Performance behaviour in elite sports
Blijlevens, Suzan
DOI:
10.33612/diss.109492160
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Publication date: 2019
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Blijlevens, S. (2019). Performance behaviour in elite sports. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. https://doi.org/10.33612/diss.109492160
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Chapter 1
Optimizing your holistic development and maximizing your level of
performance. That is what high-potential and elite athletes train for, every day and for many years. To win that one final, be the best in the world, or to become an Olympic champion. It implies being involved in your athletic career twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
A holistic perspective on athletes’ career development
High-potential and elite athletes are continuously developing their athletic performance, but simultaneously develop themselves in other domains. They have to take multiple hurdles. Not only in their sport (e.g. during training sessions, competitions), but they also face challenges in their daily life (e.g. at school, in building up friendships, adapting to elite lifestyle). The Holistic Athletic Career (HAC) model of Wylleman and Rosier (2016) provides a
perspective on the stages of development for different domains of development, while taking into account the ‘whole-person’. The HAC model shows athletes’ multilevel development, as they develop during their athletic career as well as in psychological, psychosocial, educational/vocational, financial and legal
domains.
Athletic development starts with the initiation stage, which includes athletes’ participation in structured talent programs. The second stage, the development stage, is characterised by an intensification of the level of training and
competition and also implies participating in international youth tournaments. The mastery stage, which is the last phase of an athletes’ active career, brings along an athletes’ optimization of athletic performance and participation at the highest competitive level.
Development in these domains generally does not occur in a smooth continuous manner, but is rather characterised by a sequence of predictable (i.e., normative) or unpredictable (i.e., non-normative) transitions, which offers challenges for athletes. A transition is “an event or non-event which results in a change in assumptions about oneself and the world and thus requires a corresponding change in one’s behaviour and relationships” (Schlossberg, 1981, p. 5). A career
transition is a turning phase in the athlete’s development that brings a set of demands (usually apprised as stressors) and requires relevant coping process in order to continue in athletic and parallel careers (Stambulova, 2016). During the transition process athletes leverage their internal (person-related) and external (environment-related) resources against the challenges and barriers they face (Stambulova, 2016, 2017). While the HAC model outlines developmental stages and challenging transitions to a new stage from a developmental and holistic perspective (Wylleman, Reints & De Knop 2013), there is still a lack of research into the challenges athletes experience within different stages of athletic development and how they change or remain the same over time.
Challenges throughout the athletic career
Challenges can be barriers, hurdles, stressors and/or struggles that need to be handled in order for further athletic development and performance at the highest levels. These challenges arise from the demands of the athletic career placed on high-potential and elite athletes. Dealing with these challenges can be seen as minor transitions, because being confronted with such challenging situations results in a change in assumptions about oneself and the world, and thus require a corresponding change in one’s behaviour and relationships (Schlossberg, 1981; Stambulova, 2017). As with transitions, it requires athletes the deal with the demands they face, using their internal and external resources. Successfully overcoming challenges can provide impetus for further
development and plays a key role in the successful progression towards expertise (MacNamara, Button, & Collins, 2010a). It means that athletes are going through the experience without damage to their mental health and without delay of their athletic development. In the end, successfully going through a challenging experience will foster athlete’s development. On the other hand, failure to do so can lead to mental struggles, stagnation in development and even drop out of sports (Alfermann & Stambulova, 2007).
Scholars recently stressed the need to ‘putting the bumps in the rocky road’ (Collins, Macnamara & McCarthy, 2016a) to ensure that adversity is
interpreted as a positive growth experience. By this, they mean a periodized and progressive set of challenges, preceded with specific skill development. It should be acknowledged that preparing athletes for challenges, supporting them through the experience and then encouraging positive evaluation and reflection might be the key for successful development. However, considering that the talent pathway is challenging in itself (e.g. Henriksen, 2010; MacNamara, Button & Collins, 2010b), there are also various opportunities to let athletes benefit from the developmental challenges that naturally occur as a result of the demands of the athletic career.
Considering that the developmental demands in all domains of the HAC model change as athletes progress through the various stages of their athletic career (Wylleman & Rosier, 2016), athletes might experience different challenges in different stages of their athletic career. Therefore, in order to prepare athletes for those challenges (e.g. by enhancing their internal resources) and to guide them through these experiences (e.g. through supportive debriefs), it is important to know what challenges athletes are confronted with and when they probably will occur. In this way athletes may benefit the most from these challenging
experiences (Collins et al., 2019).
