This investigation examined the effect of changes in ball properties and cognitive demands on the performance of adolescent male athletes of varying levels of soccer expertise. Participants moved through a course under two conditions: decision and no decision, and with two types of soccer balls, regular and futsal. The experts moved through the courses with both balls significantly faster than the novices and had a lower percentage of control errors with the regular ball but not with the futsal ball. Both groups performed significantly slower under the decision condition, but no differences were found between conditions in the percentage of control errors made. The novices made a significantly smaller percentage of control errors with the futsal ball than the regular ball, although the type of ball had no effect on their performance times. These results suggest that the experts display better soccer skills and cognition than the novices and that the properties of the futsal ball appear to reduce the technical demands for the novices.

No description available.

This investigation examined the relationship between the superstition endorsement and pre-game anxiety among male and female soccer players at various levels of soccer play. The sample consisted of one hundred-and-one elite soccer players at professional, university, and under 15 year levels. A Soccer Behavior, Beliefs, and Preferences Questionnaire, developed by the investigator, and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (Martens et al., 1990) were used to assess respectively soccer superstitions and pre-game anxiety. Pearson Correlations, ANOVAs, and t-tests were computed to test the study's hypotheses. A significant relationship was not found between superstition endorsement and pre-game anxiety for the group sampled. Superstitious practices were found to be significantly negatively related to age (r = -.23), teenagers being significantly higher in superstition scores than both professional and varsity groups (H(2,98) = 6.72, p < .05). Although superstition endorsement was not different between the genders at the same levels of play, both under 15 boys and girls were more superstitious than university women. Professional players exhibited significantly more state self-confidence than the teenage group (t(66) = 2.03, p < .05). The under 15 boys were significantly more cognitively anxious than the professional athletes (T(45) = -2.52, p < .05). At these levels of play, superstitious behavior was not in general related in males or females to pre-game anxiety.

Playing professional football is a high risk occupation. Injury rates among professional footballers are higher than those commonly found in other industries. Several Scandinavian studies have begun to document the long-term physical health problems, such as osteoarthritis (OA), that can beset ex-professional footballers. However, the experiences of ex-professional footballers playing and living in the United Kingdom (UK) have not received similar academic attention. Furthermore, no studies have investigated the impact that OA has on the quality of life of former players anywhere in the world. This thesis aimed to rectify a widespread and serious health problem among a cohort that has largely been neglected to date. In Phase I, 284 ex-professional footballers responded to a postal survey which aimed to establish the prevalence of injury and OA. In Phase II, 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with ex-professional footballers from Phase I who had developed OA. The aim was to gain an in-depth understanding of how the condition impacted on their lives and how they coped. In Phase II, 101 ex-professional footballers, who were not involved in Phases I and II, responded to a cross-sectional postal survey, which investigated the relationships between pain, pain coping and psychological distress within the context of a stress and coping model. Career injury and surgery were common among respondents in Phase I and nearly half (49%) had subsequently developed OA in at least one joint. Pain was the most common problem for all respondents irrespective of OA diagnosis. Lack of mobility and work disability were other problems reported by respondents. Interviewees in Phase II described how they were encouraged to 'play hurt' during their career and to accept, minimise or ignore the threat of pain, injury and OA. It was some of these attributes which enabled respondents to 'live hurt' in the presence of chronic pain and disability in later life. In Phase II it was shown that psychological distress was not a serious problem for many respondents. However, several coping strategies (denial, emotional venting and upward comparison) were positively associated with pain and psychological distress, particularly for those participants in greater pain. Although OA and chronic pain are prevalent among ex-professional footballers in the UK, its impact upon psychological distress was not as great as reported in some other studies of persons which chronic disease and pain. Increased psychological distress was linked to greater pain and the use of several coping strategies (e.g. denial, emotional venting and upward comparison). However, given the cross-sectional design, it remains to be clarified whether coping predicts psychological distress or whether an increase in psychological distress precipitates more coping. Suggestions are proposed for a psychosocial intervention which would have an impact on pain coping and psychological distress among ex-professional footballers.

