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The effects of group process and sport imagery on the sport experience of high school athletes

University of British Columbia

As sport begins to gain momentum, partly due to the extreme value placed on professional athletics, the study and use of sport psychology has also gained strength. Much, if not all, of its focus has centered on optimizing individual athletic performance. Little, or no attention has been placed on fostering a sport unit whose basis is individual growth and learning. As we enter the new century, researchers and teachers alike must begin to align the education of sport toward the multitude of athletes, including adolescent ones, who will not find a home in professional athletics, but who must take the skills learned in the sporting environment into other avenues of life. The purpose of the study is two fold : (1) to investigate the role of group development toward the effectiveness of an imagery training program; and (2) to investigate the impact of imagery toward enhancing sport experience. Qualitative methodology, specifically semi-structured interview analysis, was utilized in this study. Eight (8) high school sport leaders participated in a eight week sport imagery training program. The program was driven by a group counselling approach (Amundson, Westwood, Borgen, and Pollard, 1989), which has received support in non-sport settings, but prior to this study had not been tested with athletes. The study found that the group process greatly impacted the learner and provided athletes a different perspective in which to view their sport experience. Content analysis uncovered four categories: Group Characteristics, Learning Factors, Application Factors, and Program Limitations, under which sixteen themes were identified. Definitions and interview support are offered in the results chapter, and further discussion is presented in the chapter five. The findings of the study are discussed to provide the impetus for future research into the budding field of sport counselling. In addition, suggestions for current coaches and teachers are presented.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-03-27

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/6589

Human Kinetics

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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