Psychological talent predictors in early adolescence and their empirical relationship with current and future performance in soccer

ObjectivesThis study examined the relationship of talented soccer players' psychological characteristics with current and future performance.DesignBoth a cross-sectional and a prospective design were used.MethodThe sample consisted of 2677 U12 players in the German talent development program. Self-report questionnaires captured psychological dispositions and skills that were assigned to the areas of motivation, volition, self-referential cognition, and emotion. Current performance was operationalized by a motor score representing speed abilities and technical skills as well as by coaches' subjective ratings (A = highly promotion-worthy, B = promotion-worthy, C = partly promotion-worthy). The level of future performance was assessed by examining whether individuals were selected for professional clubs' youth academies in U16.ResultsThis study revealed that only self-referential cognitions had a significant and relevant association with the motor score (0.10 ≤ r ≤ 0.37). The players in the subjectively rated categories significantly differed in 10 of 17 psychological scales (0.01 ≤ η² ≤ 0.03). In most of the scales, A-players showed more positively connoted values compared to B- and C-players. Logistic regressions demonstrated that 10 of 17 characteristics explained a significant proportion of players' future success. Players with high dispositions in these characteristics had a greater chance of achieving a higher performance level compared to players with low dispositions (1.61 ≤ OR ≤ 2.65).ConclusionsExpanding on previous research, this study enabled comparisons between a wide range of psychological characteristics with regard to their relevance for soccer performance, leading to conclusions for talent identification and development.     

Doing it for the team: Soccer coaches' identity leadership predicts players' effort,turnover intentions,and performance

ObjectivesThe present research investigates how coaches' identity leadership predicts individual and team outcomes in soccer. Specifically, we tested hypotheses that coaches' identity leadership would be associated with players' perceptions of (a) higher team effort, (b) lower turnover intentions, (c) better individual performance, and (d) better team performance. In addition, we aimed to examine the relationship between coaches' identity leadership and increased team identification of players and the degree to which the associations of identity leadership with these various outcomes were mediated by players' strength of team identification.DesignWe conducted a cross-sectional study of male soccer players in Germany.MethodThe final sample consisted of 247 male soccer players nested in 24 teams that completed measures of their coaches' identity leadership, team identification, team effort, turnover intentions, and individual/team performance.ResultsAnalysis revealed a positive relationship between coaches' identity leadership and team effort, as well as individual and team performance. Moreover, coaches' identity leadership was associated with lower turnover intentions. There was also evidence that the relationships between identity leadership and the investigated outcomes were mediated by team identification.ConclusionsThese findings support claims that coaches' identity leadership is associated with better individual and team outcomes because it helps to build a sense of ‘we’ and ‘us’ in the team they lead.     

Expertise in soccer teams: A thematic inquiry into the role of Shared Mental Models within team chemistry

AimsThe purpose of the current study was to establish a conceptual framework of team chemistry components in sport with an emphasis on Shared Mental Models (SMM).MethodElite soccer coaches (n = 6) and players (n = 3) were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. An inductive thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data.ResultsFour themes related to team chemistry components were identified: (1) members' characteristics (i.e., demographic data, on-field characteristics, and member's ego), (2) coach–players interactions (i.e., professional interaction and emotional intelligence of coaches), (3) interactions among the players (i.e., professional understanding, efficacy beliefs, team cohesion, players' emotional intelligence, team roles, and goals), and (4) interactions with environmental factors (i.e., owners, management, fans, and media).ConclusionsThe cognitive components of the team chemistry model were clustered to establish a conceptual framework of SMM. Furthermore, the cognitive-affective-social-behavioral linkage of team chemistry and athletic performance is examined in light of the emerged model and conceptual framework. Implications and future directions are also discussed.     

