High school water polo talent development environments and team cohesion:
Performance comparisons and correlations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36386/sajrsper.v45i3.275Keywords:
Long-term player development, Alignment of expectations, Support networks, Task cohesion, Social cohesionAbstract
Organised school sport is integral to the development pathways of most South African sports. The highly competitive nature of inter-school leagues often prioritises short-term success over long-term player development. The study compared successful and less successful teams in various talent development environments (TDE) and team cohesion variables based on the log position of a high school’s tournament (u/15 and u/18 age-groups) and established correlations between these variables. A cross-sectional design was used, and 146 boys (average age: 15.51±1.23 years) completed the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire (TDEQ-5) and the Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire (YSEQ) before the 2020 Mazinter Cup. The top three u/18 teams had significantly higher TDEQ-5 (Overall), Alignment of Expectations, Support Networks, YSEQ (Overall Cohesion), Task Cohesion and Social Cohesion scores than the bottom three teams. The results underscore the well-established cohesion–performance relationship. There were no differences at the u/15 level, where players competed in this age-group for the first time. Moderately strong positive correlations existed between various TDEQ-5 and YSEQ variables. Fostering team cohesion is integral to successful TDEs. Long-term player development and team success can be pursued simultaneously.
References
ASAMOAH, B. & GROBBELAAR, H.W. (2017). Team cohesion and performance during a university soccer championship: Two sides of the coin. South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, 39(1): 1-15.
BALYI, I. & HAMILTON, A. (2004). Long-term athlete development: Trainability in children and adolescents. Victoria, BC: National Coaching Institute British Columbia & Advanced Training and Performance Ltd.
BURTON, D. & RAEDEKE, T. (2008). Sport psychology for coaches. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
CARRON, A.V.; BRAWLEY, L.R. & WIDMEYER, N.W. (1998). The measurement of cohesion in sport groups. In J.L. Duda (Ed.), Advances in sport and exercise psychology measurement (pp. 213-226). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.
CARRON, A.V.; BRAY, S.R. & EYS, M.A. (2002a). Team cohesion and team success in sport. Journal of Sports Sciences, 20(2): 119-126. doi.org/10.1080/026404102317200828
CARRON, A.V.; COLMAN, M.M.; WHEELER, J. & STEVENS, D. (2002b). Cohesion and performance in sport: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 24(2): 168-188. doi.org/10.1123/jsep.24.2.168
CARRON, A.V.; PRAPAVESSIS, H. & GROVE, J.R. (1994). Group effects and self-handicapping. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 16(3): 246-257. doi.org/10.1123/jsep.16.3.246
COUTINHO, P.; MESQUITA, I., & FONSECA, A. M. (2016). Talent development in sport: A critical review of pathways to expert performance. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 11(2): 279–293. doi.org/10.1177/1747954116637
CRUICKSHANK, A. & COLLINS, D. (2012). Culture change in elite sport performance teams: Examining and advancing effectiveness in the new era. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 24(3): 338-355. doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2011.650819
CUMMING, S.P.; SMOLL, F.L.; SMITH, R.E. & GROSSBARD, J.R. (2007). Is winning everything? The relative contributions of motivational climate and won-lost percentage in youth sports. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 19(3): 322-336. doi.org/10.1080/10413200701342640
DOBERSEK, U.; GERSHGOREN, L.; BECKER, B. & TENENBAUM, B. (2014). The cohesion-performance relationship in sport: A 10-year retrospective meta-analysis. Sport Sciences for Health, 10(3): 165-177. doi.org/10.1007/s11332-014-0188-7
DOVE, M. (2018). Socio-ecological factors in talent development in cricketers in a diverse society. PhD dissertation, Cape Town: University of Cape Town.
