Abstract

MERONO, Lourdes; CALDERON, Antonio  and  HASTIE, Peter. Effect of a Sport Education season on psychological variables in youth swimmers. CPD [online]. 2015, vol.15, n.2, pp.35-46. ISSN 1989-5879.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1578-84232015000200005.

The practical applications of Sport Education in the school context are fully known in the research of the last twenty years. However, it is not reported its effects on extracurricular or sporting context but also in sports with technical dominance as swimming. A pilot study with quasi-experimental design was performed in youth swimmers (n=24) of different categories (junior and youth). The intervention program based on the Sport Education, consisted of 16 training sessions. By analyzing the variables under study (Perceived Autonomy Support, Enjoyment and Perceived Competence, and Sport Commitment) statistically significant improvements were observed. Such behavior was further reinforced when designing a structural equation model in which it was hypothesized that perceived autonomy support positively predicts the enjoyment and perceived competence, and the sport commitment of the swimmers. Interviews and diary coaches' logs were analyzed by NVivo10 software to know the perception of swimmers (responsibility, technical learning and involvement) and coaches (teamwork, communication and willingness). The main results (consistent with the school context ones) showed an optimal behavior of the psychological variables of this study after the Sport Education intervention. This reinforces the benefits of Sport Education also in the youth sport context.

Keywords : Sport Education; youth sport; swimming; psychological variables.

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