Perceived inclusion in youth soccer teams: The role of societal status and perceived motivational goal climate

ObjectivesOur aim was to investigate the link between youth soccer players' perceptions of the coach-initiated motivational goal climate within their team and their perceptions of inclusion as a function of societal status. Societal status refers to one's national background which numerically forms the majority or a minority in a particular society.Design and methodsSurvey data was collected among 245 male youth soccer players (M = 12.9 years, SD = 1.60), who all played in culturally diverse teams in the Netherlands. The societal status of 94 players (38.4%) was majority, and 151 players (61.6%) were classified as minority. To test our main hypothesis, perceived inclusion as the dependent variable was hierarchically regressed on coach-initiated mastery goal climate perceptions, performance goal climate perceptions, societal status, and their interactions.ResultsOverall, mastery goal perceptions and performance goal perceptions of intra-team competition were positively and negatively related, respectively, to perceived team inclusion. As hypothesized, only among players with a societal minority status, perceptions of inclusion were higher when mastery goal climate perceptions were higher and performance goal climate perceptions were lower.Discussion and conclusionOur findings suggest that a coach-initiated mastery-oriented team climate may enhance an inclusive soccer environment in culturally and nationally diverse teams. For societal minority players, intra-team competition should be de-emphasized by the coach in order to strengthen the experience of inclusion.     

Weight-related actual and ideal self-states,discrepancies, and shame,guilt, and pride: Examining associations within the process model of self-conscious emotions

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between women's actual:ideal weight-related self-discrepancies and experiences of weight-related shame, guilt, and authentic pride using self-discrepancy (Higgins, 1987) and self-conscious emotion (Tracy & Robins, 2004) theories as guiding frameworks. Participants (N = 398) completed self-report questionnaires. Main analyses involved polynomial regressions, followed by the computation and evaluation of response surface values. Actual and ideal weight self-states were related to shame (R² = .35), guilt (R² = .25), and authentic pride (R² = .08). When the discrepancy between actual and ideal weights increased, shame and guilt also increased, while authentic pride decreased. Findings provide partial support for self-discrepancy theory and the process model of self-conscious emotions. Experiencing weight-related self-discrepancies may be important cognitive appraisals related to shame, guilt, and authentic pride. Further research is needed exploring the relations between self-discrepancies and a range of weight-related self-conscious emotions.     

Locus of Control and Success as a Professional Money Collector

Abstract

In this examination of how attributions and types of situation influence emotions, 46 American undergraduates completed a questionnaire consisting of 12 vignettes that varied according to content, outcome, and attribution. After reading each vignette, they indicated how they would feel in the situation described. In a second experiment, 27 Finnish undergraduates participated in an identical procedure. In both experiments, subjects felt more pride and happiness after they attributed a successful achievement to effort or ability rather than to others' influence. Attributions of affiliative success did not influence emotions. Subjects felt the most shame and guilt after they attributed achievement failure to lack of effort, and they felt the least negative emotions after they attributed affiliative failure to lack of effort.     

Social-contextual and intrapersonal antecedents of coaches' basic need satisfaction: The intervening variable effect of providing autonomy-supportive coaching

ObjectivesBased on Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2012) and in line with Mageau and Vallerand's (2003) motivational model of the coach-athlete relationship, a new model involving antecedents associated with coaches' self-report measure of total need satisfaction (TNS) was tested. This model hypothesized that: (1) coaches' perceptions of a socially united group of athletes and their self-determined motivation for coaching would relate positively to coaches' provision of autonomy-supportive coaching (ASC), whereas perception of parental pressure in the youth sport context would relate negatively to coaches' provision of ASC; (2) coaches' provision of ASC towards their athletes would, in turn, relate positively to their self-report measure of TNS; and (3) the relation between coaches' perceptions of the sport context, along with their self-determined motivation for coaching, and coaches' self-report measure of TNS would be mediated by coaches' own provision of ASC.DesignA cross-sectional study.MethodsParticipants were 222 (M_age = 42.3, SD = 6.1) youth soccer coaches.ResultsSEM analyses supported the hypothesized model in which coaches' perceptions of a socially united group of athletes and their self-determined motivation for coaching related positively to coaches' self-report measure of TNS through coaches' provision of ASC. In contrast, coaches' perceptions of parental pressure in the youth sport context was unrelated to coaches' self-report measure of TNS via coaches' provision of ASC.ConclusionsFindings support previous research by demonstrating the psychological benefit of providing autonomy support to others.     

