Scandinavian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology

Considerations Perceived by Coaches as Specific to Coaching Elite Women’s Soccer Teams

Line Dverseth Danielsen — 2023-02-10

This study investigated challenges perceived by coaches when working with elite women’s soccer teams. Six men and four women coaches with experience in the first Norwegian League or Norwegian national team participated. Semi-structured interviews were carried out, and the data was analyzed using thematic interpretational analysis. Participants identified professionalism, early-career termination, mental characteristics, intrateam communication, romantic relationships, access to the locker rooms (men only), and team selection (women only) as the specific challenges they face when coaching these teams. The findings are discussed in relation to ensuring that good performance and development are achieved when coaching elite women’s soccer teams and helping future coaches optimize their coaching techniques when working with elite women players.

Freedom on Water through Stand-Up Paddling

Pernille Wobeser Sparre — 2023-03-14

In Denmark mental disorders are the most prevalent disease, accounting for 25 % of the total burden of disease. This underlines the need of initiatives for prevention and treatment in which the role of physical activity and bodily experiences contains unexploited opportunities and obvious catches people’s attention. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences from people with mental disorders doing Stand-Up Paddle (SUP) and to explore if and how the experiences influenced their mental health. Anthropological fieldwork including participant observation and qualitative interviews for three months in Denmark among eight people living with mental disorders, participating in a project called ‘Freedom on water’ including SUP. Empirical material was thematically analysed at first and secondly theoretically analysed with perspectives of Merleau-Ponty, Deci & Ryan and Csikszentmihalyi. Themes identified concerned social interaction, nature, mind-body connection, and experiences of success. The participants’ mental health was affected positively by doing SUP. When fully concentrated, managing the (bodily) challenges on the SUP-board their rumination disappeared and they felt present in the moment. Forgetting oneself, flow, skills, coping mechanisms, self-confidence and positively social integration were strengthened. This study proves the value of including the physical body in initiatives for mental health.

Evaluation of the Online Sport-Specific Mindfulemotions Program in a Population of Scandinavian Elite Athletes Measuring Psychological Parameters

Melinda Herfet — 2023-07-12

Professional athletes are often affected by public pressure, choking under pressure, depression, anxiety, stress, or burnout. Mindfulness training seems to be a valuable tool for reducing those symptoms. Due to the general interest in online applications and the constraints of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the future of mindfulness training might be digital, and the expansion of such interventions is inevitable. Therefore, we translated and digitalised the German sports-specific mindfulness program called mindful^emotions (https://mindful-motions.de/) and evaluated it with a psychological randomised controlled trial pilot study in a population of Scandinavian elite athletes making it the first English online mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) for professional athletes. 28 athletes started the involvement, and 12 athletes finished the participation. The athletes completed several self-report questionnaires, a diary at the end of the intervention and follow-up questions after one year assessing psychological parameters before and after the mindfulness practices and website feedback. The results suggest that the web-based online program seems at the first glance feasible, comprehensible, and applicable. The nonparametric post-test analyses eventuated in an increase in mindfulness and self-compassion scores for the intervention group, but not for the control group. Overall, due to the small sample size, it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the feasibility of the web-based online program, but the website’s establishment and the program’s implementation were successful. This research supports the need to execute a more extensive and comprehensive investigation of the online mindful^emotion program and its potential for elite athletes.

What is this thing called “Post-Olympic Blues”? An Exploratory Study Among Danish Olympic Athletes

Gregory Michael Diment — 2023-05-24

The post-Olympic period is a challenging and stressful period in which many athletes can experience a range of negative psychological reactions. This has led to the coining of the term ‘post-Olympic blues.’ The purpose of this study is to explore the post-Olympic mental health of Danish athletes with the specific aim to investigate the number of Danish athletes experiencing ‘post-Olympic blues’ after the Tokyo Olympics. Forty-nine Olympic athletes completed measures of well-being (Short-Warwick-Edinburg-Mental-Wellbeing-Scale), depression (Patient-Health-Questionnaire-9), and anxiety (Generalized-Anxiety-Disorders questionnaire) one month after the Olympics Games. The results indicated that 27% of athletes reported either below average well-being or moderate to severe depression scores, with 16% reported both below average well-being and moderate to severe depression scores. Female athletes reported significantly higher depression than male athletes, with no significant gender difference in well-being or anxiety. No significant age differences were found. No statistically significant results were found between athletes’ goal achievement and mental health, however, there was a tendency that athletes who failed to meet performance expectations reported more negative experiences post-Games. The current results are discussed with regards to developing a clear definition of post-Olympic blues, practical implications, and future research.