Sports Sciences Commons^™

Perspectives Of Canadian University Coaches On Integrating Sport Psychology And Mental Performance Consultants In Varsity Programs, Federico Cisneros Sánchez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Recently, sport psychology has become a more popular resource for athletes and coaches when looking to increase performance. It is unknown how many Canadian universities utilize sport psychology services in their athletic programs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with coaches of Canadian university varsity teams to learn about their opinions on sport psychology and mental performance consultants (MPCs). The research was approached from a pragmatic perspective. Results showed that MPCs are important to enhance performance and provide mental health resources. MPCs provide athletes with personal and leadership development, mental skills training, and mental health support. MPCs can also be a resource …

Coaches Perceptions And Use Of An Online Sport Psychology Resource, Jade Farhat

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sport psychology has become widely applied in coaching practices to assist in athletic success. Despite the increased use, there is a lack of evidence-based sport psychology information available to coaches in the form of informal sources. The aim of this study was to explore coaches’ perceptions and use of a sport psychology website using mixed methods. Eight coaches participated in semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis revealed five themes (current use, accessibility, attitudes, website use, website engagement). Google Analytics demonstrated coaches’ engagement with the website. Findings suggested that coaches perceive sport psychology to be relevant to their sport and the website …

Coaches' Impact On Youth Athletes' Intentions To Continue Sport Participation: The Mediational Influence Of The Coach-Athlete Relationship, Meredith M. Wekesser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 60 million youth participate in sports each year, however about 70% of these youth athletes drop out of sport by age 13 despite the numerous positive benefits of sport participation (National Alliance for Youth Sports, 2016; National Council for Youth Sports, 2008). Self-determination theory is a framework that has been utilized to investigate athletes’ motivations for behaviors including sport persistence and suggests that the coach can be an influence on such motivations (Rocchi, Pelletier, & Desmarais, 2017; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Coach-athlete relationship quality and interpersonal coaching behaviors that emphasize the satisfaction of basic needs have been found to …

Exploring Rehabilitation Adherence And The Motivational Climate Created By Athletic Trainers: A Mixed Methods Approach, Kaleb W. Cusack

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between the athletic trainer created motivational climate and rehabilitation adherence displayed by their athletes. Four certified athletic trainers from one National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I institution participated. The study implemented a convergent mixed methods design, using the Rehabilitation Adherence Measure for Athletic Training as a quantitative measure of adherence and a semi-structured interview to establish the strategies athletic trainers use to organize the rehabilitation process, provide feedback to athletes, and evaluate rehabilitation progress. The semi-structured interview also allowed for other emerging themes during analysis. Results indicated that high-adhering athletes …

The Nature Of Conflict In Sport: Development And Validation Of The Group Conflict Questionnaire, Kyle F. Paradis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of the present dissertation was to develop a questionnaire to assess intra-group conflict in sport teams. To this end, the current dissertation consisted of three phases which followed a logical progression that is typical in the questionnaire development process. A total of (N = 752) participants took part in the three phases (Phase 1: N = 10; Phase 2: N = 437; Phase 3: N = 305).

Phase 1 was a qualitative investigation of athletes’ (N = 10) perceptions of the nature of conflict in sport. This phase was undertaken to gain a better understanding of the conflict …

Cyberathletes’ Lived Experience Of Video Game Tournaments, Samuel Joseph Whalen

Doctoral Dissertations

Increased interest in video games has led to the emergence of competitive video game leagues and organizations known as e-Sport (Hutchins, 2008; Wagner, 2006). Much of the research on video games has focused on negative aspects of gamers’ behavior, such as aggression (Ferguson, 2007) and addiction (Kuss & Griffiths, 2012). The majority of studies have examined video game performance from a third-person perspective using video analysis (Reeves, Brown, & Laurier, 2009) or behavioral observation when examining high-level video game play (Jansz & Martens, 2005). Prior to the present study, there had been very little attention devoted to gamers’ experience of …

Fear Of Failure, Experience, And Division As Predictors Of State Anxiety In Usfa Epee Fencers, Elizabeth Helen Athanas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research looks for the sources of state anxiety for individual athletes prior to competition, which can be debilitating (Gould, 1993; Gould, Horn & Spreeman, 1983). Non-elite athletes who are high trait anxious (possibly fear of failure) have higher state anxiety than elite athletes (Conroy, 2002; Gould, Horn & Spreeman, 1983). Fencers may be prone to elevated state anxiety. No research links these variables together in fencing. The purpose of the study is to examine fear of failure, experience, and division as predictors of state anxiety for epee fencers prior to competition. Epee fencers (N = 145) who competed in the …

High School Coaches' Perceptions Of Sport Psychology And Sport Psychologists, Jonathan W. Barnes

Legacy ETDs

No abstract provided.