0.9-0.3); heart rate 0.8%, 1.4 bpm (95% CL 1.1-2.5). Such high reliability makes the combination of the Wattbike, athlete and test protocol very suitable for detecting real changes in performance where improvements may be small but still considered worthwhile in a competitive sport setting.

Wearing their chains willingly: Athlete burnout and the case of adolescent Gaelic footballers in Ireland

The aim of this article is to challenge the widespread acceptance of player burnout as an athlete’s personal inability to deal with the situational demands of sporting competition. Adapting Coakley’s earlier assertion that burnout is ‘a social problem rooted in the social organization of high performance sport itself’, the interactions between Gaelic athletes and the social world in which they exist are unpacked within an Irish context. Linking findings to Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, ‘dominant power relations’ within the competitive sport setting are identified and critically analysed. It is argued that Gaelic players are exploited within a competitive culture in which they feel entrapped, because their actions are informed by the cultural norms of the Gaelic Athletic Association, the sport’s National Governing Body, and dependent upon relationships with coaches and others in positions of authority in the federation. As such, Gaelic footballers are not voluntary agents, somehow acting independently of the constraints of the complex structures in which they compete. Instead, and aware of the often very intricate interdependencies that exist within the sport, it is argued that player burnout in Gaelic football is best explained through the deployment of a Coakley’s ‘vocabulary of empowerment’.

Designing games in the classroom: Learning benefits

Designing games in the classroom: Learning benefits

A systematic review of content themes in sport attribution research: 1954–2011

This review sought to identify all sport-based attribution research to systematically explore content themes and identify areas for future research. A literature search identified 167 empirical sport attribution papers (encompassing 202 independent samples) published between 1954 and February 2011. Frequency calculations showed a disproportionate focus on quantitative methodologies (99.4%), outcome attributions (94.6%), and attributions for personal behavior (69.9%), with relatively few intervention studies or longitudinal designs. Findings also showed a good proportion of research conducted on youth sport participants (22.3%) and in naturally occurring competitive sport settings (69.5%). It is recommended that researchers expand their study of attribution in sport to consider those attributions made by coaches and parents, and for diverse events such as athletic injury and dropout. In addition, more diverse research designs (e.g., longitudinal qualitative investigations) will provide a greater appreciation of the attributions made by sport performers.

Parental involvement in competitive youth sport settings

Objectives Based on ecological systems theory [Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage], the purpose of this study was to examine parents’ involvement in competitive youth sport settings. Design Data were collected through two distinct phases of fieldwork. Phase 1 involved longitudinal data collection with four families. Phase 2 involved observations of youth soccer settings. Method Data were collected from four families via individual interviews and audio-diaries and were supplemented through 120 h of observation. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Results Parents’ verbal reactions to their children's sport performance behaviors were placed on a continuum moving from more supportive to more controlling comments. These comments were categorized as praise/encouragement, performance contingent feedback, instruction, striking a balance, negative comments, and derogatory comments. Parents experienced empathy in that they perceived sharing the emotions their children felt in sport, and these emotions appeared to change in relation to dynamic game and contextual circumstances. Parents also thought that they possessed knowledge and expertise of sport, which they perceived enabled them to make comments to their children. Conclusion A series of reciprocal and bi-directional relationships were central to parents’ involvement in competitive youth sport.

Self-handicapping in competitive sport: influence of the motivational climate, self-efficacy, and perceived importance

Abstract Objectives To examine the influence of perceptions of the motivational climate, self-efficacy, and perceived importance on athletes' claimed situational self-handicaps in a competitive sport setting. Perceptions of a task involving climate and self-efficacy were expected to be negatively related and perceptions of an ego-involving climate to be positively related to situational self-handicapping. Design Given the centrality of perceived ability in the self-handicapping literature, basic tenets derived from achievement goal theory provided the rationale for the present cross-sectional field study. Methods Male 70 and 70 female elite collegiate golfers completed a questionnaire prior to participating in a prestigious national golf tournament ( M age=20.61; SD=1.52) assessing claimed situational self-handicaps in the week prior to the tournament, perceptions of the team motivational climate, perceived event importance, and self-efficacy. Results Preliminary analyses revealed no significant gender differences in regard to the perceived importance of the event or situational claimed self-handicaps. Participants who perceived the event to be of low personal importance reported significantly more claimed self-handicaps during the week prior to the tournament than high importance individuals. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed perceptions of a task-involving motivational climate, self-efficacy, and perceived event importance to be negatively related to claimed self-handicaps. Conclusions The findings of the present study suggest that in addition to enhancing self-efficacy, coaches should increase the salience of task-involving cues in the athletic context to attenuate the situational claimed self-handicaps of elite collegiate athletes.

