Athletic Development

A Psychological Perspective

Caroline Heaney, Nichola Kentzer, Ben Oakley, Caroline Heaney, Nichola Kentzer, Ben Oakley

• Editorial: Routledge
• Año: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000402421
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Psicología
• Categoría: Psicología del deporte

Athletic Development: A Psychological Perspective is an examination of the psychological factors that help or hinder the development of participants in sport. This includes influences such as families, coach-athlete interactions, and transitional episodes on an individual's pathway in sport.

This edited collection of topical chapters shines a unique psychological perspective on the athlete's development through sport. It explores a range of contemporary themes that influence athlete's development including:

• An introduction to athletic development which orientates a holistic, psychological perspective of the athletic development process.

• 
  
  

• Social influences on athletic development, which explores the impact of varied social influences (e.g., coach, family, peers, school) on sports participation and performance from a psychological perspective.

• 
  
  

• Athlete wellbeing, which explores various aspects influencing mental health and welfare as an athlete progresses through their sports career.

The book combines key theory with illustrative case studies, to analyse the complexities of athletic development. It takes a critical perspective highlighting some of the debates and controversies in these areas and uses spotlight boxes in each chapter to focus on questions or topics of particular interest. Athletic Development: A Psychological Perspective is a key reader for all students in the fields of sport and exercise psychology, sport coaching, and related sport science subjects.

SECTION II
Social Influences on the Athlete’s Journey

Nichola Kentzer

An athlete does not develop in isolation—their sporting journey can be shaped by those around them (Hogg & Vaughan, 2018). Indeed, the importance of an athlete’s social environment is a feature in all the main psychological perspectives of athletic development outlined in Chapter 2. For example, Côté et al. (2009) discuss choices (sampling vs specialisation) and opportunities in childhood which are arguably influenced heavily by a young person’s family. Examples of high-profile family support can be seen in the sport of tennis with Venus and Serena Williams’ father, and Andy and Jamie Murray’s mother—who have both been identified as key influences in their children’s development.

Other athletes have followed parents into their chosen sport, such as Jacques (and Gilles) Villeneuve and Damon (and Graham) Hill (Formula One), and Eilish (and Liz) McColgan (athletics). Moreover, siblings can influence choice and ongoing support in their sport, with Alistair and Jonny Brownlee (triathlon), Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo (basketball), and Becky and Ellie Downie (gymnastics) as examples. It can also be the case that family members coach their children, as in the case of Eilish McColgan who is coached by her mother at elite level. This, however, is not the norm and consequently the relationship an athlete builds with their coach can be key to their development as an athlete and to performance success (Jowett & Shanmugam, 2016). The athlete is joined by not only family and coaches on their athletic development journey, however, but by other individuals that can influence their sporting experiences, including physical education (PE) teachers. Indeed, PE and school sport is often the first experience of organised sport for children.

Each athlete experiences a unique journey and it is important to highlight, and understand, the uniqueness of the different social influences. To study these experiences, it can be helpful to examine the complexity of the social environment which surrounds the athlete, and the key individuals they interact with, by viewing it through a visual medium. One framework that achieves this is Henriksen et al.’s (2010) athletic talent development environment (ATDE) working model which draws on an approach where athletic development results from daily interactions between the athlete and their environment (see Figure 2.1 in Chapter 2).

This section of the book aims to examine the social influences on an athlete’s developmental journey, which include a number of the features in Henriksen and colleagues’ model, starting with the influence of the coach. In Chapter 6, Coach-Athlete Relationships: The Role of Ability, Intentions and Integrity, Sophia Jowett and Katelynn Slade critically discuss traditional approaches to coaching and propose a combined coach-athlete-centred approach, one that values both parties in the dyad equally. The chapter considers the components of a quality coach-athlete relationship and examines coach philosophy and the core values of ability, intentions, and integrity. There is a reflection on the darker side of coaching before concluding with an example of a practical tool that can be used to facilitate more effective coach-athlete relationships.