How many creatives are enough? Exploring how manipulating the number of creative players in the opposing team impacts footballers' performance during small-sided games

This study explored how varying the number of creative opponents affects youth players' performance during football small-sided games (SSGs). Initially, 60 players from 3 different age groups with n = 20 in each (under-9, U9; under-11, U11; and under-13, U13) were tested during SSGs to rank them according to their creative potential. Based on these rankings, four players shown to possess with a medium creative potential were assigned to the intermediate team for each age group. This team competed against a team on which players with high creative potential were progressively included (from one to finally all four players, 1C to 4C) during a 4-a-side plus goalkeeper SSG. The results showed that U9 players increased the individual space explored when facing more creative opponents (p = .012), while the U11 (p = .026) and U13 (p < .001) only increased when facing 2C and 3C. Playing against more creative opponents induced more variability in the distance to own (p = .046) and the opponent team's centroid (p = .046) in the U9, regularity in the U11 (team centroid, p < .001; opponents' centroid, p = .001) and lower regularity in the U13 (team centroid, p = .013 opponents' centroid, p = .009). These distinct movement patterns seemed to reflect the differences in players' perceptual and motor skills. A higher creative score was found against 1C (vs 2C and 4C, p = .006) and 3C (vs 4C, p = .006) in the U9. The results from the effect sizes indicated higher values on the players' attempts, fluency and versatility when facing 1C to 3C, whereas a clear decrease was observed against 4C for all age groups. Hence, moderate and high demanding scenarios prompt the emergence of new behaviours while extremely high demanding scenarios (i.e. 4C) seem to constrain all the creativity components. Overall, adding creative players mostly impacts the team's collective behaviour rather than the players' creativity-related skills.     

Interaction of athletes' resilience and coaches' social support on the stress-burnout relationship: A conjunctive moderation perspective

ObjectiveIn line with Smith's (1986) cognitive-affective model of athletic burnout, the purpose of this study was to examine the conjunctive effects of athletes' resilience and coaches' social support on the relationship between life stress and burnout.DesignCross-sectional, self-report survey.MethodsA total of 218 student-athletes (M_age = 20.04 yrs, SD = 1.32; males = 159, females = 59) participating in team and individual sports completed life stress, resilience, coaches' social support, and athlete burnout scales. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses with one- two- and three-way interactions examined disjunctive and conjunctive moderations.ResultsResilience and coaches' social support conjunctively moderated the stress-burnout relationship. Specifically the interaction of athletes' resilience with coaches' informational and tangible social support moderated athletes' stress-burnout relationship in high and low life stress conditions.ConclusionsWe suggest coaches provide useful social support and foster athletes' resilience to prevent stress-induced burnout in athletes.     

Self-compassion and body-related self-conscious emotions: Examining within- and between-person variation among adolescent girls in sport

ObjectivesSelf-compassion protects against the occurrence of negative body image experiences and may be particularly useful in defending against negative body- and appearance-related self-conscious emotions in sport. The aim of this study was to examine within- and between-person associations between self-compassion and appearance-related self-conscious emotions.Design & MethodIn a three-year longitudinal cohort study, adolescent girls involved in organized sport (N = 518, M_age = 14.02 ± 1.38) completed yearly self-reports of self-compassion, body- and appearance-related shame, guilt, embarrassment, and envy.ResultsBased on findings from multilevel models, higher levels of both average and time-varying self-compassion were associated with lower levels of body-related shame, guilt, embarrassment, and envy. Specifically, girls reported lower levels of negatively valanced self-conscious emotions when self-compassion was higher than usual.ConclusionsThese findings support previous accounts on the utility of self-compassion as a buffer against negative body image experiences and extend these findings to appearance-related self-conscious emotions in the sport context. In light of the declining levels of self-compassion for girls in adolescence, it is important to focus intervention efforts on cultivating self-compassion to protect girls from negative body-related emotional experiences in sport.     