EYS, M.A.; JEWITT, E.; EVANS, M.B.; WOLF, S.; BRUNER, M.W. & LOUGHEAD, T.M. (2013). Coach-initiated motivational climate and cohesion in youth sport. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 84(3): 373-383. doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2013.814909
EYS, M.; LOUGHEAD, T.; BRAY, S.R. & CARRON, A.V. (2009). Development of a cohesion questionnaire for youth: The Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 31(3): 390-408. doi.org/10.1123/jsep.31.3.390
FLEMING, J.L. & MONDA-AMAYA, L.E. (2001). Process variables critical for team effectiveness. Remedial and Special Education, 22(3): 158-171. doi.org/10.1177/07419325010220030
FRASER, S.N. & SPINK, K.S. (2002). Examining the role of social support and group cohesion in exercise compliance. Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 25(3): 233–249.
GOULD, D.; GUINAN, D.; GREENLEAF, C.; MEDBERY, R. & PETERSON, K. (1999). Factors affecting Olympic performance: Perceptions of athletes and coaches from more and less successful teams. Sport Psychologist, 13(4): 371-394. doi.org/10.1123/tsp.13.4.371
GRADIDGE, P.; COOPOO, Y. & CONSTANTINOU, D. (2010). Attitudes and perceptions towards performance-enhancing substance use in Johannesburg high school sport. South African Journal of Sports Medicine, 22(2): 32-36.
GRIEVE, F.G.; WHELAN, J.P. & MEYERS, A.W. (2000). An experimental examination of the cohesion-performance relationship in an interactive team sport. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 12(2): 219-235. doi.org/10.1080/10413200008404224
HENRIKSEN, K. (2010). The ecology of talent development in Sport: A multiple case study of successful athletic talent development environments in Scandinavia. PhD. Dissertation, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark.
IONA-SABIN, S. & MARCEL, P. (2014). Group cohesion important factor in sport performance. European Scientific Journal, 10(26): 163-174.
JACOBS, S., DE BOSSCHER, V., VENTER, R., & SCHEERDER, J. (2019). Country profile: Sport in South Africa. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 11(1): 175-191. doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2018.1547780
JOHN WANG, C.K.; SPROULE, J.; MCNEILL, M.; MARTINDALE, R.J. & LEE, K.S. (2011). Impact of the talent development environment on achievement goals and life aspirations in Singapore. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 23(3): 263-276. doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2010.543120
KINGSTON, K.M. & WILSON, K. (2008). The application of goal setting in sport. In S.D. Mellalieu, & S. Hanton (Eds.), Literature reviews in applied sport psychology (pp. 75-123). New York, NY: Routledge.
KOZLOWSKI, S.W.J. & ILGEN, D.R. (2006). Enhancing the effectiveness of work groups and teams. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 7(3): 77-124. doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-1006.2006.00030.x
LARSEN, C.H.; ALFERMANN, D.; HENRIKSEN, K. & CHRISTENSEN, M.K. (2013). Successful talent development in soccer: The characteristics of the environment. Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology, 2(3): 190-206. doi.org/10.1037/a0031958
LI, C.; WANG, C.K.; PYUN, D.Y. & MARTINDALE, R. (2015). Further development of the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire for sport. Journal of Sports Sciences, 33(17): 1831-1843. doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2015.1014828
LU, L. (2015). Building trust and cohesion in virtual teams: The developmental approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1): 55-72.
MARTINDALE, R.J.; COLLINS, D. & ABRAHAM, A. (2007). Effective talent development: The elite coach perspective in UK sport. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 19(2): 187-206. doi.org/10.1080/10413200701188944
MARTINDALE, R.J.; COLLINS, D. & DAUBNEY, J. (2005). Talent development: A guide for practice and research within sport. Quest, 57(4): 353-375. doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2005.10491862
MARTINDALE, R.J.; COLLINS, D.; WANG, J.C.; MCNEILL, M.; LEE, K.S.; SPROULE, J. & WESTBURY, T. (2010). Development of the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire for Sport. Journal of Sports Sciences, 28(11): 1209-1221. doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2010.495993
MCEWAN, D. & BEAUCHAMP, M.R. (2014). Teamwork in sport: A theoretical and integrative review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 7(1): 229-250. doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2014.932423
MCLAREN, C.D. & SPINK, K.S. (2020). Examining the prospective relationship between communication network structure and task cohesion and team performance. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice, 24(2): 74-87. doi.org/10.1037/gdn0000110
MILLS, A.; BUTT, J.; MAYNARD, I. & HARWOOD, C. (2014). Examining the development environments of elite English football academies: The players' perspective. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 9(6): 1457-1472. doi.org/10.1260/1747-9541.9.6.1457
NEELY, K.C. & HOLT, N. (2011). Positive youth development through sport: A review. Revista Iberoamericana Psicología del Ejercicio y el Deporte (Transl. Ibero-American Journal of Exercise and Sports Psychology), 6(2): 299-316.