Communication in the coach-athlete relationship, described as the “fuel” for quality in the dyad (Jowett, 2018), can impact on the athlete experience. In Chapter 7, Towards Mutual Understanding: Communication and Conflict in Coaching, Lauren R. Tufton introduces types of communication and considers our use of language. The chapter examines the importance of communication in coaching and offers strategies for effective communication. The chapter moves on to a critical discussion of conflict within the coach-athlete relationship before concluding with a consideration of management strategies and the use of third-party interventions to support conflict resolution.

Having considered the relationship between the athlete and the coach, in Chapter 8, Creating an Optimal Motivational Climate for Effective Coaching, Iain Greenlees presents a critical overview of the coach’s influence on athlete motivation. The chapter examines two key theories of motivation: self-determination theory and achievement goal theory, and how each can be applied to help us to understand the influence of the coach. This theoretical content is drawn on to consider how a coach can develop an empowering and effective motivational climate. The chapter concludes with a feature that examines other individuals who can impact on the motivational climate.

It is not only the coach that has an influence on the athletic development journey. In Chapter 9, The Family Behind the Athlete, Jessica Pinchbeck examines how parents and siblings can influence the sporting choices and opportunities available to a young athlete impacting on their long-term sporting journey. The chapter critically examines how levels, and types, of parental involvement can influence individuals, drawing on key theoretical content. The chapter concludes with an overview of attachment and how this can help us to understand familial relationships in sport.

In the final chapter of the section, Chapter 10, How Does the School Setting Influence Athletic Development?, Nichola Kentzer explores the role of educational settings in the introduction, and facilitation, of PE and school sport to young people and how this can be influential in athletic development. The chapter considers the impact of attending educational establishments which focus their efforts on the development of talented prospective elite athletes, and how key individuals, such as the PE teacher, can influence a young person’s sporting experience. The chapter concludes with a practical consideration of how the PE teacher could promote an optimal environment for athletic development.

The five chapters in this section of the book demonstrate the complexity of the social influences that can impact on the athletic journey and attempt to inform the practice of coaches, sport psychologists, and other practitioners to support athletes’ wellbeing and performance.

REFERENCES

• Côté, J., Lidor, R., & Hackfort, D. (2009). ISSP position stand: To sample or to specialize? Seven postulates about youth sport activities that lead to continued participation and elite performance. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 7(1), 7–17.
• Henriksen, K., Stambulova, N., & Roessler, K. K. (2010). Holistic approach to athletic talent development environments: A successful sailing milieu. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11(3), 212–222.
• Hogg, M. A., & Vaughan, G. M. (2018). Social psychology (8th ed.). Pearson Education Limited.
• Jowett, S. (2018, February 19). Communication: The fuel of effective and successful coach-athlete relationships. UK Coaching. https://community.ukcoaching.org/spaces/10/welcome-and-general/blogs/general/11878/communication-the-fuel-of-effective-and-successful-coach-athlete-relationships
• Jowett, S., & Shanmugam, V. (2016). Relational coaching in sport: Its psychological underpinnings and practical effectiveness. In R. J. Schinke, K. R. McGannon, & B. Smith (Eds.), Routledge international handbook of sport psychology. Taylor and Francis Ltd., pp. 471–484.

CHAPTER 6
Coach-Athlete Relationships

The Role of Ability, Intentions, and Integrity

Sophia Jowett and Katelynn Slade

There are many examples of high-profile coaches who have embraced and applied the notion of the “relational coaching environment” (Jowett & Shanmugam, 2016, p. 471) at the heart of which lies building good quality relationships. Coaches who have achieved the highest sport accolades with their athletes all over the world have talked openly about the role and significance of the coach-athlete relationship. They include Pep Guardiola (football), Mike Krzyzewski (basketball), Lisa Alexander (netball), Marcus Wiese and Danny Kerry (hockey), Aimee Boorman (gymnastics), Ans Botha (athletics), and Mel Marshall and Bob Bowman (swimming). It becomes immediately apparent that these coaches recognise the value of connecting with each athlete in their team signalling that they have nothing but their athletes’ very best interests at heart. Such coaches become ‘talent magnets’ because athletes want to work with and for them.

