John H. Salmela

The Development and Maintenance of Expert Athletic Performance: Perceptions of World and Olympic Champions

This study examined the factors that contributed to the development and maintenance of expert athletic performance. Four men and six women having won at least two gold medals at separate Olympics and/or World Championships were interviewed using an in-depth, open-ended, and semi-structured approach (Patton, 1987). The qualitative data were analyzed both inductively and deductively. Results revealed that the athletes progressed through four stages throughout their career: the Sampling, Specializing, Investment, and Maintenance Years. Common findings were that at an elite level, contextual factors included parents, coaches, teammates/ friends, support staff, other athletes, and school/education. Personal characteristics pertained to self-confidence, motivation, creativity, and perseverance. Training involved technical, tactical, physical, and mental components and was influenced by quantity, quality, intensity, and recovery. Competition factors concerned meticulous planning, evaluations, dealing with pressure, expectations, and adversity, and focusing on the process rather than the outcome of events. Implications to increase the quality of experience of athletes are discussed.

The developmental activities of elite soccer players aged under-16 years from Brazil, England, France, Ghana, Mexico, Portugal and Sweden

Abstract The developmental activities of 328 elite soccer players aged under-16 years from Brazil, England, France, Ghana, Mexico, Portugal and Sweden were examined using retrospective recall in a cross-sectional research design. The activities were compared to the early diversification, early specialisation, and early engagement pathways. Players started their involvement in soccer at approximately 5 years of age. During childhood, they engaged in soccer practice for a mean value of 185.7, s = 124.0 h · year−1, in soccer play for 186.0, s = 125.3 h · year−1, and in soccer competition for 37.1, s = 28.9 h · year−1. A mean value of 2.3, s = 1.6 sports additional to soccer were engaged in by 229 players during childhood. Players started their participation in an elite training academy at 11 to 12 years of age. During adolescence, they engaged in soccer practice for a mean value of 411.9, s = 184.3 h · year−1, in soccer play for 159.7, s = 195.0 h · year−1, and in soccer competition for 66.9, s = 48.8 h · year−1. A mean value of 2.5, s = 1.8 sports other than soccer were engaged in by 132 players during this period. There were some relatively minor differences between countries, but generally the developmental activities of the players followed a mixture of the early engagement and specialisation pathways, rather than early diversification.

Effects of a season-long PST program on gymnastic performance and on psychological skill development

Abstract Findings are reported of an evaluation of the effects of a 10‐month PST program on performance and psychological indicators. Ten nationally ranked female gymnasts (M = 12 years old) followed a psychological skills training (PST) program for half an hour per week. The five‐step intervention consisted of relaxation, self‐talk, goal setting, focusing, and visualization. Performance scores were obtained using scores and rankings during two consecutive competitive seasons. The OMSAT‐3

EFFECTS OF PROGRESSIVE EXERCISE ON ATTENTIONAL FOCUS

To replicate 1986 work of Salmela and Ndoye on whether physical arousal from riding a stationary bicycle led to narrowing of attentional focus 17 subjects responded to a verbal 5-choice RT task while pedalling to exhaustion. Increased heart rates with increased physical stress (bicycle resistance increased) was not associated with narrowing of attention. When heart rates were 160 and 180 bpm, RTs to stimuli peripherally located to the right were slower than central ones. Further evaluation is required.

Papel dos pais no desenvolvimento de jovens futebolistas

Este estudo investigou o papel dos pais no desenvolvimento de atletas jovens de futebol. Foram voluntarios nesse projeto 20 pais e 12 filhos jogadores, entre as idades de 15 e 18 anos, participantes da temporada 2000 do Campeonato Mineiro. Utilizou-se uma abordagem quantitativa e qualitativa, atraves de formularios, questionarios e entrevistas semi-estruturadas de aprofundamento. Constatou-se que os pais tinham pouco envolvimento nos treinamentos e competicoes dos atletas, nao alteraram a rotina familiar em funcao dos treinamentos dos mesmos. O relativo apoio dos pais nao prejudicou o progresso dos filhos devido os pais permitirem os mesmos praticarem o futebol livremente. Outro aspecto importante foi o progresso dos filhos devido a paixao, a intensidade e frequencia de pratica, alem do apelo financeiro que o futebol profissional evoca no Brasil. Esses resultados indicam a necessidade de precaucoes quando se considerar paradigmas de primeiro mundo em outras culturas na qual exista restricao contextual.

