14-18/ 18-23 year old powerlifting groups: trainer-trainee cooperation survey

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PhD, Associate Professor G.M. Ldokova1
PhD, Associate Professor, master of sport of Russia of international class K.R. Volkova1
PhD, Associate Professor O.A. Razzhivin1
PhD, Associate Professor A.N. Panfilov1
1Elabuga Institute of Kazan Federal University, Elabuga

Keywords: youth powerlifting sport, trainer-trainee cooperation, coaching service, questionnaire survey.

Background. Modern sport science gives a special priority to the trainer-trainee cooperation in the studies of the training experiences and specific training systems, with this category being ranked more important than the trainer-family or teammates’ cooperation aspects [4, 6]. The trainer-trainee ‘professional cooperation’ will be generally governed by certain rules and behavioral models to minimize the potential interpersonal frictions, conflicts and disputes and provide the relevant mental progress intensives, including, for example, mutual appreciation and happiness [3]. Every trainer needs to know basics of healthy interpersonal cooperation building models to at least facilitate the trainee’s competitive progress, particularly in the most sensitive beginner/ junior groups. Young athletes’ volitional qualities and self-control skills are known to be still volatile and sensitive as this age groups are still in the personality formation and psychological qualities development process.

Objective of the study was to analyze, based on a questionnaire survey, the trainee-trainer cooperation models for the 14-18 and 18-23 year old (adolescent and youth) powerlifting groups.

Methods and structure of the study. Sampled for the questionnaire survey were the 14-18 and 18-23 year old powerlifters (n=30) qualified Class II to Master of Sport with the competitive experiences of 1 to 7 years and 3-plus-months-long trainer-trainee cooperation experiences. The survey was timed to the Russian Junior Powerlifting Championship (January 28 to February 1) in Moscow. We used for the purposes of the study the survey form offered and analyzed in our prior study [5] that classifies the trainer’s actions into the actual (“Used by the trainer”) and expected (“Need to be used by the trainer”) ones, with the respondents asked to rate every actual/ expected trainer’s action by the degree of importance on a 13-point scale (e.g. “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” scored by 1 and 10 points, respectively). Thus the factors scored by 1 and 13 points meant the highest and lowest degrees of importance for the respondents. The survey data was averaged to the arithmetic means, ranked and analyzed.

Results and discussion. Given in Table 1 herein are the survey data classified into the actual and expected actions and ranked by the degrees of importance.

Table 1. Trainer-trainee cooperation survey data classified into the actual and expected actions and ranked by the degrees of importance

Trainer’s actions

Actual actions, average rank, points

Expected actions, average rank, points

Designs and schedules the trainings

III (9,66)

V,5 (10)

Manages practical trainings

V,5 (9,42)

V,5 (10)

Explains logics of every exercise

II (9,75)

V,5 (10)

Supports in competitions

VII,5 (9,17)

V,5 (10)

Offers his own practical training methods

V,5 (9,42)

V,5 (10)

Sensitive to my life issues (private, school, and sport-specific)

XI (8,5)

XI (9,92)

Helps in the precompetitive warm-up and mental conditioning efforts

IV (9,58)

V,5 (10)

Gives psychological support in trainings and competitions

X (8,83)

V,5 (10)

Demonstrates the execution skills in trainings

XII (8,25)

XIII (9,58)

Helps with a good sense of humor

IX (9)

XII (9,83)

Reasonably demanding to the healthy regimen/ diets in trainings and competitions

VI (9,21)

V,5 (10)

Fair in rating my successes and failures

VII,5 (9,17)

V,5 (10)

Sensitive to my individual needs and problems (health issues, moods, life challenges etc.)

I (9,83)

V,5 (10)

The expected trainer’s actions showed no serious differences in the rankings, with the scores averaging 9.83 to 10 points, and with 10 factors out of 13 scored by 10 average points – that means that these expected actions are potentially highly important and equally desirable for the respondents. These factors were ranked V, 5 in our ranking system.

Leading in the ranking is the “Sensitivity to the individual needs and specifics”, and this is quite natural in our opinion. These age groups are in the active personality formation period when the personality identification and socialization issues are highly topical in the young people’s communities and subcultures, and, therefore, it is only natural that the trainees expect the trainer to feel and appreciate their gifts, progresses and help in coping with challenges – maybe as opposed to the families’ attitudes. It should be mentioned that the teenage and youth development periods are particularly challenging in the psychological aspects, with the growth processes often going via multiple challenges in the socializing attempts and individual resource accumulation and mobilization efforts (in communication with families, friends and respected people in the surrounding) [1]. Sports and competitive accomplishments in this context may heavily contribute to the individual self-assertion agenda, with the trainer being ranked high among the respected role models, particularly when his is sensitive to the physical/ mental and personality progress needs of the growing athlete. Trainer should prioritize the individual approaches in communication with a reasonable sensitivity to every health issue, mood, learning and living problem of the trainees, their relations with the peers and families etc. – i.e. should show high interest in every trainee to facilitate the healthy lifestyle cultivation, mental/ emotional self-control building and self-assertion efforts. Sporting lifestyle and competitive progress in particular is known to generally facilitate the individual age-specific self-assertion and mental controls and help develop a reasonable independence and tolerance to negative opinions and criticism for progress in the self-rating domain. Trainer should be sensitive to the age-specific mental and physical progress challenges to adequately address them.

