Promoting and protecting coach psychological well-being and performance.

This is a critical resource for any upper-level student enrolled in sports coaching science or practice classes, sports coaching academics with an interest in professional practice, and practicing sports coaches

Organizational stress in competitive sport

Organizational stress continues to generate interest and research attention in sport psychology. This is largely because anecdotal and research evidence continues to highlight that the organizational environment in which sport performers, coaches, sport scientists, and other personnel operate is a breeding ground for experiencing stress. Although some individuals may interpret, respond, and cope well with the varying demands that they encounter in their sport teams and organizations, for others, this may have negative outcomes for their sport relationships, well-being, performance, and desire to continue participating in sport. For these reasons, research continues to be conducted to understand the concept of organizational stress in sport, and how it may be best managed to support the well-being and performance of individuals. This chapter will outline key concepts and theory relating to the concept of organizational stress. In addition, a summary of the origins of organizational stress in sport along with discussions of contemporary research in this area will be provided. Finally, a series of practical implications and future research recommendations will be outlined

Psychological stress and psychological well-being among sports coaches: a close proximity longitudinal daily diary study

It is essential to understand sports coaches’ experiences of psychological stress and psychological well-being (PWB) on a daily basis to better equip coaches to manage stress and improve well-being. Coaches make a vital contribution to sport and, given the potentially stressful nature of coaches’ roles, are required to manage their own PWB and performance alongside that of the athletes with whom they work. To better understand how to support coaches, we explored coaches’ experiences of stressors, primary appraisals, coping, and PWB using a close proximity longitudinal daily diary approach. Five sports coaches (one woman and four men) each completed an interval-contingent, daily diary over a 28-day period. The diary facilitated understanding of the coaches’ experiences of their worlds and captured descriptions of the coaches’ daily lives. Underpinned by our constructivist paradigm and following an abductive approach to data analysis, four experiences are presented (preparing for major events and championships, competition, admin and national governing body-related tasks, and work-life balance) using a trajectory approach. This method of data presentation allows understanding of each coach’s journey through their experiences as they occurred over the 28-day period. The experiences are categorized into themes representing stressors, primary appraisals, coping, and PWB. Collectively, the findings highlight that coaches experienced certain stressors (e.g., athlete-related) on a regular basis, and that they appraised (e.g., as a challenge) and coped with these experiences in different ways (e.g., via information seeking). The findings also demonstrate that stress experiences influenced different elements of the coaches’ PWB (e.g., relationships with others, personal growth) and that, occasionally, coaches may experience delayed or inaccessible appraisals of a stressor. LAY SUMMARY Five sports coaches’ experiences of psychological stress and psychological well-being are explored using close proximity daily diaries over a 28-day period. Four experiences (preparing for major events and championships, competition, admin and national governing body-related tasks, and work-life balance) are discussed to highlight how psychological stress influences coaches’ psychological well-being

Organizational Stress in High-Level Field Hockey: Examining Transactional Pathways Between Stressors, Appraisals, Coping, and Performance Satisfaction

This study investigated transactional pathways between organizational stressors and their 28 underpinning situational properties, appraisals, coping, perceived coping effectiveness (PCE) 29 and performance satisfaction in athletes. Ten high-level field hockey players were 30 interviewed. Data relating to stressors, situational properties, appraisals and coping were 31 analysed using directed content analysis. Mean PCE scores were calculated and subjective 32 performance satisfaction data were categorised as satisfied, neutral, or dissatisfied. A variety 33 of organizational stressors was reported, which were underpinned by five situational 34 properties. Challenge, threat and harm/loss appraisals were experienced and problem solving 35 was the most commonly reported family of coping. High PCE was not always associated with 36 performance satisfaction. Performance satisfaction was, however, linked to the appraisal 37 experienced. A battery of stress management techniques and ways of coping is useful for 38 optimising appraisals and alleviating negative outcomes of stress

Exploring the organizational stress process in sport performers: from theory to practice

Exploring the organizational stress process in sport performers: from theory to practic

Stress and coping experiences of UK professional football managers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Accepted author manuscript version reprinted, by permission, from The Sport Psychologist [year], https://doi.org/[doi-number]. © Human Kinetics.Guided by transactional stress theory (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), this study aimed to explore elite U.K. soccer coaches’ perceived stressors, the situational properties, appraisals and coping during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also aimed to explore any variation in stress experiences across football league standards. Thirteen professional first team male U.K association football coaches aged between 38 and 59 years (M = 43.00, SD = 6.94) participated in telephone (n = 5) or online (n = 8) semi-structured interviews. Informed by the philosophical position of critical realism (Danermark et al., 2019), Braun et al.’s (2016) six-phase approach to thematic analysis (TA) was used to generate competitive, organizational, and personal stressor themes. Deductive thematic analysis generated themes reflective of all situational properties of stressors identified by Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984), and an array of appraisal, and coping strategies. Future research and recommendations for supporting coach performance and well-being post-COVID-19 pandemic are offered

Perceived and received social support functions among UEFA B licensed women football coaches

Literature that focuses on women coaches indicates frequent experiences of difficult social environments in the coaching community. Individuals who are more socially integrated and satisfied with their social network are likely to overcome these demanding situations more effectively and have higher levels of well-being. Therefore, this study explored perceived and received social support functions among UEFA B licensed women football coaches. An exploratory, multiple case study approach was used to collect data from three white British women football coaches (Mage=26.6, SD=1.2 years, Mexperience=7.6, SD=3.7 years). Each coach engaged in two semi-structured interviews that were conducted three or four months apart. We analysed the interview data using abductive thematic analysis. The coaches reported receiving social support that they perceived as unhelpful such as a tutor giving them easier drills to coach on coaching courses. However, they also received positive exchanges of social support resources (e.g., emotional support or providing a lift to coaching), which predominantly came from friends and family. The women coaches generally felt supported by the social networks that they had access to. However, there was an overall perception that the coaches would like support to be more easily accessible (e.g., via formal coaching networks). Given the pertinence of social support functions for performance and psychological well-being, applied implications that aim to better support women coaches are discussed