Collective case study (Creswell, 2014; Stake, 1995) was used to explore the journey of coach-athlete dyads who were able to successfully maintain their training and interpersonal relationships throughout the course of the athlete enduring a mental block. Three coach-athlete dyads, plus one additional athlete, completed in-depth one-on-one interviews, discussing their coach-athlete relationship before, during, and after the mental block. All dyads were same sex, nationally ranked coach-athlete pairs, from sports involving mandatory elements that include both twisting and flipping components. Categorical aggregation of participant statements lead to the formation of five main themes associated with dyads successfully overcoming a mental block (where success was defined as the athlete regaining the ability to perform the skill that they had previously been unable to do on account of the mental block and the dyad maintaining their training and interpersonal relationship): 1) Get to Know Your Athlete: The Need for High Quality Communication; 2) Be a United Front; 3) Mistakes and Miscommunications Happen: Recovery is Key; 4) Seek Outside Resources; 5) Be Patient. Results suggest that an environment for success can flourish when each party is open, honest, and self-aware of their own limitations. It is suggested that future research utilize the 3 + 1Cs Model of the coach-athlete relationship in exploring how dyads can successfully overcome a mental block.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:USASK/oai:ecommons.usask.ca:10388/ETD-2015-05-2152 |
| Date | 2015 May 1900 |
| Contributors | Kowalski, Kent |
| Source Sets | University of Saskatchewan Library |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, thesis |
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