Performance behaviour
Successfully dealing with the challenges of the athletic career may not lie in the challenge itself, but merely in the athlete’s way of coping with the demands of the challenge (e.g., Collins, MacNamara & Cruickshank, 2019; Poczwardowski, Diehl, O'Neil, Cote, & Haberl, 2014; Stambulova, 2017). In line with this, research by Collins and colleagues (2016b) suggests that differences between levels of adult achievement relate more to what performers bring to the challenges, rather than the content of the challenge itself.
To effectively deal with the challenges the rocky road throws at them, athletes therefore require performance behaviour. Performance behaviour reflects the athlete’s actual behaviour in all situations he or she is confronted with on a day-to-day basis. Performance behaviour is defined as the behaviour, based on
athletes’ psychological competencies (which integrate knowledge, skills and attitudes), that enables them to deal with the demands of the athletic career and leads to (1) an optimal development and (2) a maximum level of performance in sport (NOC*NSF, 2019a). Hence, to enhance athletes’ performance behaviour, athletes should develop their psychological competencies.
Psychological competencies are individual internal resources. Furthermore, psychological competencies are distinctive elements necessary for expertise that correlate with performance and can explain individual differences in consistently observable behaviours (APA, 2015). Several definitions are being used to describe competence. In sport psychology research, a competency perspective is used to describe someone’s ability to perform well or to achieve a desired outcome (Harwood, 2008; Holt & Dunn, 2004; Larsen et al., 2012; Mills, Butt, Maynard & Harwood, 2012). Common to different definitions is that competencies are (1) based on action in order to respond successfully to a demand or purpose, (2) linked to a specific context, (3) can be learned and evaluated and (4) mobilize and integrate different elements: knowledge, skills and attitudes (Bezanilla et al., 2014; Villa, 2008). A distinction is being made between generic competencies, which are common to different sports, and specific competences, belonging specifically to each individual sport (Bezanilla et al., 2014). A combination of generic and specific competencies allows an athlete to gain relevant knowledge and skills for their athletic career, apply them in complex contexts, and incorporate them into their own attitudes in their own personal and professional way of acting (Villa, 2008).
So far, no research has determined which psychological competencies are required throughout the entire athletic career to effectively deal with the challenges of the athletic career. Several studies indicated the psychological and/or psychosocial competencies important for talent development (Harwood, 2008; Holt & Dunn, 2004; Larsen et al., 2012; Mills, Butt, Maynard & Harwood, 2012). Further, research has confirmed the important role played by
psychological characteristics and skills as determinants for successful talent
Alfermann, & Christensen, 2012; MacNamara et al., 2010a; Van Yperen, 2009) or elite performance (e.g., Durand–Bush & Salmela, 2002; Gould, Dieffenbach & Moffet, 2002; Orlick & Partington, 1998). However, existing research fails to address the full comprehensive picture of what is required along the whole pathway (Collins et al., 2019). In order to provide athletes with effective guidance and support in the development of performance behaviour, there is a need to describe which psychological competencies should be developed within high-potential and elite athletes to maximise the chances to fulfil their athletic potential and achieve maximum performance.
Furthermore, the challenges athletes face during their athletic career may result from characteristics of the task, the environment and the stage of development. Based on the person-environment fit models, the stage-environment fit theory states that the fit between individual characteristics and the environment changes as individuals go through different stages of development (Eccles & Midgley, 1989). Further, depending on the task at hand, an athlete needs a certain combination of person-related and environmental characteristics to be successful (Elferink-Gemser & Visscher, 2012). The interplay between personal and environmental characteristics related to the task results in the athlete’s development or sports performance. Considering the above, the psychological competencies an athlete require might vary for different sports (e.g. individual versus team sports, early versus late specialization, open versus closed sports). Furthermore, as Webb, Collins & Cruickshank (2016) noted, the balance between competencies may sensibly be changed systematically as players progress up the pathway. To optimally develop athletes’ performance behaviour, more research is therefore needed to uncover which psychological competencies are required in the different stages of athletic development and various sports, by providing the full range of challenges and contexts along the pathway (Collins et al., 2019).