No description available.

No description available.

The study attempts to assess the capacity of football development programmes to help bring about development at the individual and societal levels. It is concerned with understanding the needs of underprivileged communities through their involvement in football for development programmes and whether such programmes are viable mechanisms to empower these communities with opportunities for a better livelihood. The study will consider whether grassroots sport programmes have any role to play in the formulation of development policy that promoted social integration, self-actualisation, improving cognitive skills, health conditions in underprivileged societies. Included within this formulation is the awareness of how to provide employment opportunities. The study will contextualise development within Amartya Sen's capabilities theory whilst looking at the role of sport as both a means to an end and as an end in itself through the lens of the work of social theorists such as Pierre Bourdieu, Robert Putnam and Abraham Maslow. A literature review on some of the potential benefits and costs of sport for development programmes, including a review of international literature of similar concepts being applied around the world will provide the background for assessment of the study. Central to this study‟s research is the particular initiative taken by WhizzKids United, a locally-based organization working in the field of life-skills development through the active participation of youth from underprivileged communities in and around the city of Durban in South Africa. Further assessment will take into account the perceptions of participants and stakeholders in relation to the impact the 2010 FIFA World Cup will have on development policy in South Africa, as well as on the delivery of football for development programmes such as WhizzKids United. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

[Truncated abstract] Collective efficacy (CE) has been consistently shown to contribute to team performance by improving motivation, perseverance, group goals, and expectancy in teams (Bandura, 2000; Feltz & Lirgg, 2001). Having high confidence in one's team is proposed to increase the expectancy for success, thereby increasing motivation, persistence and effort, which in turn, increases overall performance (Bandura, 1997). A series of studies were conducted to examine predictors of self and collective efficacy in semi-professional soccer. In addition, within two of these studies, the effect of pivotal hypothetical injuries on players' and coaches' perceptions of CE were also examined. In the first and second studies, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was utilized in order to examine simultaneous player and team level predictors of efficacy perceptions. Data were obtained from semi-professional male soccer players (N = 139, mean age = 23, SD = 4.43 yrs) from nine teams in Western Australia. Participants completed the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ), the revised Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire-2 (PMCSQ-2) as well as measures of self-talk, self-efficacy (SE), and CE created for this study. HLM analyses indicated CE was significantly and positively associated with SE and significantly and negatively associated with perceptions of a performance-oriented motivational climate. Significant positive associations of SE were positive self-talk and average number of minutes played each game. Negative correlates of SE were a performance-oriented motivational climate and number of years played. The results illustrate the important cross-level influences of player and team level variables on SE and CE perceptions. Overall, the findings provide support for the propositions of the influence of sources of efficacy information and broaden the existing work on efficacy and motivational climate in sport. ... Future research on team processes following injury that may moderate the injury efficacy relationship may include, the effect of team leaders in an attempt to motivate the team and the verbal and non-verbal strategies of coaches. The present studies contribute to the existing body of knowledge concerning efficacy theory. Specifically, within this series of studies, individual and team level predictors of SE and CE among elite sport participants were examined. A performance-oriented motivational climate was negatively associated with CE perceptions, while players with elevated levels of SE had teams with elevated levels of CE. SE was positively associated with positive self-talk, and negatively correlated with a performance-oriented motivational climate. Further, the effects of player injury on CE perceptions also represent a valuable contribution to efficacy theory. Prior to the current studies, no researchers have studied the influence of athlete absence due to injury on CE.

