Syncing to perform? A naturalistic uncontrolled prospective case study of emotional and physiological synchrony in a team of male volleyball athletes

Group processes are important for promoting relational and performance-related outcomes in sport; however, research exploring emotional and physiological synchrony and performance outcomes is rare. The objective of this study was to examine perceived emotional synchrony, physiological synchrony, and performance among male volleyball players using a naturalistic uncontrolled prospective case study approach over nine practices. Athletes participated in a coach-led pre-practice group visualization routine, while their heart rate and heart rate variability were continuously monitored. Athletes completed post-practice measures of emotional synchrony, and athletes and coaches completed ratings of individual and team performance. Emotional and physiological synchrony were not significantly correlated, but they were differentially related to performance outcomes, and there were significant interaction effects between physiological synchrony and time. Athletes' ratings of their own and their team's performance were associated with their perceived emotional synchrony. Coach performance ratings were associated with pre-practice team physiological synchrony but were unrelated to athletes' perceived emotional synchrony. Heart rate synchrony was associated with athlete and coach performance ratings and may be important for team dynamics and performance outcomes. The findings demonstrate evidence for emotional and physiological synchrony among athletes, providing a platform for future research examining processes and impacts of synchrony in sport.

Effects of Probiotic (Bacillus subtilis) Supplementation During Offseason Resistance Training in Female Division I Athletes

Toohey, JC, Townsend, JR, Johnson, SB, Toy, AM, Vantrease, WC, Bender, D, Crimi, CC, Stowers, KL, Ruiz, MD, VanDusseldorp, TA, Feito, Y, and Mangine, GT. Effects of probiotic (Bacillus subtilis) supplementation during offseason resistance training in female Division I athletes. J Strength Cond Res 34(11): 3173-3181, 2020-We examined the effects of probiotic (Bacillus subtilis) supplementation during offseason training in collegiate athletes. Twenty-three Division I female athletes (19.6 ± 1.0 years, 67.5 ± 7.4 kg, and 170.6 ± 6.8 cm) participated in this study and were randomized into either a probiotic (n = 11; DE111) or placebo (n = 12; PL) group while counterbalancing groups for sport. Athletes completed a 10-week resistance training program during the offseason, which consisted of 3-4 workouts per week of upper- and lower-body exercises and sport-specific training. Athletes consumed DE111 (DE111; 5 billion CFU/day) or PL supplement daily for the entire 10-week program. Before and after training, all athletes underwent 1 repetition maximum (1RM) strength testing (squat, deadlift, and bench press), performance testing (vertical jump and pro-agility), and isometric midthigh pull testing. Body composition (body fat [BF]%) was completed using BODPOD and bioelectrical impedance analysis, as well as muscle thickness (MT) measurement of the rectus femoris (RF) and vastus lateralis using ultrasonography. Separate repeated-measures analyses of variance were used to analyze all data. Significant (p ≤ 0.05) main effects for time were observed for improved squat 1RM, deadlift 1RM, bench press 1RM, vertical jump, RF MT, and BF%. Of these, a significant group × time interaction was noted for BF% (p = 0.015), where greater reductions were observed in DE111 (-2.05 ± 1.38%) compared with PL (-0.2 ± 1.6%). No other group differences were observed. These data suggest that probiotic consumption in conjunction with post-workout nutrition had no effect on physical performance but may improve body composition in female Division I soccer and volleyball players after offseason training.

Do coaching style and game circumstances predict athletes' perceived justice of their coach? A longitudinal study in elite handball and volleyball teams

OBJECTIVE

The present longitudinal study is the first to examine game to game fluctuations of perceived justice of elite volleyball and handball coaches. More specifically, we studied whether coaching style (i.e., need support versus control), coach behaviors (decision justifications), player's status (i.e., starter or substitute), and game result (win/loss) predicted athletes' perceived justice and its fluctuations.

METHODS

A longitudinal questionnaire study was performed during 6 consecutive weeks among Belgian female volleyball (N = 57) and male handball players (N = 39). We administered a general questionnaire (i.e., need support/control) the first week, and game-specific questionnaires (i.e., justice, decision justifications, game circumstances) after six consecutive games. Because game-to-game measures (i.e., within-athlete) were nested into individuals (between-athletes) we conducted Hierarchical Linear Modeling to examine the hypotheses.

RESULTS

Multilevel analyses showed that 49% of the variance of perceived justice was situated at the within-athlete level. Furthermore, coaches' need support and the provision of decision justifications were positive predictors of athletes' perceived justice of the coach. More specific, the impact of justifications was less strong in a high need supportive environment and stronger in a high controlling environment. Finally, both the status of the player and the game result were negative predictors of athletes' perceived justice.

CONCLUSIONS

We can conclude that athletes' perceived justice of their coach shifts considerably from game-to-game. Furthermore, the coaching style and coaching behaviors can help to overcome the negative effects of specific game circumstances such as being a substitute or losing a game on athletes' perceived justice of the coach.

Does framing the hot hand belief change decision-making behavior in volleyball?

PURPOSE

Previous discussions of the hot hand belief, wherein athletes believe that they have a greater chance of scoring after 2 or 3 hits (successes) compared with 2 or 3 misses, have focused on whether this is the case within game statistics. Researchers have argued that the perception of the hot hand in random sequences is a bias of the cognitive system. Yet most have failed to explore the impact of framing on the stability of the belief and the behavior based on it.