Central role of the coach in development of performance
behaviour
Coaches play a central role in enhancing athletes’ performance behaviour by developing their psychological competencies. Coaching generally refers to a leader’s attempts to improve performance by facilitating the acquisition of new competencies and a way of interacting with people (Arthur, Wagstaff & Hardy, 2017). The role of a sport coach is to guide high-potential and elite athletes in the acquisition and maintenance of excellence, and allowing them to repeatedly achieve maximum performance at the highest levels (NOC*NSF, 2019b). This implies facilitating the acquisition and training of physical, technical, tactical and psychological competencies (Bool, 2018; Elferink-Gemser, Te Wierike & Visscher, 2018). Coaches are therefore the closest stakeholder to the athlete to incorporate the training of performance behaviour in their comprehensive training activities.
Whether they realize it or not, coaches take up a central role in athletes’ psychological development through their day-to-day interactions (Arthur, Callow, Roberts & Glendinning, 2019; Gould et al., 2002; Wylleman, Rosier, De Brandt, & De Knop, 2016). Recent research has shown the important role played by coaches in the psychological development of athletes. For example, research by White and Bennie (2015) showed that coaches can promote resilience in youth gymnasts. They found that a positive coach-athlete relationship and constructive coach behaviours supported athletes through challenges and strengthen their ability to overcome setbacks (e.g. coaches’ positive attitude towards challenges, constructive feedback, competition simulation, strategies to make gymnasts feel safe and build trust). Further, research by Kegelaers and Wylleman (2019) confirmed that coaches have an important role in the psychological development of their athletes. They identified that coaches use several coaching strategies aiming to enhance athlete’s personal resources, including motivation, a challenge mindset and self-reflection. In addition, coaching behaviours as promoting personal responsibility, focusing on personal improvement, learning from experiences, attention for the whole person
enhancing athletes’ personal development. Coaches can further stimulate athletes’ psychological development by creating a facilitative environment, which is challenging yet supportive (Kegelaers & Wylleman, 2019).
Furthermore, because both the assessment and the development of athletes’ psychological competencies should take place within the actual context, the coach is the right person to do this. First, the assessment of psychological competencies should be done through complex and authentic tasks, which are embedded in realistic settings (Ledoux et al., 2013; Villa, 2008). Assessing athletes’ competencies in realistic contexts in which they are being used, will moreover benefit the accuracy of the observations (Ledoux et al., 2013). Considering the complexity of the elite sports context (e.g. Bengoechea, Wilson & Dunn, 2017; Fleddermann & Zentgraf, 2018), it provides coaches with
numerous opportunities to assess athletes’ competencies during daily practices and in game-like situations. Secondly, characteristic for the assessment of psychological competencies is the assessment of learning and simultaneously assessment for learning (Stiggins, 2002). As coaches’ main task is to foster athlete’s development, they will directly benefit of being responsible for the assessment of athletes’ performance behaviour. In this way, they are able to continuously monitor athlete’s psychological development and immediately directs their training activities in order to enhance athlete’s competencies. Third, because the transfer of training of psychological competencies learned outside the actual context is very low (Burns, Cumming, Cooley, Holland & Beech, 2017), the best way to develop the athlete’s psychological competencies is to integrate the training of performance behaviour as a part of their daily practices.
In order to integrate the above within their training activities, coaches would benefit from more detailed and qualitative insight in the required performance behaviour. More specific, as the guidance and support of athletes may diminish if it is not appropriate to the athlete's developmental needs (Holland, Cooley & Cumming, 2017), coaches need insight in athletes’ developmental needs in different stages of the athletic career. The results of this dissertation will give coaches insight in the challenges athletes perceive throughout their athletic
career, which psychological competencies are required in different stages of athletic development in order to optimal development and maximum performance and how competencies could be evaluated.