Thesis (PhD (Sport Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Stress and coping are complex phenomena that are not always fully understood. They are psychological factors that impinge on individuals and people’s responses in dealing with them are described and interpreted in various ways. This study compared the coping strategies used by football players from ethnically diverse backgrounds. The aim was to explore the role that the environment, ethnicity and culture play in players' responses to stressful situations. A sample of 33 players was drawn from a professional club in the Professional Premier Soccer League in the Western Cape, Republic of South Africa. Subjects were representative in terms of race, age, years of experience and playing positions. Eleven black, coloured and white players for each group were selected for individual interviews. Their ages ranged between 15 and 32 years. An interpretive-qualitative research methodology was employed. Semistructured interviews and a biographical questionnaire were used as tools to gather information. The data were analyzed using interpretive analysis or the immersion crystallization method. The results revealed that football players were exposed to stress and there were differences and similarities in the way they conducted themselves. The similarities were recorded on matters related to match situations e.g., pressure to perform, inclusion in a starting line-up, and unruly behavior of supporters. Differences were cited on issues related to language, culture, financial matters, poor playing conditions, negative evaluation of the team by others, losing matches, referees' decisions and being away from home. These differences were found both between and within ethnic groups. Players' perceptions of stress showed that black players were experiencing more stress than the other two ethnic groups and white players were experiencing far less stress than the other two groups. Despite this finding, the majority of players reported to have been in control of stressful situations. The perception of lack of control was reported by black and coloured players only. It appeared that background experience of stressful events was producing greater psychosocial consequences for non-white players than white players. The football players used multiple strategies to cope with their sport challenges and there were both differences and similarities within and between the ethnic groups in the use of these strategies. Subjects used problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, passive coping, and avoidance coping in stressful situations. Problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping were the dominant strategies employed by all three groups. Passive coping and avoidance coping were the lesser-used strategies and were employed by the three groups in situations where players felt that they could not exert control e.g., playing conditions or dubious referees' decisions. Self-criticism, not blaming others, adopting a negative approach, substance use/abuse and turning to religion were the strategies that appeared only in specific groups. This finding supports the hypothesis of differences in strategies related to differences in ethnic backgrounds. It was also revealed that football players were responding differently to stressful challenges that were presented at the different stages of the match. The dominant strategies used at the pre-match stage by the nonwhite group were: planning and preparation, relaxation, praying, focusing and concentration. At the same stage, white players used mostly focusing, concentration and planning. There were strong similarities between the groups in the use of these strategies. During the match stage, non-white players used active coping, positive approach, suppression of competitive activities, focusing and concentration. White players used similar strategies including emotional expression and mental disengagement. Different strategies were employed by players during the match stage, most of them being problem-focused strategies. In the post-match stage players used less-dominant coping strategies. Some strategies were used by players in all three ethnic groups and others appeared in specific groups only, e.g., substance use (coloured group) and passive thinking (white group). The study further revealed that coping strategies could be classified either as sport or non-sport related. A variety of sport-related strategies were found mostly during the pre-match and match stages. The nonsport related strategies appeared mostly during the post-match stage and were used mostly by non-white players. Concerning the processes involved in the selection of strategies, the study revealed that thought-out processes, automatic processes, influence of experience and a combination of processes were used to identify and select coping strategies. Processing of information was a preferred option used by the three groups of players to identify strategies and very few players used automatic processes. Between-group differences were found in the relationship between environmental background and previous experience and the players' selection of coping strategies. For black and coloured players this influence related mostly from factors outside their home environment. For white players it came from within their home situations. The study showed that factors that affected the players in selecting coping strategies, were both intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic factors included personal safety and protection, performance, self-control and personal experience. Extrinsic factors included stress, influence of others, institutional influences, social background, pleasing others, family obligation, opponents and research. White players used intrinsic and extrinsic factors with equal frequency. Non-white players on the other hand, used fewer intrinsic factors than extrinsic factors. The results also showed that relatively less-experienced players were inclined to use achievement motivation as a determining factor. Black players were influenced by one other factor that did not appear in the other groups, that is, family obligations. Finally, exhaustion, cultural differences, language, absence of a family support structure, peer pressure, home circumstances, communication, diet, substance use/abuse, being in a new environment, personality differences and high expectations were identified as factors that restrict the use of coping strategy. Exhaustion and cultural differences appeared across all three groups. Group differences were however observed in language, absence of a family support structure, peer pressure, home circumstances, high expectations, and absence of compliments. These restrictive factors were experienced differently within and between the three ethnic groups and originated from exposure, challenges, and experiences that players encounter in their daily life situations.