Jaume Cruz

Relationships among motivational climate, satisfaction, perceived ability, and fair play attitudes in young soccer players.

The present study examined relationships among perceptions of motivational climate, perceived ability, satisfaction and fair play attitudes in young soccer players. Participants were 472 male Catalan players (from 10 to 14 years). Results indicated that perceptions of a task-involving climate were positively associated with satisfaction in practices and self-referenced perceived ability and were inversely related to rough play attitudes and normative perceived ability. In addition, perceptions of an ego-involving motivational climate were related positively with normative perceived ability and with favorable attitudes towards winning in a soccer game. The differences across motivational climate profiles groups revealed that the highest level of acceptance of rough play was found in the subgroup with a low-task/high-ego orientation. In contrast, the lowest level of acceptance of rough play was found in the opposite subgroup of high-task/low-ego. The findings support the importance of creating a task-involving climate in sports.

Elite athletes' image of retirement: the way to relocation in sport.

Abstract Objectives: To add a prospective view of retirement to the existing research in career transition based on retrospective data. Methods: Using a grounded theory approach, 18 active athletes were interviewed and the data were content analysed. Results: Three different stages related to athletes’ view of retirement were conceptualised: (a) initiation/training stage; (b) maturity performance stage; and (c) anticipation of retirement stage. Our data suggest that active elite athletes gradually build an image of retirement from competitive sports during his/her sporting carrer. Conclusions: Systematic prospective studies on retirement contribute to a better picture of career transitions in sports and can assist in counselling top-level athletes. In our work, we have outlined that retirement is seen as much less problematic when it is planned as a process rather than an event. In the case of Spanish elite athletes, we would recommend that retirement from sport be viewed as a relocation in sport.

Promoting Adolescent health through an intervention aimed at improving the quality of their participation in Physical Activity (PAPA): Background to the project and main trial protocol

Funded by the European Commission, the Promoting Adolescent health through an intervention is aimed at improving the quality of their participation in Physical Activity (PAPA) project revolved around the potential of youth sport to promote childrens mental and emotional health and physical activity engagement. A theoretically grounded coach education training programme (i.e. Empowering Coaching™), which was designed to create a sporting environment which was more positive and adaptive for young children, was customised for grassroots soccer, delivered and evaluated via a multi-method cluster RCT across five European countries; namely, England, France, Greece, Norway and Spain. In this article, a key part of the protocol of this large and multi-faceted project is presented. The ethical standards and procedures, characteristics of the population targeted and overall study design, and core self-report questionnaire measures completed by the players are described. Information is provided as well on the translation principles and procedures and data-collection procedures adopted in the PAPA project.

Commitment, Enjoyment and Motivation in Young Soccer Competitive Players

Building upon Decis and Ryan (1985) Self-determination theory as well as the sportive behavioral correlates of the model of Commitment (Scanlan et al., 1976), this study tries to establish the relationship between motivation and commitment in youth sport. For this purpose 454 young competitive soccer players answered the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS) and the Sport Commitment Questionnaire (SCQ) during the regular season. The SMS measures the three dimensions of the Motivational continuum (the Amotivation, the Extrinsic Motivation and the Intrinsic Motivation). The SCQ measures the Sportive Commitment and its composing factors such as the Enjoyment, the Alternatives to the sport, and the Social Pressure. Our findings provided a clear pattern of the influence of motivation in sport enjoyment and commitment, outlining the positive contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to enjoyment and commitment. Amotivation, contributes positively to alternatives to sport and negatively to enjoyment and commitment, It should be noted that extrinsic motivation has a higher contribution to enjoyment whereas intrinsic motivation has a higher contribution to commitment.

Acceptance of Gamesmanship and Cheating in Young Competitive Athletes in Relation to the Motivational Climate Generated by Parents and Coaches

The goal was to assess the relation between the acceptance of using gamesmanship and cheating in sports and the type of motivational climate created by coaches and parents. The sample consisted of 110 soccer, basketball, and handball players from the Balearic Islands competition (70 boys, 40 girls; M age = 14.7 yr., SD = 2.1, range 10–19). As for the motivational climate generated by coaches, task climate was negatively related to the acceptance of gamesmanship and cheating, but ego climate was related to higher acceptance. Motivational climate generated by parents was not related to acceptance of cheating or gamesmanship.

Cómo mejorar el clima motivacional y los estilos de comunicación en el ámbito de la Educación Física y el deporte

Resumen En este trabajo se muestra el desarrollo e implementation del Programa de Asesoramiento Personalizado a Entrenadores (PAPE) con entrenadores de baloncesto. El propósito de este estudio es triple: a) Presentar el procedimiento seguido para la aplicación del PAPE para mejorar el clima motivacional y el estilo de comunicación; b) Evaluar la efectividad del programa en entrenadores de baloncesto; y c) Fundamentar la pertinencia del PAPE para ser utilizado en el contexto de la Educación Física, ofreciendo recomendaciones para su adaptación. La aplicación de este programa ofrece resultados positivos en los estilos de comunicación de los entrenadores y en el clima motivacional percibido por los deportistas.

