Coaches’ Perceptions of Team Cohesion in Paralympic Sports

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Falcão ◽  
Gordon A. Bloom ◽  
Todd M. Loughead

The purpose of this study was to investigate Paralympic coaches’ perceptions of team cohesion. Seven head coaches of summer and winter Canadian Paralympic sport teams participated in the study. Four participants coached individual sports and 3 coached team sports. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The results addressed the coaches’ perceptions of cohesion in the Paralympic sport setting and strategies used to foster cohesion with their teams. Participants described using techniques and strategies for enhancing cohesion that were similar to those in nondisability sport, such as task-related activities, goal setting, and regularly communicating with their athletes. They also listed how cohesion was distinct to the Paralympic setting, such as the importance of interpersonal activities to build social cohesion. The implications of these results for coaching athletes with a disability are also presented.

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Harenberg ◽  
Harold A. Riemer ◽  
Erwin Karreman ◽  
Kim D. Dorsch

Competition is a common phenomenon and occurs frequently in sports. In high performance sports, competition takes place not only between teams (interteam competition) but also within a team (intrateam competition). In the intrateam competition, coaches might play a central role because of their power to structure competition within their teams. Yet, there is a lack of research exploring how coaches facilitate this type of competition. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to explore how university-level team sport coaches’ experience, structure and use intrateam competition. Eight full-time Canadian Interuniversity Sports head coaches participated in semistructured interviews. The participants indicated that intrateam competition involves two distinct types of competition: situational and positional competition. While situational competition occurs primarily in practices, positional competition is an ongoing, continual process in which athletes who occupy the same position compete for playing time. The coaches shared important considerations about how to carefully structure and use both types of competition constructively. The study is an original account of intrateam competition as a multifaceted, constructive process within high performance sport teams.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kacey C. Neely ◽  
John G.H. Dunn ◽  
Tara-Leigh F. McHugh ◽  
Nicholas L. Holt

The overall purpose of this study was to examine coaches’ views on deselecting athletes from competitive female adolescent sport teams. Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with 22 head coaches of Canadian provincial level soccer, basketball, volleyball, and ice hockey teams. Interpretive description methodology (Thorne, 2008) was used. Results revealed deselection was a process that involved four phases: pre-tryout meeting, evaluation and decision-making, communication of deselection, and post deselection reflections. Within the evaluation and decision-making phase coaches made programmed and nonprogrammed decisions under conditions of certainty and uncertainty. When faced with uncertainty coaches relied on intuition.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1276-1280
Author(s):  
Ioana Maria Curitianu

The sporting environment is a rich, unique, and salient context in which to study the basic and applied nature of a variety of social dynamics. Issues such as leadership, collective efficacy, team cohesion, and group goal setting undoubtedly have great theoretical and practical value within sport teams. Sport is completely permeated by the question of the diversity which it vividly enacts. The same way sports blends sporting spirit, competition drive and fair play it should also blend culturally different envisaged notions of non-uniformity, diversity, enrichment through other culture, other skin color, other language and other style of living. All disciplines are concerned to a more or less intense degree, depending on their popular support or lack of it and on the culture which they convey. Multiple origins and complex careers are now a hallmark: handball, rugby, basketball as well as individual sports like athletics, judo and tennis have their champions stemming from diversity, who form the tip of an equally variegated iceberg of school and amateur sport (Diamond P., Hausman J., 1994).


2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-42
Author(s):  
Howard Z. ZENG ◽  
Raymond W. LEUNG ◽  
Wei BIAN ◽  
Wenhao LIU

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in English; abstract also in Chinese. This study examined the differences in coaching behaviors between individual sports (ISs) and team sports (TSs). Participants were head-coaches of ten varsity teams from a college in the USA. Twenty practice sessions (two practices per coach) were videotaped and the Arizona State University Observation Instrument was used for data collection. A 2 x 2 MANOVA (sports x observations) revealed that significant differences in five coaching behaviors between the two types of sports. Specifically, ISs coaches demonstrated significantly greater (p < .05) rate per minute (RPM) than did TSs coaches in Preinstruction (M = 1.41 ± .12 vs. .73 ± .13), Questioning (M = .55 ± .11vs. .29 ± .31), and Praise (M = .84 ± .37 vs. .36 ± .38). TSs coaches demonstrated significantly greater (p < .05) RPM than did ISs coaches in Postinstruction (M = 1.28 ± .18 vs. .56 ± .06) and Hustle (M = .89 ± .12 vs. .13 ± .06). No significant differences (p > .05) were identified in Concurrent Instruction, Positive Modeling, Negative Modeling, Scold, and Management behaviors between the coaches. In conclusion, the coaches from the ISs and TSs employed different coaching behaviors that reflected the features of their specific sports. 本研究檢驗了大學生代表隊個人與團隊運動教練行為之間的差異。研究對象為位於美國東部一所大學的10支運動代表隊的主教練。研究者在他們進行正常訓練時對10名教練員的教練行為進行了錄像記錄 (總共錄了20堂訓練課,每名教練員兩堂)。資料採用亞里桑納州立大學系統觀測儀收集。通過2x2多元方差分析檢驗,在 個人與團隊運動之間有五種教練行為顯出明顯差異 (p<.05)。具體如下:個人運動教練比團隊運動教練使用了明顯多的訓練前指導 (M=1.41±.12 vs. .73士.13),訓練中提問 (M=.55±.ll vs. .29士.31)和表揚(M=.84±.37 vs..36±.38);團隊運動教練比個人運動教練使用了明顯多的訓練後指導 (M=1.28±.18 vs. .56士.06)和訓練中催促 (M=.89±.12 vs. .13士.06)。然而,個人與團隊運動的教練在使用訓練中指導正或負面示範叱責和組織/管理等教練行為時沒有明顯差異 (p>.05)。結論:個人與團隊運動項目的教練使用了不同的教練行為而這些教練 行為反映了他們所教運動項目的特點。


