An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Coach Perceptions in the Practice Environment

in The Sport Psychologist

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Steve M. Smith University of Winchester

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Stewart T. Cotterill University of Winchester

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Hazel Brown University of Winchester

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2020-0021
Keywords:
basketball; influence; performance
First Published Online:
04 Nov 2020
In Print:
Volume 34: Issue 4
Page Range:
257–267
Restricted access

The psychological environment where sporting activity is undertaken has been suggested to influence performance. The coach orchestrates practice activities and their perception of the psychological environment has been regularly evaluated in competition research but not in practice. The aim of this study was to explore coach perceptions of the psychological influencing factors present in the practice environment. Participants were six U.K. academy basketball coaches (mean age = 35 years). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Five superordinate themes were constructed from data analysis, which were player characteristics, team-first orientation, current performance perceptions, coach characteristics, and coaching structure. Results suggest that the coach has a unique insight into the psychological influencing factors of the practice environment. Combined with the practice environment framework offered by Smith, Cotterill, and Brown, a model is offered to aid practitioners in understanding the interrelatedness of psychological influencing factors in the practice environment.

Smith is with the Dept. of Sport and Exercise, University of Winchester, Winchester, United Kingdom. Cotterill and Brown are with the University of Winchester, Winchester, United Kingdom.

Smith (s.smith7.15@unimail.winchester.ac.uk) is corresponding author.
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