Social Emotions in Children's Human Figure Drawings: Drawing Shame,Pride and Jealousy

The study examines children's ability to convey social – as opposed to basic – emotions in their human figure drawings. One hundred children aged 4‐, 6‐ and 8‐years were asked to draw a person experiencing shame, pride, jealousy, happiness, sadness and fear as well as a baseline figure ‘feeling nothing’. Drawings were rated in terms of (i) overall emotional expressiveness and (ii) variety and types (face, body/posture and context) of graphic cues used to convey emotion. The effect of age on overall expressiveness and use of these graphic cues was also investigated. The results showed that drawings depicting social emotions were rated as less expressive and presented fewer graphic cues than those conveying basic emotions. Children's developing ability to depict pride, shame and jealousy was largely driven by an increased use of contextual cues in their human figure drawings. As regards the effect of age, it was found that 6‐ and 8‐years old produced more expressive drawings containing a larger range of graphic cues than the 4‐year olds. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of perceived and preferred coach feedback on youth athletes' perceptions of team motivational climate

ObjectivesThis study examined youth ice hockey players' perceptions of individual feedback received from their coach, and the agreement and discrepancies between preferred and perceived coach feedback patterns, on athletes' perceptions of team motivational climate. The following research questions were answered: How does agreement in perceived and preferred coach feedback relate to task- and ego-involving motivational climate? How does the degree of discrepancy between perceived and preferred coach feedback relate to motivational climate? How does the direction of the discrepancy between perceived and preferred coach feedback relate to motivational climate?DesignThis study used non-probability based sampling within a cross-sectional (survey) design.MethodAthletes (n = 70) completed a self-report survey comprised of measures of coaching feedback and motivational climate. The data were examined using polynomial regression and response surface analysis.ResultsLinear associations were observed between coaching feedback and motivational climate, and unique associations between the perceived and preferred coach feedback discrepancies were distinctly related to increased perceptions of both task- and ego-involved motivational climates.ConclusionsThe type of feedback, purpose of the feedback, and agreement or discrepancy in perceptions and preferences for different feedback styles are important to understanding task- and ego-involved motivational climate in youth sport. Coaching programs should assist coaches in learning their athletes' preferences for positive and negative feedback in sport and matching these preferences with their individual feedback styles.     

The decision to adopt a formal athlete leadership group: Qualitative insights from professional football coaches

ObjectivesAthlete Leadership Groups (ALGs) are increasingly being employed in professional football teams and whilst there is a growing body of quantitative research focussed on athlete leadership in other contexts, qualitative studies at the professional level are scant. The purpose of this study is to explore coaches' adoption of formal ALGs in professional football teams and what influences their decisions about the degree to which players are given leadership responsibilities and roles.DesignQualitative- Inductive.Method16 head coaches from 16 professional football teams, across four leagues (Super Rugby n = 4, National Rugby League n = 5, A League n = 3 and Australian Football League n = 4), participated in semi-structured interviews investigating why coaches are increasingly using ALGs in this environment and what influences the extent to which these ALGs are empowered.ResultsAn inductive thematic analysis indicated coaches' initial decisions to adopt an ALG model were influenced by a range of perceived benefits (team management, team functioning and performance) underpinned by personal factors (past experience, coaching philosophy, interpersonal style and understanding of social influence) and their appraisal of situational considerations (readiness, expectations and commitment), which influenced their ALG implementation decisions (how and to what extent players were empowered and leadership responsibilities delegated).ConclusionsOverall, the coaches' decision to use ALGs in the professional football environment was influenced by a belief that player ownership and autonomy, coupled with the influence of peer leadership underpins performance benefits on and off-field and plays a key role in team culture. However, findings suggest that coaches contemplating adopting an ALG model should take an individually tailored approach. For this approach to be effective, coaches consider and address a range of situational factors, and ensure the leadership model adopted reflects their personal beliefs and the capacity and context of the team.     