PASKEVICH, D.; ESTABROOKS, P. BRAWLEY, L. & CARRON, A. (2001). Group cohesion in sport and exercise. In R. Singer, H. Hausenblas & C. Janelle (Eds.), Handbook of sport psychology (pp. 472-494). New York, NY: John Wiley.
ROSENFELD, L.B. & RICHMAN, J.M. (1997). Developing effective social support: Team building and the social support process. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 9(1): 133-153. doi.org/10.1080/10413209708415388
ROVIO, E.; ESKOLA, J.; KOZUB, S.A.; DUDA, J.L. & LINTUNEN, T. (2009). Can high group cohesion be harmful? A case study of a junior ice-hockey team. Small Group Research, 40(4): 421-435. doi.org/10.1177/1046496409334359
SENÉCAL, J.; LOUGHEAD, T.M. & BLOOM, G.A. (2008). A season-long team-building intervention: Examining the effect of team goal setting on cohesion. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 30(2): 186-199. doi.org/10.1123/jsep.30.2.186
SERRANO, J.; SHAHIDIAN, S.; SAMPAIO, J. & LEITE, N. (2013). The importance of sports performance factors and training contents from the perspective of futsal coaches. Journal of Human Kinetics, 38: 151-160.
SHERIDAN, D.; COFFEE, P. & LAVALLEE, D. (2014). A systematic review of social support in youth sport. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 7(1): 198-228. doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2014.931999
SKARBALIUS, A.; VIDŪNAITÉ, G.; KNIUBAITÉ, A.; RÉKLAITIENÉ, D. & SIMANVIČIUS, A. (2019). Importance of sport performance monitoring for sports organisation. Transformations in Business and Economics, 18(2): 279-303.
SOUTH AFRICAN SPORTS CONFEDERATION AND OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (SASCOC) AND SWIMMING SOUTH AFRICA (SSA). (2013). Long-term athlete development Water polo ‒ Swimming South Africa 2010‒2016. Hyperlink: [https://www.sascoc.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ SSA-LTAD- A4-water-polo-manual.pdf ] (Retrieved on 2 September 2021).
VAN DEN BERG, L. & SURUJLAL, J. (2013). Factors contributing to a supportive sport talent development environment. African Journal for Physical Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 19(sup 2): 1-15.
VAN DEN BERG, L. & SURUJLAL, J. (2020). The relationship between coach guidance, feedback, goal setting, support and a long-term development focus of university athletes. The International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies, 12(2): 273-288.
WEINBERG, R.S. (2013). Goal setting in sport and exercise: Research and practical applications. Revista da Educação Física (Transl. Journal of Physical Education), 24(2): 171-179. doi.org/10.4025/reveducfis.v24.2.17524
WIDMEYER, W.N. & DUCHARME, K. (1997). Team building through team goal setting. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 9(1): 97-113. doi.org/10.1080/10413209708415386
YOUNG, M. & POST, J.E. (1993). Managing to communicate, communicating to manage: How leading companies communicate with employees. Organisational Dynamics, 22(1): 31-43. doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(93)90080-K
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Lwazi N Madi, Per Göran Fahlström, Heinrich W Grobbelaar (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright of the South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation is held by the author/s and licensed under the CC Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0
