Sebastian Altfeld

Recovery–stress imbalance in Australian Football League coaches: A pilot longitudinal study

Coaching employment in high-performance sport is capricious and dependent upon winning performances and players’ satisfaction. These internal and external pressures to perform successfully throughout the season have the potential to create significant stress for coaches. Moreover, as the season progresses the accumulation of stress and the ability to engage in recovery means are likely to cause a negative recovery–stress balance. Participants of this study were six male full-time and paid coaches working for a professional Australian Football League (AFL) team. The coaches completed the general Recovery-Stress Questionnaire at eight time points during pre-season and throughout the competitive season. The data indicating stress levels did not increase over the competitive season but decreases in recovery scores were assessed. The two-week vacation had a positive influence on recovery for these coaches but it was short lived. There was a fluctuation of scores over the season. The head coach had a different recovery–stress profile compared with the assistant coaches. The study highlights the importance of recovery in managing recovery–stress balance in the challenging work environments of coaches. Due to conditions in the sport setting, individuals may not always be able to reduce their stress levels, and therefore improved recovery is required to deal with the demands of occupational stress.

Measuring the effectiveness of psychologically oriented basketball drills in team practice to improve self-regulation

It has repeatedly been shown that effective regulation of ones emotional states is crucial for high performance in sports. However, self-regulation skills need to be learned and practiced by players for effective use. The present study examined the effectiveness of newly designed basketball drills for regular team practice for implementing and improving self-regulation skills in young basketball players. A quasi-experimental design with four measurements and two follow-ups was applied. The sample included two teams (N = 20) of the highest national under 16 youth basketball league of Germany. The intervention group was instructed in self-regulation skills (e.g. self-talk, self-relaxation, routines) at the beginning of the intervention. Subsequently, the techniques were practiced in the course of eight psychologically oriented basketball drills between the second and fourth measurement. The sport-specific Volitional Components Questionnaire and the Action Control Scale Sport were used in this study. Results indicated that the intervention group improved significantly in the factors measuring self-motivation and dealing with negative thoughts while the control group showed no significant effects. The effects were maintained in the follow-ups. The results imply that learned and practiced strategies to regulate ones emotional state have long-term benefits for players.