The effects of rational emotive behavior therapy and motivational interviewing on emotions,automatic thoughts,and perceived performance of elite female volleyball players

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to examine the effect of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy intervention alone (REBT-A) or with motivational interviewing (REBT + MI) on the emotions, automatic thoughts, and perceived performance of elite female volleyball players.Designand method: Single-case, staggered multiple-baseline AB and ABC designs were adapted in the study. Five female volleyball players participated in the study, of which three players participated in the REBT-A and two players participated in the REBT + MI. The athletes were competing in the national volleyball league (M_age = 28, SD = 5.52). All participants were elite athletes with at least ten years of sports experience. Three scores (T1, T2, T3) were calculated for the athletes' perceived performance, emotion, and automatic thoughts. T1 was the baseline score calculated before the sessions. T2 was calculated after the first two sessions (the first three sessions for REBT + MI) and T3 was calculated after the last three sessions. In the data analysis, percentage changes, effect size, and visual analyzes were used in the T1, T2, and T3 scores.ResultsREBT-A and REBT + MI interventions increased perceived performance, positive emotions, and positive automatic thoughts, and decreased negative emotions and negative automatic thoughts. REBT + MI was more advantageous than REBT-A in increasing positive emotion, positive automatic thought, and perceived performance.ConclusionsAs a result, REBT alone or with motivational interviewing has a positive effect on perceived performance, emotions, and automatic thoughts, but REBT + MI has greater potential to increase positive constructs.     

Introducing an instrument to measure body and fitness-related self-conscious emotions: The BSE-FIT

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to develop a new self-report instrument to assess experiences of shame, guilt, authentic pride, and hubristic pride in a fitness context.Design and methodIn Study 1, 41 potential items were developed and assessed for item quality and comprehension. In Study 2, a panel of experts (N = 8; M = 10.55, SD = 6.49 years of experience) assessed the scale and items for validity evidence based on content. Participants in Study 3 (N = 435) completed the Body-related Self-Conscious Emotions Fitness instrument (BSE-FIT) and other established self-report measures of body image, personality, emotion, and behavior. A subset of participants (n = 38; 38% male) in Study 3 completed a 2-week follow-up.ResultsThe BSE-FIT subscale scores demonstrated evidence for internal consistency, temporal stability over a 2-week period, concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity. A 4-factor conceptualization of the instrument was supported.ConclusionsOverall, the final 16-item BSE-FIT instrument shows promise as a new instrument for assessing shame, guilt, and authentic and hubristic facets of pride in fitness contexts.     

Talent Development in Elite Junior Tennis: Perceptions of Players,Parents, and Coaches

This study examined players,' parents,' and coaches' perceptions of talent development in elite junior tennis. Nine participants (three athletes aged 13–15 yrs, four parents, and two coaches) were engaged in semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed verbatim and subjected to an inductive-deductive analysis procedure. Results revealed six categories associated with adult influence on talent development in tennis (Emotional Support, Tangible Support, Informational Support, Sacrifices, Pressure, and Relationships with Coaches). Overall, the results highlighted that parents appeared to fulfill the most significant roles in terms of providing emotional and tangible support (with the mother being more involved than the father). Parents were perceived as a source of pressure when they became over-involved in competitive settings. The role of the coach was focused on providing technical advice. Findings also showed that parents and players were required to make sacrifices. The main applied implication of this study is that involvement in elite junior tennis is a team effort whereby players, parents, and coaches fulfill specific roles.     

