Tracing the Development of Athletes Using Retrospective Interview Methods: A Proposed Interview and Validation Procedure for Reported Information

A new interview procedure is proposed for collecting valid information on the acquisition of high-level performance in sport. The procedure elicits verifiable information on the development of athletes' achievements in their primary sport, as well as factors that might influence performance, including involvement in other sporting activities, injuries, physical growth and quality of training resources. Interviewed athletes also describe their engagement in specific training and other relevant activities during each year of their development as well as how they experienced each type of activity. The collected information is then examined to identify those aspects of the athletes' recall of their development that meet criteria of reliability and validity. Recommendations to coaches and scientists are discussed for how retrospective interviews can uncover aspects of development that distinguish elite from less accomplished athletes.

Understanding Dropout and Prolonged Engagement in Adolescent Competitive Sport

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to gain understanding of training patterns and roles of significant others (i.e. coaches, parents, peers, and siblings) in adolescent swimmers’ sport participation patterns. Design: The developmental model of sport participation [Côté, J., Baker, J., & Abernethy, B. (2003). From play to practice: A developmental framework for the acquisition of expertise in team sport. In J. Starkes, & K. A. Ericsson (Eds.), Recent advances in research on sport expertise (pp. 89–114). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; Côté, J., & Fraser-Thomas, J. (2007). Youth involvement in sport. In P. R. E. Crocker (Ed.), Introduction to sport psychology: A Canadian perspective (pp. 266–294). Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall] was used as a framework. Method: Ten dropout and 10 engaged swimmers, matched on key demographic variables participated in a semi-structured qualitative interview. Results: Groups had many similar experiences (e.g. early training, supportive and unsupportive coaches, involved parents). However, only dropouts spoke of early peak performances, limited one-on-one coaching, pressuring parents during adolescence, lack of swimming peers during adolescence, and sibling rivalries. In contrast, only engaged athletes spoke of clubs’ developmental philosophies, coaches’ and parents’ open communication, school friends’ support, and siblings’ general positive influences. Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of appropriately structured programs and the fragility of athletes’ relationships with significant others during the adolescent years. Implications for sport programmers, coaches, and parents are discussed.

Athlete Perceptions of Intra-Group Conflict in Sport Teams

The study of conflict has been of primary interest in various fields such as organisational psychology for decades (e.g. Barki & Hartwick, 2004). In sport psychology, however, conflict research has been almost nonexistent (Lavoi, 2007) with few exceptions (e.g. Holt et al., 2012; Sullivan & Feltz, 2001). The importance of understanding conflict in sport and in groups, however, has been acknowledged because it has potentially serious implications for group outcomes (Lavoi, 2007). The present study investigated competitive sport athletes’ perceptions of intra-group conflict in sport. Ten intercollegiate athletes: (N=5 males, N=5 females; Mage=25.00, SD=2.87) participated in semi-structured interviews. Athletes perceived the nature of conflict to manifest itself in several ways including: (a) disagreements; (b) negative emotions; and (c) interference/antagonistic behaviors. In addition, conflict episodes were perceived to arise in task and social situations. The findings are discussed in terms of their contributions to current perspectives on intra-group conflict in sport.