2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-148
Author(s):  
Cathy MacDonald ◽  
Rebecca Bryan ◽  
Lauren J. Lieberman ◽  
John T. Foley

The inclusion of athletes with and without disabilities in disability sport, known as reverse integration, has received limited attention in the literature. The purpose of this study was to understand players’ experiences in collegiate goalball. One-on-one semistructured interviews were conducted with two males (one with visual impairment, one without impairment) and four females (one with visual impairment, three without impairment) who participated in collegiate goalball programs. Interpretative thematic analysis helped uncover the meaning in participants’ goalball experiences. Reverse integration was used as a conceptual framework to guide the interpretation of participant experiences. Four main themes were extracted from the data: (a) the disability advantage, (b) the building of team cohesion, (c) the disappearing disability, and (d) enjoyment and pride. Participation in collegiate goalball allowed students to see disability as an asset and question assumptions regarding teammates’ abilities. This study highlights the potential value of providing opportunities for people with and without a disability to participate in sport together.


2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro J. M. Passos ◽  
Duarte Araujo ◽  
Keith Davids ◽  
Ana Diniz ◽  
Luis Gouveia ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Cathy G. Bettman ◽  
Alexander Digiacomo

Abstract Currently, Australia’s school counsellors are increasingly being called upon to respond to adolescent mental health needs. Through semistructured interviews with seven school counsellors working with adolescents, this qualitative study aimed to capture the lived experiences of this group of practitioners. By adopting a phenomenological approach and using thematic analysis, this study provides insight into their profession: the current ambiguity surrounding their role; the opportunities and obstacles they face; as well as the often-present tension between stakeholders including parents, other school staff and external agencies. The findings of this study indicate that school counsellors are challenged by the need to be advocates not only for their students but also for themselves and their roles within the school context.


Sports ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Lee Bell ◽  
Alan Ruddock ◽  
Tom Maden-Wilkinson ◽  
Dave Hembrough ◽  
David Rogerson

Optimal physical performance is achieved through the careful manipulation of training and recovery. Short-term increases in training demand can induce functional overreaching (FOR) that can lead to improved physical capabilities, whereas nonfunctional overreaching (NFOR) or the overtraining syndrome (OTS) occur when high training-demand is applied for extensive periods with limited recovery. To date, little is known about the OTS in strength sports, particularly from the perspective of the strength sport coach. Fourteen high-performance strength sport coaches from a range of strength sports (weightlifting; n = 5, powerlifting; n = 4, sprinting; n = 2, throws; n = 2, jumps; n = 1) participated in semistructured interviews (mean duration 57; SD = 10 min) to discuss their experiences of the OTS. Reflexive thematic analysis resulted in the identification of four higher order themes: definitions, symptoms, recovery and experiences and observations. Additional subthemes were created to facilitate organisation and presentation of data, and to aid both cohesiveness of reporting and publicising of results. Participants provided varied and sometimes dichotomous perceptions of the OTS and proposed a multifactorial profile of diagnostic symptoms. Prevalence of OTS within strength sports was considered low, with the majority of participants not observing or experiencing long-term reductions in performance with their athletes.


2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna L. Goodwin ◽  
Kerri Staples

The purpose of the study was to capture the meaning of segregated summer camp experiences to youths with disabilities. The experiences of nine youths with physical, sensory, or behavioral disabilities between the ages of 14 and 19 were captured using the phenomenological methods of semistructured interviews, document review, and field notes. Mothers’ perceptions were also gathered. The thematic analysis revealed three themes: not alone, independence, and a chance to discover. Camp experiences provided a reprieve from perceptions of disability isolation often felt in their home communities. The campers experienced increased self-reliance, independence, and new understandings of their physical potential. The findings are discussed within the context of identity development and therapeutic landscapes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Ewan Thomas ◽  
Marianna Alesi ◽  
Garden Tabacchi ◽  
Carlos Marques da Silva ◽  
David J. Sturm ◽  
...  

The aim of this investigation was to identify possible related factors associated to the performance of the crunning test in European children and adolescents. A total number of 559 children and adolescents (age range 6–14 years) of which 308 boys (55.1%) and 251 girls (44.9%), from seven European countries, were screened. A questionnaire concerning demographic and personal life-related factors and a cognitive assessment were performed. A regression analysis was conducted with the performance measures of the crunning movement. T-tests and ANCOVA were used to analyze sub-group differences. Boys have greater crunning performance values compared to girls (5.55 s vs. 7.06 s, p < 0.001) and older children perform better than younger ones (R2 −0.23; p < 0.001). Children with healthy and active habits (exercising or spending time with family members vs. reading or surfing the internet) performed better in the test. Children engaged in team sports had better crunning performances compared to those engaged in individual sports (6.01 s vs. 6.66 s, p = 0.0166). No significant association was found regarding cognitive-related aspects in either children engaged in team or individual sports and the crunning performance. Older and male children performed better in the crunning test than younger and female children. Physical activity-related aspects of children’s life are associated with crunning movement performance. No association was found between higher cognitive performance and the crunning test results.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document