Ranked second were the trainer's “Explanations of logics of every exercise”. It should be noted that the young people that start up their trainings with heavy weights are highly exposed to the risks of injuries of the musculoskeletal system with the relevant negative mental issues. The trainer should take every effort to protect the trainee’s physical and mental health and lay a sound foundation for the multiannual progress.

Ranked third was the trainer’s actions to “Design and schedule the trainings”. It should be mentioned in this context that the age-specific fitness for the trainings is still insufficient and much lower than in the adult groups. It is not unusual that the young athletes overestimate their resource and skills, strive to lift top weights in every training session and, hence, are highly exposed to injury risks [2]. It is highly important for the trainer in this context to spell out the training process in every detail with a special priority to the health safety issues and individual progress management methods and tools.

An analysis of the expected trainer’s actions showed that the young people are still unprepared to fairly rate his functions and potential in the trainer-trainee cooperation domain. The young people ranked virtually equally important every expected action in the survey form – that may be interpreted as the psychological unfitness for self-reliant assessments in the training and competitive processes and, as a result, high reliance on the trainer in every aspect. It is not unusual, therefore, for this age group to face multiple physical and mental stressors, particularly in cases of the competitive regresses and failures; and very often the young athletes are unable to effectively cope with them. This is the reason why the range of their expectations is so wide. The trainer-trainee cooperation will be designed to help the trainer learn the athlete’s needs, gifts and personality traits and help the athlete explore himself to adequately rate the own physical resources, mental qualities, volitional controls and potentials, self-assertion agenda etc. Efficient and healthy trainer-trainee cooperation will form a basis for good physical and mental health of the athlete and his competitive progress.

Conclusion. The questionnaire survey data and analyses showed that trainer should be highly knowledgeable and skillful in every trainer-trainee cooperation domain to design this cooperation on a sport- and age-specific basis so as to avoid excessive interference in and pressure on the personality formation process. Trainer should be at the same time highly sensitive in the own behavioral controls in relations with the young athletes to prudently build up trust and healthy cooperation reasonably customized to the individual personality progress, training and competitive progress needs and potentials; avoid, mitigate and overcome every barrier in the trainer-trainee relationship so as to prevent mental burnouts and failures of the underdeveloped athletes due to the trainer’ errors in the interpersonal cooperation domain. Highly efficient and healthy trainer-trainee cooperation is critical for competitive success in the youth powerlifting sport.

References

  1. Regush L.A., Alekseeva E.V., Orlova A.V. et al. Psikhologicheskie problemy rossiyskikh podrostkov [Psychological problems of Russian adolescents]. St. Petersburg: ELVI-PRINT publ., 2017. 297 p.
  2. Sheyko B.I. Pauerlifting. Nastolnaya kniga pauerliftera [Powerlifting. Powerlifter Handbook]. Moscow: Sport-servis publ., 2004. 403 p.
  3. Jowett S., Carpenter P. The concept of rules in the coach-athlete relationship. Sports Coaching Review. 2015. No. 4(1). pp. 1-23.
  4. Jowett S. Coaching Effectiveness: The Coach-Athlete Relationship at its Heart. Current Opinion in Psychology. 2017. No.16. pp. 154-158.
  5. Ljdokova G.M., Volkova K.R., Pianzin A.I. Coach's contribution to coach-athlete interactions in powerlifting sport. Teoriya i Praktika Fizicheskoy Kultury. 2017. No. 8. pp. 72-74.
  6. Lyle J. Coaching philosophy and coaching behavior. The coaching process: Principles and practice for sport. Oxford: Butterworth-Heineman, 1999.

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Abstract

Objective of the study was to analyze, based on a questionnaire survey, the trainee-trainer cooperation models for the 14-18 and 18-23 year old (adolescent and youth) powerlifting groups. Methods and structure of the study. Sampled for the questionnaire survey were the 14-18 and 18-23 year old powerlifters (n=30) qualified Class II to Master of Sport with the competitive experiences of 1 to 7 years and 3-plus-months-long trainer-trainee cooperation experiences. The survey was timed to the Russian Junior Powerlifting Championship (January 28 to February 1) in Moscow. We used for the purposes of the study the survey form offered and analyzed in our prior study [5] that classifies the trainer’s actions into the actual (“Used by the trainer”) and expected (“Need to be used by the trainer”) ones, with the respondents asked to rate every actual/ expected trainer’s action by the degree of importance on a 13-point scale (e.g. “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” scored by 1 and 10 points, respectively). Thus the factors scored by 1 and 13 points meant the highest and lowest degrees of importance for the respondents. The survey data was averaged to the arithmetic means, ranked and analyzed.

Results and conclusions. The questionnaire survey data and analyses showed that trainer should be highly knowledgeable and skillful in every trainer-trainee cooperation domain to design this cooperation on a sport- and age-specific basis so as to avoid excessive interference in and pressure on the personality formation process. Trainer should be at the same time highly sensitive in the own behavioral controls in relations with the young athletes to prudently build up trust and healthy cooperation reasonably customized to the individual personality progress, training and competitive progress needs and potentials; avoid, mitigate and overcome every barrier in the trainer-trainee relationship so as to prevent mental burnouts and failures of the underdeveloped athletes due to the trainer’ errors in the interpersonal cooperation domain. Highly efficient and healthy trainer-trainee cooperation is critical for competitive success in the junior powerlifting sport.