Regardless of whether the sport environment emphasises performance or participation, it is undisputable that coaches’ overarching aim is to support athletes to achieve their goals, meet their needs, support their development, and help them grow physiologically, socially, and psychologically. However, some coaches fall short. Some coaches may not fully understand the power of connecting, belonging, and relating with their athletes in the team or squad. These coaches may believe that by maintaining an impersonal approach they are fulfilling their role in a neutral and unbiased manner. Nonetheless, anecdotal and empirical evidence suggest that strong and healthy connections between coaches and athletes contribute to long-lasting and cumulative effects on coaches’ and athletes’ performances as well as mental health and wellbeing (e.g., Jowett et al., 2017). This chapter aims to discuss the role and significance of the coach-athlete relationship within the context of coaching while exploring ways to develop good quality, effective, and successful coach-athlete relationships.

COACH-ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP AND COACHING: WHAT IS THE LINK?

Over the years there has been a notable change to the process and practice of coaching. The way coaching is practised at this present time is somewhat different from the way it was practised 10 or so years ago. For example, Kidman (2005) highlighted a shift from a coach-centred to an athlete-centred approach to coaching and yet another shift was more recently observed where these two approaches were combined (Jowett, 2017). In the coach-centred approach, the coach is the focus and is at the centre of coaching. In this approach the coach imparts and transmits knowledge and skills to the athletes. The coach has the biggest role to play by commanding and leading. As a result, the athlete has very little choice and s/he plays a passive role in the coaching process (see e.g., Evans, 2014). In the athlete-centred approach, the athlete is the focus and is at the centre of coaching. The athlete has the biggest role to play as s/he directs learning, asks questions, and even designs and completes tasks independently and in association with fellow athletes. As a result, the athlete is faced with a great deal of choice to fulfil their needs and wants and s/he plays an active role in the coaching process (Bowles & O’Dwyer, 2019; Headley-Cooper, 2010). These two approaches are portrayed at the opposite ends of a continuum (see Figure 6.1).

FIGURE 6.1 The diametrically opposite approaches to coaching: coach-centred and athlete-centred

As Kidman (2005) explained, the opposite of athlete-centred coaching is coach-centred coaching and thus as a coach you can apply either approach. However, an over-emphasis on either the coach or on the athlete can lead to rigidity or can hamper flexibility. In a sport environment, like every achievement-orientated environment (e.g., school, work) where unpredictability and complexity are potent and common characteristics (cf. Edmondson, 2018), coaches and athletes are required to demonstrate adaptability or agility (e.g., Ritchie & Allen, 2015) in order to successfully deal with numerous circumstances that are presented to them including poor or inconsistent performances, selection versus deselection, injury, burnout, and other personal events outside sport (e.g., school, work).

In addition, a complete focus on either the coach or the athlete would seem unreasonable. For example, an athlete-centred approach neglects the coach’s role in the same way a coach-centred approach neglects the athlete’s role. With the emphasis shifting from the coach to the athlete in recent years, there is an obvious play down of the coach’s role in the coaching process. A coach as an authority figure who has (or should have) the capacity in terms of the knowledge and experience, as well as skills and competence to influence, instruct, and guide the athlete/s is somewhat lost within the athlete-centred approach (Bowles & O’Dwyer, 2019). Coaches as much as athletes have an important role to play and need to be equally recognised and valued within the process and practice of coaching. Moreo...

Índice

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Boxes and Case Studies
• About the Contributors
• Editors’ Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Section I: Athletic Development: A Holistic View of the Journey
• Section II: Social Influences on the Athlete’s Journey
• Section III: Mental Health and Wellbeing on the Athlete’s Journey
• Section IV: Conclusions
• Index