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An investigation of athlete satisfaction with the sport team selection process

University of British Columbia

Athletes frequently express concerns regarding the team selection process. Previously, few studies in the Sport Psychology literature have addressed variables associated with the team selection process, and specifically, there is no theoretical framework which identifies the relationship between athlete satisfaction and the team selection process. The current research investigates several variables (task type, team size, criteria, selection method, perceived control, self-esteem, motivation, performance, lifesatisfaction, age and gender of the athlete, and preferred decision-making style of the leader) which may influence athlete satisfaction with the team selection process. Investigating the team selection process might provide information for the improvement of current selection procedures, and such changes may result in a greater amount of athlete satisfaction with the sport team selection process, as well as, satisfaction with sport in general. Male and female athlete volunteers (208) who had experienced a British Columbia provincial team selection process within the last two years, completed the Causal Dimension Scale, Rotter’s Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, the Sport Orientation Questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire (The Personal Information Questionnaire). Automatic Interaction Detection (AID) analysis was used to analyze the data. The variables of performance outcome, motivation, perceived controI, self esteem, knowledge of criteria, decision making style, perception of performance, and age, influenced athlete satisfaction with the team selection process. Performance outcome accounted for 17.5% of the total variance found in an athlete’s satisfaction with the selection process. Athletes selected to the team were more satisfied than those who were not selected. Surprisingly, performance outcome affected male satisfaction more than female satisfaction, selection method affected female satisfaction but not male satisfaction, and locus of control affected male satisfaction but not female satisfaction. Furthermore, performance satisfaction influenced female satisfaction with the sport team selection process, but did not affect male satisfaction, and selfesteem affected male satisfaction more than female satisfaction. Results suggested that athlete satisfaction with selection processes might be enhanced if, sport organizations consider certain variables (performance, self-esteem, motivation, and perceived control) when developing team selection processes, and if athletes consider the same variables to develop psychological methods of coping with not being selected. Satisfying selection procedures may result in greater athlete commitment to sport and an improvement in performance through increased efforts.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-02-25

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/5025

Human Kinetics

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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