Sportsmanship in Young Athletes: The Role of Competitiveness, Motivational Orientation, and Perceived Purposes of Sport

The purpose of the study was to evaluate measures of competitiveness, motivational orientation, and perceived purposes of participation as predictors of sportsmanship in a sample of 319 young participants in sports. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that intrinsic reasons for sports participation, such as enhanced self-esteem and task mastery, predicted higher levels on multiple dimensions of sportsmanship, above and beyond the influence of competitiveness, motivational orientation, and various demographic variables. In contrast, extrinsic purposes for participation in sports, such as to obtain social status and a high-status career, contributed to lower levels on 3 of the 4 sportsmanship dimensions. These results are discussed with regard to developing a competitive sport setting that promotes ethical standards of interpersonal behavior for young participants in sports.

Development of a questionnaire for the assessment of coping strategies employed by athletes in competitive sport settings

Abstract Objectives: To develop an original self-report instrument for the assessment of athletes' coping strategies in competitive sport settings and to provide preliminary evidence for its factorial, convergent, concurrent, and differential validity. Method: French–Canadian athletes ( N =316; M age=17.4 years) completed l'Inventaire des Strategies de Coping en Competition Sportive (ISCCS) along with three measures of cognitive appraisal (i.e. perceived relevance of the competition, sense of control, and perceived goal attainment), either the PANAS or the CSAI-2, and either the WOCQ, the MCOPE, or a social desirability scale. All scales were administered within six hours of completion of a sport competition. Results: A sequential four-stage confirmatory factor analysis revealed an adequate fit for a 10-factor model and its superiority over a two- and a three-factor model. The subscales of the ISCCS correlated meaningfully with appraisal variables, positive and negative affect (PANAS), cognitive and somatic anxiety (CSAI-2), and the coping strategies of both WOCQ and MCOPE questionnaires, thus providing evidence for their concurrent and convergent validity. A multivariate factorial analysis of variance lent partial support for the differential validity of the ISCCS as effort expenditure, mental imagery, relaxation, and venting of unpleasant emotion varied significantly across athletes' level of expertise whereas venting of unpleasant emotion and effort expenditure differed significantly between genders. Conclusions: The results revealed promising features of the ISCCS. Future research should assess whether the factorial structure of the ISCCS is invariant across athletes' genders and expertise levels as well as across the different phases of a sport competition.

Affective responses to success and failure:: a study of winning and losing in competitive rugby

Affective responses to success and failure in a competitive sport setting were investigated using a reversal theory framework in a replication and extension of a previous study Kerr and van Schaik, 1995. Effects of game outcome on psychological mood states in rugby. cf11>Personality and Individual Differences, 19, 407-410.]. Participants were top-level Dutch male rugby players. Mood measures were administered pre- and postgame at four games: 2 games were won, 2 were lost. A mixed between and within subjects design was used for data analysis, in which game outcome (win or loss) was the between subjects factor, and the within subjects factor was time of testing (pre- vs. postgame). Numerous statistically significant results concerning the emotional states experienced prior to competitive sport and in response to winning and losing were obtained. Winning produced a range of pleasant emotional outcomes and reductions in arousal and stress: losing produced strong unpleasant emotional changes, a reduction in arousal but no reduction in stress.

Participation in community sports centres: motives and predictors of enjoyment.

Research into why people engage in sport and physical recreation has received relatively little attention in both recreation planning and sport psychology. Although there has been a steady flow of North American literature related to participation motivation in competitive youth sport settings, such evidence is of limited value in explaining adult involvement in sport and recreation in Britain. The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine why people participate in sport and exercise in community sports centres and to identify whether these motives predict sport enjoyment. The study was based on a questionnaire-interview of approximately 5 min duration conducted in six community sports centres in Leicester. The sample comprised 336 respondents aged 16 years and over. The subjects were presented with 15 motives for sports participation and indicated their degree of agreement on a 5-point scale. The three most commonly endorsed motives were to maintain health, develop physical fitness and aid relaxation. A factor analysis with oblique rotation revealed four factors:assertive achievement, physical well-being, socio-psychological well-being, and sports mastery and performance. Discriminant analysis showed that males were more motivated to participate for sports mastery and performance and assertive achievement than females. A MANOVA showed that older subjects were more motivated by socio-psychological well-being than younger subjects. Sport enjoyment was best predicted by socio-psychological well-being, sports mastery and performance, and sports importance, although only 14.4% of the variance in enjoyment scores was accounted for. These results confirm other research on age differences in exercise and mental health, as well as gender differences on participation motives.