Elite Sport Performance Research Articles

Stress in elite sport performers: A comparative study of competitive and organizational stressors

The purpose of this study was to compare the content and quantity of competitive and organizational stressors in elite athletes. Ten international performers were interviewed about sources of stress. Content analysis of the data involved categorizing the demands associated primarily and directly with competitive performance (#CS = 21) under the post hoc dimension “performance issues”, and the demands associated primarily and directly with the sport organization (#OS = 72) under one of the following four post hoc dimensions: “environmental issues”, “personal issues”, “leadership issues” and “team issues”. Frequency analysis revealed that the participants mentioned the competitive stressors (Σ = 95) less than the organizational stressors (Σ = 215). Further analysis within these categories showed that the mean number of participants citing individual competitive stressors (M = 4.52) was greater than the mean number of participants citing individual organizational stressors (M = 2.99). The findings indicate that elite athletes experience and recall more demands associated primarily and directly with the sport organization than with competitive performance. Furthermore, this population appears more likely to mention similar competitive stressors but varied organizational stressors, probably because the former are inherent and endemic to elite sport, whereas the latter are essentially extraneous and widely distributed.

Sources of Organizational Stress in Elite Sports Performers

This study extends recent research investigating organizational stress in elite sport. Fourteen international performers (7 men and 7 women) from a wide range of sports were interviewed with regard to potential sources of organizational stress. Consistent with Woodman and Hardy’s (2001a) theoretical framework of organizational stress in sport, four main categories were examined: environmental issues, personal issues, leadership issues, and team issues. The main environmental issues that emerged were selection, finances, training environment, accommodation, travel, and competition environment. The main personal issues were nutrition, injury, and goals and expectations. The main leadership issues were coaches and coaching styles. The main team issues were team atmosphere, support network, roles, and communication. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research and in terms of their implications for sport organizations and personnel working with elite performers.

Inter- and Intra-Individual Analysis in Elite Sport: Pistol Shooting

Research into the relationship between body sway, aim-point fluctuation, and performance in pistol shooting has been inconclusive. The present study reex-amined this relationship on an interindividual basis, as done in previous studies, and via intraindividual analysis, not previously examined. Five elite pistol shooters performed 20 shots similar to competition conditions. For each shot, body-sway parameters and aim-point fluctuation parameters were quantified for the time period 1 s to shot. An AMTI LG6-4 force plate was used to measure body-sway parameters, while a SCATT shooting analysis system was used to measure aim-point fluctuation and shooting performance. Multiple regression analysis indicated that body sway was related to performance for one shooter, aim-point fluctuation was related to performance for three shooters, and body sway was related to aim-point fluctuation for four shooters. These relationships were specific to the individual, with the strength of association and parameters of importance being different for different shooters. However, interindividual analysis indicated that only aim-point fluctuation was related to performance. It was concluded that body sway, aim-point fluctuation, and performance are important in elite level pistol shooting, and performance errors at the elite level are individual-specific. Individual analysis should be a priority when examining elite level sports performance.

Body sway, aim point fluctuation and performance in rifle shooters: inter- and intra-individual analysis

In this study, we examined the relationships between body sway, aim point fluctuation and performance in rifle shooting on an inter- and intra-individual basis. Six elite shooters performed 20 shots under competition conditions. For each shot, body sway parameters and four aim point fluctuation parameters were quantified for the time periods 5 s to shot, 3 s to shot and 1 s to shot. Three parameters were used to indicate performance. An AMTI LG6-4 force plate was used to measure body sway parameters, while a SCATT shooting analysis system was used to measure aim point fluctuation and shooting performance. Multiple regression analysis indicated that body sway was related to performance for four shooters. Also, body sway was related to aim point fluctuation for all shooters. These relationships were specific to the individual, with the strength of association, parameters of importance and time period of importance different for different shooters. Correlation analysis of significant regressions indicated that, as body sway increased, performance decreased and aim point fluctuation increased for most relationships. We conclude that body sway and aim point fluctuation are important in elite rifle shooting and performance errors are highly individual-specific at this standard. Individual analysis should be a priority when examining elite sports performance.