A DECISION-MAKING HEURISTIC FOR THE ANALYSIS OF UNSTRUCTURED QUALITATIVE DATA

Based on the guidelines suggested by Côté, Salmela, Baria, and Russell in 1993, this article provides a decision-making heuristic addendum to facilitate the organization and interpretation of unstructured qualitative data. At each decision point of the qualitative analysis, criteria are suggested to explore the phenomenon of issue and guide the coding process. The objectives of these methodological procedures are to facilitate the task of organizing and interpreting large bodies of qualitative data and to enhance the reliability and validity of the coding of this inductive process.

A profissionalização da fisioterapia em Minas Gerais

Professionalization of physical therapy in Minas Gerais Objective: To identify the roots of physical therapy in Minas Gerais, in order to understand the professionalization process and the development of identity among physiotherapists in this state, based on a qualitative approach, oral histories and analysis of documents. Methods: The focus of this study was primarily Belo Horizonte between 1950 and 1980. The theoretical reference point utilized was the sociology of professions and the five steps towards professionalization described by Wilensky (1964) were taken as the guide. These were: the need for exclusive dedication to the profession; the establishment of education and selection procedures; the creation of a professional association; professional regulation; and the adoption of a code of ethics. A survey was conducted, utilizing semi-structured interviews to gather statements from key leaders, based on serial sampling and content analysis. Results: It was found that the process of professionalization within physical therapy in Minas Gerais was influenced by medical hegemony within the health field. Lack of definition regarding functions and competencies were factors that had led to both internal and external conflicts. Conclusions: To ensure effective affirmation of physical therapy as a profession, it is necessary to define the specific limits of its knowledge and skills (theoretical and practical), so as to better identify the role of the physiotherapist within multidisciplinary health teams.

Quantifying expert athlete knowledge

Abstract Recent research in sport psychology has focused on the role of the athletes knowledge base in defining high-level sport performance. However, few studies have attempted to examine this knowledge directly, largely because of the methodological challenges involved (Allard & Burnett, 1985). One effective approach to investigating expertise in other domains has been to examine ways in which experts sort and categorize domain-related problems, and the bases on which these categories are formed. Problem-sorting methodologies are difficult to apply in the sport context, however, because sport performance problems are generally ill-defined. The present paper describes a methodological approach designed to identify and quantify problems which define an athletes working knowledge of a given sport, as well as the criteria athletes use to cognitively organize their knowledge of these problems. This approach combines qualitative methods, such as structured interviewing and card-sorting techniques, with repe...

Expert Coaches’ Strategies for the Development of Expert Athletes

Discussion on the role that natural talent plays or environmentally based variables play in the development of expertise in sport has seen a gradual swing from the importance of innate abilities to that of environmental determinism. Ericsson and colleagues (1993) have defended a theoretical framework on the development of expert performance in sport and other achievement domains based on the environmental notion of long-term adaptations of performers to deliberate practice. The present paper advances a complementary dimension to Ericsson’s view of deliberate practice in terms of the role expert coaches play in the organization and supervision of training and competition. In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 expert Canadian coaches of basketball, volleyball, ice hockey and field hockey whose average age and coaching experience was 45.5 and 18.1 yrs, respectively. All coaches were interviewed in regards to their personal athletic history, evolving visions of coaching, approaches to training and competition. Inductive analyses revealed that the complex primary tasks of expert coaches were designed to plan maximal deliberate practice. The coaches directed their personal resources to the organization of practice and group processes and towards the resolution of the effort and motivational constraints. Motivational and effort constraints were both reduced in the training process by such means as creating a vision for the team and setting the goals, teaching the skills, maintaining a work ethic, and training the physical and mental systems. Competition was an arena for evaluating the effectiveness of previous training where the lessons learned were blended into future practices. Ericsson’s model of expertise development is highly compatible with the main reported beliefs and behaviors of these expert coaches.