Efeito da experiência do treinador sobre o ambiente motivacional e pedagógico no treino de jovens

O estudo investiga o efeito da experiencia do treinador sobre as categorias observadas da comunicacao em competicao, as orientacoes para a realizacao de objetivos, as atitudes face a pratica desportiva e as percepcoes dos atletas sobre o comportamento do treinador. Utilizando o Coach Behavior Assessment System (CBAS), de Smith, Smoll e Hunt (1977), foram gravados em audio e video e posteriormente analisados 18 jogos de seis treinadores de Basquetebol do escalao de sub-16 anos masculinos, tres experientes e tres inexperientes. Os jogadores das equipes observadas (n = 58) preencheram as versoes portuguesas do Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire/TEOSQ (Chi & Duda, 1995) e do Sport Attitudes Questionnaire/SAQ (Lee & Whitehead, 1999), bem como o questionario de percepcoes do comportamento do treinador do CBAS. Os resultados revelaram um efeito estatisticamente significativo da experiencia ou inexperiencia do treinador, tanto sobre as categorias comportamentais observadas em jogo como sobre as dimensoes dos questionarios.

The Effect of Coaches’ Controlling Style on the Competitive Anxiety of Young Athletes

Framed on a Self-Determination Theory perspective, the purpose of this study was to explore the predictive capacity of coaches’ interpersonal controlling style on the competitive anxiety of young athletes, considering the mediating effect of the athletes’ controlled motivation on this relationship. The sample consisted of 1166 athletes, aged between 9 and 18, who ranked their perceptions of coaches’ controlling style, as well as the reasons for participating in sport and their competitive anxiety before or during competition. The structural models assessing both the direct effect of the controlling style on the anxiety and the complete mediated effect of the controlled motivation on this relationship revealed good fit indices. However, a significant difference of the chi-square was obtained when comparing these models to the partial mediation model, providing evidence of this last model to be more adequate to describe the relationship between coaches’ controlling style and athletes’ competitive anxiety. Positive significant effects of coach controlling style on the three forms of competitive anxiety were found (βCS-SA = 0.21, p < 0.001; βCS-W= 0.14, p < 0.001; βCS-CD= 0.30, p < 0.001) indicating that coach controlling style could be an antecedent for athletes’ anxiety in a direct way. Although this style also predicts athletes’ motivation to participate, this indirect path seems to predict competitive anxiety in a less clear way. We discuss our results facing them up to Vallerand’s hierarchical model postulates, focusing on the relevant influence of coaches on the young athletes’ experience in the sport context.

El estilo de comunicación del entrenador y la percepción del clima motivacional generado por los entrenadores y compañeros

El presente estudio se propuso evaluar las relaciones entre el estilo de comunicacion del entrenador y el clima motivacional generado por el y por los companeros de equipo. Se observo a tres entrenadores de futbol con el Sistema de Evaluacion de las Conductas del Entrenador (CBAS) en tres partidos cada uno. Tambien participaron 39 jugadores de los mismos equipos que los entrenadores, en la franja de edad de 12 a 14 anos, que contestaron los cuestionarios: a) cuestionario de percepcion de los comportamientos del entrenador (CBAS-PBS); b) clima motivacional generado por el entrenador (PMCSQ-2); c) cuestionario del clima motivacional de los iguales en el deporte (PeerMCYSQ). A partir de los resultados obtenidos, se evidencia una correlacion entre conductas positivas que perciben que emiten los entrenadores y la percepcion de un clima de implicacion a la tarea. Ademas, de una correlacion entre el clima de implicacion a la tarea generado por el entrenador y el generado por los companeros. Tambien se encontro una correlacion positiva entre las percepciones de comportamientos punitivos del entrenador y la generacion de un clima motivacional de implicacion al ego. El clima de implicacion al ego generado por el entrenador tambien se correlaciona con los dos factores del clima de implicacion al ego de los companeros, la competencia y el conflicto intra-equipo.

O estilo de comunicação do treinador e a percepção do clima motivacional gerado por treinadores e colegas

El presente estudio se propuso evaluar las relaciones entre el estilo de comunicacion del entrenador y el clima motivacional generado por el y por los companeros de equipo. Se observo a tres entrenadores de futbol con el Sistema de Evaluacion de las Conductas del Entrenador (CBAS) en tres partidos cada uno. Tambien participaron 39 jugadores de los mismos equipos que los entrenadores, en la franja de edad de 12 a 14 anos, que contestaron los cuestionarios: a) cuestionario de percepcion de los comportamientos del entrenador (CBAS-PBS); b) clima motivacional generado por el entrenador (PMCSQ-2); c) cuestionario del clima motivacional de los iguales en el deporte (PeerMCYSQ). A partir de los resultados obtenidos, se evidencia una correlacion entre conductas positivas que perciben que emiten los entrenadores y la percepcion de un clima de implicacion a la tarea. Ademas, de una correlacion entre el clima de implicacion a la tarea generado por el entrenador y el generado por los companeros. Tambien se encontro una correlacion positiva entre las percepciones de comportamientos punitivos del entrenador y la generacion de un clima motivacional de implicacion al ego. El clima de implicacion al ego generado por el entrenador tambien se correlaciona con los dos factores del clima de implicacion al ego de los companeros, la competencia y el conflicto intra-equipo.