ECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH15
INTRODUCTION: Reflective practice involves a purposeful process of stepping back from experience to examine thoughts, emotions, and actions to inform learning and future practice. This study examines how reflective practice was systematically integrated within a psychological skills training (PST) program and how this integration supported athlete learning and development in a Chinese volleyball context. The objectives are to explore how reflective practice was embedded within PST delivery and to examine athletes’ experiences of reflective learning across the program. METHOD: This study examined a three-year PST program implemented with Chinese professional volleyball players. Reflective practice was embedded throughout the program using a four-stage model adapted from Anderson et al. (2004) and integrated into team workshops, bi-weekly individual consultations, reflective journaling, and post-training and post-competition debriefs. Data included athletes’ reflective journals, session notes, and practitioner reflections, and were analyzed using an inductive reflexive thematic approach. RESULTS: The analysis revealed several themes describing athletes’ experiences of engaging in a PST program grounded in reflective practice. First, reflection was initially experienced as unfamiliar and challenging, with athletes tending to rely on descriptive accounts of training and performance (Reflection as unfamiliar and effortful). Second, as reflective practice was systematically embedded within the PST program, athletes developed greater self-awareness, with reflection becoming more purposeful and meaningful and supporting deeper emotional awareness and evaluative sense-making (Developing self-awareness through structured reflection). Third, athletes increasingly used reflection to link psychological skills to performance demands, enabling clearer connections between skills such as focus, self-talk, visualization, and planning and their application in training, competition, and team roles (Linking reflection to psychological skills and performance demands). Finally, athletes described increased ownership of learning, improved self-regulation, and an enhanced ability to transfer reflective skills to life beyond sport (Ownership of learning and transfer beyond sport). CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate how reflective practice can be systematically embedded within a PST program to shape athletes’ learning experiences. Integrating structured reflection within PST delivery may enhance athlete engagement, self-awareness, and development beyond immediate performance outcomes. Anderson, A. G., Knowles, Z., & Gilbourne, D. (2004). Reflective practice for sport psychologists: Concepts, models, practical implications, and thoughts on dissemination. The Sport psychologist, 18(2), 188-203. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.18.2.188
Read CV Xiao ZhangECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH15
“Team chemistry”—the shared knowledge structures of roles, tactics, and game situations, together with effective communication among teammates—is critical for successful group performance. Although this phenomenon is widely discussed in sports commentary and organizational research, neurobiological approaches to understanding team cognition remain relatively scarce. Here, we investigate whether functional roles within a real-world team setting are associated with systematic differences in brain functional organization. Using whole-brain functional connectivity analysis, we examined cross-individual differences in distributed functional connectivity patterns among professional volleyball players. Neural similarity and distinctiveness were assessed during both resting-state scans and a naturalistic volleyball game-viewing paradigm to test whether role-related effects are expressed across intrinsic and contextually engaged brain states. Players’ experience and performance were controlled to mitigate potential confounding effects. We found that players occupying the same positions exhibited distinct functional connectivity patterns compared to those of different positions, especially when they were in the same team. To further validate the role-based account, we trained a machine learning model to predict whether two players shared the same court position based on intersubject differences in functional connectivity. Together, these findings suggest that long-term role-specific training and coordinated interaction shape players’ intrinsic brain networks, providing neural evidence for role-based functional shaping in team sports.
Read CV Yen-Sheng ChiangECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH15
31st ECSS Annual Congress, Lausanne/Switzerland, 7-10 July 2026 A Longitudinal Study of Coach–Athlete–Parent (C–A–P) Interactions in a Lithuanian National Youth Basketball Club Lisinskiene, A., Lochbaum, M. Vytautas Magnus University Introduction The Coach-Athlete-Parent (C-A-P) relationship is a central interpersonal system in youth sport, influencing motivation, well-being, and performance. However, longitudinal research examining CAP dynamics across competitive stages remains limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate CAP dynamics in a national Lithuanian youth basketball club across A, B, and C levels in age groups U13-U18 during the regular season, playoffs, and finals. The object of the study was interpersonal dynamics within the CAP system. Methods Participants were youth basketball athletes aged 12-19 years. Data were collected at three time points: T1 (regular season, n=198), T2 (playoffs, n=204), and T3 (finals, n=150). The matched longitudinal sample included 137 athletes (mean age 14.5 years). Measures included the Positive and Negative Processes in the Coach-Athlete-Parent Questionnaire, the Social-Emotional Health Survey (covitality), the Intrinsic Motivation subscale of the Sport Motivation Scale, and the Sport Commitment Questionnaire-2 (sport enjoyment and enthusiastic commitment). Data were analyzed using ANOVA, Spearman correlations, and multiple regression. Results At T1, athletes progressing to playoffs reported lower sport enjoyment than regular season athletes (p=0.021). At T2, finalists demonstrated higher covitality (p=0.022), enthusiastic commitment (p=0.019), and positive CAP processes (p=0.049) than playoff athletes. At T3, athletes competing in finals or playoffs reported higher covitality than regular season athletes (p=0.027). Enthusiastic commitment was strongly associated with sport enjoyment (rs=0.764, p<0.01) and intrinsic motivation (rs=0.683, p<0.01). Regression analysis showed that intrinsic motivation, covitality, and sport enjoyment significantly predicted positive CAP processes, F(3,353)=99.85, p<0.001, explaining 45.9 percent of variance (R2=0.459). Discussion CAP dynamics vary across competitive stages and are closely linked to psychological functioning in youth basketball. Higher intrinsic motivation, emotional well-being, and enjoyment were associated with stronger positive interpersonal processes. These findings highlight the importance of supportive motivational climates to enhance athlete development and well-being in competitive youth sport. Topic: Sports psychology Presentation: Oral
Read CV Ausra LisinskieneECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH15