A cross-sectional analysis of mental toughness in a professional football academy

This study investigated mental toughness in an English Premier League football academy. 112 football players aged between 12 and 18 years of age completed the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 18 (Clough, Earle, & Sewell, 2002) as a measure of mental toughness. A cross-sectional design was used to test for differences in mental toughness across age groups, and data concerning players who were either retained or released by the club was also compared. A one-way ANOVA showed no differences in mental toughness between age groups, and an independent t-test also found no differences in the mental toughness of players who were either retained or released. These results suggest that older and more experienced academy football players do not possess higher levels of mental toughness than younger, less experienced players. Qualitative research involving academy staff and players is encouraged to provide a more detailed evaluation

Anxiety and sport : time to ask what rather than why

Approaches to the study of anxiety in sport have tended to rely on the use of questionnaires to assess levels of competitive anxiety. The development of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (Martens et aI., 1982) has according to Jones (1995) led to considerable research investigating the relationship between anxiety and sport performance.Study 1 reported here utilised the CSAI-2 with an additional directional scale to examine individual differences and competitive state anxiety in sport. Results revealed that there were no significant differences (p<.05) between three achievement levels of competitive swimmers (n=89) for intensity scores, however, significant differences were found for cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety directional scores across levels. Further, unexpected correlations between CSAI-2 intensity and directional scores for several items, highlighted the importance of considering individual differences in the interpretation of anxiety symptoms.Study 2 was based on Davidson and Schwartz's (1976) Matching Hypothesis which claims that interventions, to be effective, must be matched to the individual's dominant mode of experiencing anxiety. Female high level skaters (n=15) were assigned to a control group (n=5), a cognitive anxiety group or a somatic anxiety group based on interview data, CSAI-2 scores, coach reports, and performance at a simulated competitive event. Results revealed that there was no support for the Matching Hypothesis, and that greater attention should be devoted to using methods that allow for a more individualised approach to understanding anxiety in sport.A diary-based methodology incorporating Watson and Tellegen' s (1985) concept of mood, was employed in study 3 with high level Netballers (n=8) and Super League Rugby League Referees (n=8), to examine the relationships between anxiety, mood and sport and other life events for a 4 week period. Results suggested that this methodology can be used to allow data to be analysed ideographically and from an inter-individual basis as well, and helps to place sport anxiety into a broader context in relation to other mood states and life events.Finally, study 4 further developed the use of the diary based methodology by investigating the relationship between mood, anxiety and performance in International Student Rugby players (n=Il). Whilst no clear relationship was found between anxiety, mood states and match performance scores, several interesting findings revealed that much more could be achieved by re-directing focus at what anxiety means to an individual both before and after sport performance.The findings from the diary-based studies are discussed in terms of the need to address the meaning of anxiety in sport, in part, by drawing on the approach taken within existential-phenomenological psychology

Personal qualities of effective Sport Psychologists: Coping with organisational demands in high performance sport

The purpose of the current study was to explore colleagues’ perspectives of the personal qualities of effective sport psychologists and how these qualities enable practitioners to address the organisational demands they face within their work. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with sport physicians (N = 6) and coaches (N = 7). Data analysis identified three main themes: understanding high performance sport environments and cultures, the wider organisational role in high performance sport, and working with support staff in high performance sport. This study provides insight into the wider organisational role of sport psychology in high performance sport and the personal qualities that are fundamental to effective service delivery in this environment. Suggestions are offered regarding how education and training could better prepare practitioners for addressing organisational demands within their role, by developing trainees’ awareness of their personal qualities and providing them with the opportunity to critically explore these qualities in the context of applied sport psychology practice

Developing individuals whilst managing teams: perspectives of under 21 coaches within English Premier League football

The aim of this study was to explore under 21 Development coaches’ thoughts, perspectives, and approaches within this phase of development at English Premier League (EPL) football clubs. Data were collected via one-to-one semi-structured interviews with six under 21 development coaches from six different EPL clubs. Data were subjected to thematic analysis. Findings suggested that under 21 development coaches were situated, culturally and sometimes physically, in-between the academy and first team environments, trapped between two distinct cultures. Under 21 coaches also had contrasting views and approaches with regards to the development of under 21 players and the importance of winning at this stage of development. Participants appeared to favour creating environments that can replicate the first team environment to prepare under 21 players for the transition. The study concludes by proposing more support for under 21 development coaches is required from key stakeholders, regarding clarity of the role and players developmen

Doing descriptive phenomenological data collection in sport psychology research

Researchers in the field of sport psychology have begun to highlight the potential of phenomenological ap-proaches in recognising subjective experience and the essential structure of experience. Despite this, phenom-enology has been used inconsistently in the sport psychology literature thus far. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide theoretically informed practical guidelines for researchers who wish to employ the descrip-tive phenomenological interview in their studies. The recommended guidelines will be supported by under-pinning theory and brief personal accounts. An argument will also be presented for the potential that descrip-tive phenomenology holds in creating new knowledge through rich description. In doing so, it is hoped that this method will be utilised appropriately in future sport psychology research to not only strengthen and diver-sify the existing literature, but also the knowledge of practitioners working within the applied world of profes-sional sport

An Exploration of the Experiences of Elite Youth Footballers: The Impact of Organisational Culture

The present study explored how the organisational cultural experiences of elite youth footballers shaped their identity development and behaviour. The first author occupied the position of sport psychology practitioner-researcher within one professional football club over a 3-year duration. Traditional ethnographic research methods were employed, including; observations, field notes, reflections, and informal interviews. A Cultural Sport Psychology (CSP) perspective on identity as a social construction, and research on the cultural characteristics of professional football were used as frameworks to make sense of the data. Despite the introduction of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) in 2012, the traditional masculine culture of professional football dominated the studied club. Creative non-fiction vignettes revealed that youth players were encouraged to develop their self-stories focused on a single-minded dedication to professional football. The limited identity-related resources offered at both club, and cultural level is detrimental for players in terms of their well-being, and long term psychological development. From the results of this study, we suggest that future sports psychology practice within professional football may best be delivered at an organisational level. However, in order for a sport psychologist to be effective in this role they must develop an understanding of the sub-cultural features and characteristics of the organisation. In line with this, there would be great value in introducing a focus on organisational culture within sport psychology professional training and education routes

Junior-elite football: time to re-position talent identification?

There remains limited understanding of the processes and factors which contribute to young footballers being identified as talented. Talent identification is imperative for the development of future elite performers, though most studies conflate talent identification and talent development. Moreover, within the literature there is a lack of operational or procedural distinction for talent identification, causing issues for those researching and working within applied contexts. This paper sought to clarify issues related to talent identification in junior-elite football, offering a review of the extant literature and proposing future directions for applied research. There are unanswered questions associated with how scouts, recruitment staff, and coaches decide what constitutes talent and the importance placed on particular attributes during that process. We suggest that further research into the ascribed processes, observations and perceptions of those involved in talent identification is needed to provide more sound understanding of the talent identification process in football

Athlete Lifestyle Support of Elite Youth Cricketers: An Ethnography of Player Concerns Within a National Talent Development Program

The 15-month ethnography reported here investigated the culturally and contextually relevant lifestyle concerns for which national-level youth cricketers seek support and the personal meanings ascribed to them. Players discussed lifestyle challenges and support, with five themes emerging: (a) players appreciating lifestyle support, (b) adapting to the new environment, (c) managing competing demands, (d) educational choices and professional contracts, and (e) identity negotiation in critical moments. The challenges impacted players' sense of self, well-being, and ultimately performance. The findings suggest lifestyle practitioners should support players through counseling approaches, strong player relationships, and environment immersion with a view to impacting performance. 2017 © Association for Applied Sport Psycholog

Simulated Milky Way analogues: implications for dark matter direct searches

We study the implications of galaxy formation on dark matter direct detection using high resolution hydrodynamic simulations of Milky Way-like galaxies simulated within the eagle and apostle projects. We identify MilkyWay analogues that satisfy observational constraints on the Milky Way rotation curve and total stellar mass. We then extract the dark matter density and velocity distribution in the Solar neighbourhood for this set of Milky Way analogues, and use them to analyse the results of current direct detection experiments. For most Milky Way analogues, the event rates in direct detection experiments obtained from the best _t Maxwellian distribution (with peak speed of 223 { 289 km=s) are similar to those obtained directly from the simulations. As a consequence, the allowed regions and exclusion limits set by direct detection experiments in the dark matter mass and spin-independent cross section plane shift by a few GeV compared to the Standard Halo Model, at low dark matter masses. For each dark matter mass, the halo-to-halo variation of the local dark matter density results in an overall shift of the allowed regions and exclusion limits for the cross section. However, the compatibility of the possible hints for a dark matter signal from DAMA and CDMS-Si and null results from LUX and SuperCDMS is not improved

Factors affecting the identification of talented junior-elite footballers: a case study

The purpose of this study was to identify and examine factors associated with the identification of talented junior-elite footballers. Three data collection methods were employed: (1) document analysis (4 documents), (2) overt observation (~105 h) and (3) 12 semi-structured one-to-one interviews with staff responsible for player recruitment (M = 70 min). Data were analysed using a constant comparative approach, which allowed flexibility and reflexivity throughout the data collection period. Two core themes concerning the identification of talented players at this academy emerged: "structural issues", which were further categorised as: (1) financial; (2) educational; (3) philosophical or cultural; (4) competition amongst clubs; and (5) hours in practice; and "Current performance and potential talent" which covered issues around growth, maturation and development and psycho-social attributes. The paper concludes by suggesting that clubs should be more proactive in understanding the structural issues that affect talent identification processes, and better educating and supporting staff responsible for recruitment activity