Research paradigm and methodology
This dissertation was guided by a pragmatic research paradigm. Paradigms explain how researchers think about the nature of reality (i.e. ontology), the relationship between the knower and what can be known (i.e. epistemology), and how the knower can go about finding out whatever there is to be known (i.e. methodology) (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). Ontologically, pragmatism does not align to a traditional realist view of a single, absolute reality, which can be accurately and objectively measured, and which is true across time and different contexts. Nor does it adhere itself with the most radical relativist ontological views, which consider reality as solely subjective and constructed (Guba & Lincoln, 1994; Kegelaers, 2019). From a pragmatic perspective, a continuum exists between objective and subjective viewpoints. The choice of which depends on the nature of the research questions (Giacobbi, Poczwardowski, & Hager, 2005). It further recognizes that knowledge produced through research is “relative and not absolute” and that knowledge of a construct depends on time and context (Feilzer, 2010). Embedded in a pragmatic approach is the recognition that the researcher’s theories, hypotheses, frameworks, or background knowledge are inextricably linked with the data and the research process (Smith & McGannon, 2018; Taylor & Ussher, 2001). As such, pragmatists are concerned with the knowledge that allows us to provide answers to practical problems relative to a given context, time, and population. Pragmatic researchers are interested in providing useful knowledge that ‘works’ in the real world, as it can provide solutions to applied research questions (Creswell, 2014). A central question here is: what difference has the work delivered for improving the lives and actions of those studied? (Collins et al., 2019). In other words, they are doing science for sports instead of science of or through sport (Collins & Kamin, 2012).
Consequently, pragmatism argues that there is no particular method or mix of methods required to investigate their research questions (Feilzer, 2010). It means
that both insights of qualitative and quantitative research can be used, as long as it fits into a workable solution (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004).
Within this dissertation, a qualitative approach is used to examine the challenges athletes perceive throughout their athletic career and the competencies they require to handle them successfully. Qualitative
methodologies, especially in-depth interviews, offer researchers a way to enable them to gain insight into behaviours, experiences, opinions or values, feelings, knowledge and sensory experiences (Robson, 2002; Smith & Caddick, 2012). It contributes to insights how psychological constructs might affect behaviour in such settings (Meredith, Dicks, Noel & Wagstaff, 2018). By asking athletes about their underlying assumptions, attitudes and thoughts, in-depth interviews provide a way to understand how underlying psychological competencies are reflected in the athlete’s behaviour. Qualitative methodologies are therefore used to create a framework of psychological competencies that helps Dutch high-potential and elite athletes to deal with developmental challenges in order to maximize their potential and gain optimal performance.
Dissertation objective and outline
The objective of this dissertation is to provide insight in the psychological competencies that high-potential and world-class athletes require to deal with the challenges they face in different stages of their athletic career. To achieve that objective, the main focus is on athletes’ perceived challenges in different stages of their athletic career and what they need to successfully handle them from a holistic perspective.
Yet unanswered questions in literature are identified and studied, such as: what are, from a holistic perspective, the perceived challenges high-potential and elite athletes are confronted with throughout their athletic career? What
psychological competencies do athletes require to deal with the challenges and demands of the athletic career? Are those psychological competencies the same in each of the stages of athletic development? Do world-class athletes
discriminate themselves from other athletes on the basis of their behaviour? And how can coaches assess the psychological competencies of their athletes? To answer those questions, Chapter 2 starts with an examination of the perceived challenges of Dutch female gymnasts within the initiation, development and mastery stage of athletic development during training, competition and their daily life. Chapter 3 continues with the identification of psychological characteristics and skills required by Dutch female gymnasts to deal with the perceived challenges in those three stages. In Chapter 4, the focus is on different phases of the cultural transition of Dutch baseball players to baseball in the United States. The challenges Dutch baseball players experience during the pre-transitional phase, the acute adaptation phase and the socio-cultural adaptation phase of the socio-cultural transition, and the psychological competencies they require for successfully going through it, are determined. To understand differences and similarities between world-class and competitive elite beach volleyball players in their behaviour in terms of psychological competencies, in Chapter 5 the self-reported behaviours and psychological competencies of world-class and competitive elite beach volleyball players are examined. To support coaches in gaining insight in the current level of
possession, to stimulate and to monitor the development of athletes’ psychological competencies, Chapter 6 describes the development of a coaching tool for the assessment of psychological competencies. Further, the content validity and practical value of the instrument were tested on the basis of feedback of elite sport coaches in this chapter. Last, in Chapter 7 the overall results of this dissertation will be discussed. It provides directions for future research and illuminates the practical implications of this dissertation.
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