Professional handball coaches management of players' situated understanding during official games

ObjectivesThis study, based on the team cognition approach, investigated the information content expressed by coaches when helping players build or update their understanding of the unfolding game. The focus was on how this content fits into the usual task-work/teamwork and procedural/declarative taxonomies.DesignThe data were collected through the audio and video recording of the communications and behaviors of three professional head coaches throughout a total of 15 games. We used deductive content analysis, crossing information contents related to task-work or teamwork with information contents related to declarative or procedural knowledge across the five game periods (first and second half of the first and second half-time, break-time period), and the three score differentials between the teams (favorable, balanced, and unfavorable).MethodWe first performed a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) using a 5 (Game Periods) × 3 (Score Difference) factorial design. Follow-up ANOVAs with repeated-measures were performed to identify the variables contributing to the multivariate effect. We then performed a repeated-measures analysis of variance for information contents related to declarative and procedural knowledge in occurrences of task-work and teamwork categories.ResultsThe results showed that the coaches expressed information related more often to players' procedural knowledge than to their declarative knowledge. We discovered two main effects (game periods and score differences) in coaches' information contents delivered to players. Information related to procedural knowledge was not addressed to the team as a whole, but to certain players.ConclusionsThis suggests that an information flow was more distributed than shared.     

3D-Multiple Object Tracking training task improves passing decision-making accuracy in soccer players

ObjectivesThe ability to perform a context-free 3-dimensional multiple object tracking (3D-MOT) task has been highly related to athletic performance. In the present study, we assessed the transferability of a perceptual-cognitive 3D-MOT training from a laboratory setting to a soccer field, a sport in which the capacity to correctly read the dynamic visual scene is a prerequisite to performance.DesignThroughout pre- and post-training sessions, we looked at three essential skills (passing, dribbling, shooting) that are used to gain the upper hand over the opponent.MethodWe recorded decision-making accuracy during small-sided games in university-level soccer players (n = 23) before and after a training protocol. Experimental (n = 9) and active control (n = 7) groups were respectively trained during 10 sessions of 3D-MOT or 3D soccer videos. A passive control group (n = 7) did not received any particular training or instructions.ResultsDecision-making accuracy in passing, but not in dribbling and shooting, between pre- and post-sessions was superior for the 3D-MOT trained group compared to control groups. This result was correlated with the players' subjective decision-making accuracy, rated after pre- and post-sessions through a visual analogue scale questionnaire.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this study represents the first evidence in which a non-contextual, perceptual-cognitive training exercise has a transfer effect onto the field in athletes.     

Performance-induced emotions experienced during high-stakes table tennis matches

ObjectivesTo characterize the contents of emotions experienced by elite table tennis players during high-stakes matches and the situational elements that contribute to these experiences.DesignA four-case study.MethodThree top-level table tennis players from the French Men's Table Tennis Team volunteered to participate in the study. Four matches were studied. Procedures involved: (a) videotaping high-stakes table tennis matches, (b) conducting self-confrontation interviews with players after matches, (c) transcribing the players’ actions and self-confrontation data, (d) decomposing their activity into elementary units, and (e) identifying typical contents of emotion and typical emotional situations.ResultsThe contents of players’ emotions varied during matches. The pleasant or unpleasant tone of emotional content was linked to the set result and the interpretations of the unfolding situation. However, other elements of the competitive interaction (score configurations, judgments about the strokes performed) had a strong emotional coloration. Certain similar events (e.g., bad sensations during stroke performance) were frequently coupled with similar emotional content (e.g., displeasure).ConclusionsUntil quite recently, the predominant focus in sport psychology has been on pre-performance emotions, with far less attention paid to the subjective emotional experiences that occur during task execution. This exploratory study provides initial empirical support for the notion of bi-directionality in emotion–performance relationships [Hanin, Y.L. (Ed.). (2000). Emotions in sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; Hanin, Y.L. (2003). Performance related emotional states in sport: A qualitative analysis. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 4(1). Available at: http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/1-03/1-03hanin-e.htm].