Perceptions of Stress and Coping during Preparations for the 1999 Women’s Soccer World Cup Finals

The ability to cope with competitive stress is an integral part of elite sport performance. The purposes of this investigation were to identify and examine players’ perceptions of sources of stress and coping strategies prior to the 1999 soccer world cup finals. Using a case study approach (Stake, 2000), members of a women’s national soccer team (n = 10) participated in this investigation. Through the process of inductive data analysis, main sources of stress were categorized into the following four main themes: coaches, demands of international soccer, competitive stressors, and distractions. Participants used several types of strategies based on a range of problem-focused, emotion-focused, appraisal-reappraisal, and avoidance coping styles to deal with these stressors. The main coping themes identified were reappraisal, use of social resources, performance behaviors, and blocking. Athletes implemented different coping strategies depending on the stressors they encountered. The widest range of coping responses were displayed in coping with the communication styles used by the coaches. Implications of these findings for researchers, athletes, coaches, and sport psychologists are discussed.

Two ways related to performance in elite sport: the path of self-confidence and competitive anxiety and the path of group cohesion and group goal-clarity.

A model tested among 136 Norwegian Olympic-level athletes yielded two paths related to performance. The first path indicated that self-confidence, modeled as an antecedent of competitive anxiety, is negatively correlated with anxiety. Competitive anxiety in turn is negatively correlated with performance. The second path indicated that group cohesion is positively correlated with group goal-clarity, which in turn is positively correlated with performance. Competitive anxiety mediates the relation between self-confidence and performance, whereas group goal-clarity mediates the relation between group cohesion and performance. Results from multiple regression analyses supported the model in the total sample and among individual sport athletes organized in training groups (n = 100). Among team sport athletes (n = 36), personality and group measures are more strongly intercorrelated than among individual sport athletes, and the relation with performance is more complex for the former group. The interaction of self-confidence and competitive anxiety is related to performance among team sport athletes.

What Is This Thing Called Mental Toughness? An Investigation of Elite Sport Performers

The literature on mental toughness is characterized by a general lack of conceptual clarity and consensus as to its definition, as well as a general failure to operationalize the construct in a consistent manner. This study addressed two fundamental issues surrounding mental toughness: how can it be defined? and what are the essential attributes required to be a mentally tough performer? Ten international performers participated in either a focus group or one-toone interviews, from which a definition of mental toughness and the attributes of the ideal mentally tough performer emerged. The resulting definition emphasized both general and specific dimensions, while the 12 attributes covered self-belief, desire/motivation, dealing with pressure and anxiety, focus (performance-related), focus (lifestyle-related), and pain/hardship factors.

Intensity and interpretation of anxiety symptoms in elite and non-elite sports performers

Previous research which has examined debilitative and facilitative dimensions of anxiety has tended to adopt a unidimensional anxiety framework and to investigate relationships with academic (cognitive) performance. The major purpose of this study was to employ a multidimensional anxiety framework and to examine ‘intensity’ (i.e. level) and ‘direction’ (i.e. interpretation of level as either debilitative of facilitative) of anxiety symptoms in the context of sports (motor) performance. The individual difference variable of skill level was investigated as a mediator of these responses. Elite ( n = 97) and non-elite ( n = 114) competitive swimmers completed a modified version of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 during the period preceding an important race. The findings showed that there was no difference between the two groups on the intensity of cognitive and somatic anxiety symptoms, but that elite performers interpreted both anxiety states as being more facilitative to performance than the non-elite performers. Furthermore, self-confidence was higher in the elite group. Further analyses investigated differences between those swimmers who reported their anxiety as debilitative and those who reported it as facilitative in the elite and non-elite groups. These showed that anxiety intensity levels were higher in the debilitated than the facilitated swimmers in the non-elite group, but no such differences were evident in the elite group. These findings provide further support for the distinction between intensity and direction of competitive state anxiety symptoms. They also emphasize the importance of skill level as an individual difference variable in the examination of the nature of the competitive anxiety response.