Athletes' and coaches' experiences in a season-long teamwork training: A qualitative exploration

Kaitlin L. Crawford*, Rachel Arnold, Carly D. McKay, Daniel J. Brown, Desmond McEwan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstractpeer-review

Abstract

Objectives: To date, research on teamwork in sport has focused primarily on conceptualizing and measuring teamwork, and testing its impact on salient consequences (e.g., athlete commitment, team resilience). Less attention has been invested into examining how teamwork might be facilitated. Teamwork training in sport has been identified as one potential antecedent that may promote teamwork behaviours, which in turn could benefit other group constructs such as team cohesion, collective efficacy, and team performance. The purpose of this study was to examine university-level team sport athletes’ and coaches’ experiences of participating in a season-long teamwork training intervention.

Methods: We recruited 29 members from the five participating intervention teams to participate in semi-structured interviews and focus groups at two time points (i.e., mid- intervention and post intervention). The coach participants (n=6; 1 female; Mage = 38.7) completed one-to-one interviews at two time points, and 2-4 athletes from each team participated in focus groups at each time point (n=23 athletes total; 8 female; Mage = 20.3). Using reflexive thematic analysis, we generated 14 subthemes and three higher-order themes.

Findings & Discussion: Specifically, the higher-order themes were: leadership as a catalyst (and/or barrier) for change, forging and sustaining optimal relationships, and intervention engagement drivers and inhibitors (e.g.,
apprehension towards teamwork training, season- long participation, and facilitator integration). Findings provide insights into how the design, facilitation, and implementation of teamwork training impacts teams’ teamwork behaviours, team cohesion, and performance.

Conclusion: This study provides valuable insights for both future researchers looking to design teamwork training
23 programmes in sport, as well as applied practitioners who are interested in improving their teams' teamwork behaviours.
Original languageEnglish
Pages22-23
Number of pages2
Publication statusPublished - 30 Jul 2024
EventInternational Conference on Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise - University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
Duration: 30 Jul 20241 Aug 2024
Conference number: 9
https://www.qrsesoc.com/conference-programme

Conference

ConferenceInternational Conference on Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityBath
Period30/07/241/08/24
Internet address

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