METHOD

The authors conducted 2 studies that manipulated the frame of a judgment task. In Study 1, framing was manipulated via instructions in a playmaker allocation paradigm in volleyball. In Study 2, the frame was manipulated by presenting videos for allocation decisions from either the actor or observer perspective.

RESULTS

Both manipulations changed the hot hand belief and sequential choices. We found in both studies that the belief in continuation of positive or negative streaks is nonlinear and allocations to the same player after 3 successive hits are reduced.

CONCLUSIONS

The authors argue that neither the hot hand belief nor hot hand behavior is stable, but rather, both are sensitive to decision frames. The results can inform coaches on the importance of how to provide information to athletes.

Examining correlates of game-to-game variation in volleyball players' achievement goal pursuit and underlying autonomous and controlling reasons

In the current study we aimed to examine the antecedents and outcomes associated with the variability in competitive volleyball players' (N = 67; Mage = 19.45; SD = 5.13) situational achievement goal pursuit and its underlying autonomous and controlling reasons. Players were followed during six consecutive games and data were analyzed through multilevel modeling. Players' dominant contextual goal pursuit reported at the onset of the study related to their situational (i.e., game-specific) goal pursuit. Further, variation in game-to-game mastery-approach goal pursuit, as compared with the pursuit of other achievement goals, related to variation in prosocial behavior. Finally, autonomous reasons underlying situational mastery-approach goal pursuit related positively to games-specific prosocial behavior, enjoyment, and performance satisfaction. The discussion emphasizes the necessity to study players' game-to-game motivational dynamics and the reasons underlying players' achievement goal pursuit.

Passion and coping: relationships with changes in burnout and goal attainment in collegiate volleyball players

This study examined the relationship between harmonious and obsessive passion and coping, and assessed whether coping mediated the relationship between passion types and changes in burnout and goal attainment. College- and university-level volleyball players (N = 421) completed measures of passion, coping, burnout, and goal attainment at the start and end of a season. Results of structural equation modeling, using a true latent change approach, supported a model whereby types of passion were indirectly related to changes in burnout and goal attainment via coping. Harmonious passion was positively related to task-oriented coping which, in turn, was positively associated with change in goal attainment. Obsessive passion was positively associated with disengagement-oriented coping which, in turn, was positively and negatively associated with changes in burnout and goal attainment, respectively. This study identifies coping as a reason why passionate athletes may experience changes in burnout and goal attainment over the course of a season.

Relations of competitive state anxiety and efficacy of young volleyball players

With the aim of validating the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory on a population of young Croatian volleyball players, 286 examinees, 106 male and 180 female volleyball players (average age of 16.09+/-1.83), filled out the CSAI-2, constructed by Martens, Vealey, Burton, Bump and Smith (1990)1. Given the fact that all scales of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory have good homogeneity, reliability and sensitivity, it can be concluded that they represent high-quality measuring instruments for measuring psychological characteristics of young volleyball players. Young male and female volleyball players generally have a moderate level of self-confidence, and their cognitive anxiety is more prominent that somatic anxiety. In order to determine the age and gender differences in somatic and cognitive anxiety and self-confidence, parametric analysis of differences was performed and coefficients of the independent samples t-test were calculated. By analysis of differences according to age, it has been established that female junior players, in relation to female youth players, express a significantly lower level of somatic and cognitive anxiety and a significantly higher level of self-confidence. As opposed to female players, male youth and junior players do not differ in any of the analysed variables. By analysis of differences according to gender, it has been established that male youth players have a significantly higher level of self-confidence in comparison to female youth players. No significant differences were found in the level of competitive anxiety and self-confidence by analysis of variance between different player roles. No significant differences were found by discriminant analysis in somatic and cognitive anxiety, and self-confidence of female volleyball players of different situational efficacy. The group of least efficient male volleyball players is characterized by a very low level of self-confidence, while the most efficient group of volleyball players is characterized by a somewhat lower level of cognitive and somatic anxiety.

Women's intercollegiate volleyball and tennis: effects of warm-up, competition, and practice on saliva levels of cortisol and testosterone

In virtually all sports, participants "warm-up" prior to formal competition. Women athletes from a highly ranked varsity college volleyball team and, in a second study, a highly ranked varsity college tennis team gave saliva samples before warm-up, at mid-warm-up (volleyball) or after warm-up (tennis), and immediately after intercollegiate competition. For volleyball and tennis, warm-up was associated with a substantial elevation in saliva levels of testosterone which was carried over through the period of actual competition. Cortisol levels were relatively unchanged during warm-up, but typically rose during competition. Thus, as women prepare for athletic competition by warming up, testosterone levels rise in apparent anticipation of the coming contest and then remain high through the period of play. In volleyball and tennis, after-practice testosterone level was significantly higher than before-practice level, and practice session increases in testosterone (but not cortisol) were positively correlated with increases in testosterone during intercollegiate competition. When practice and competitive play share as yet undetermined key elements, individual differences in this endocrine response to "competition" appear stable across practice and intercollegiate competition.

Situation-orientated recognition of tactical patterns in volleyball

One important factor for effective operations in team sports is the team tactical behaviour. Many suggestions about appropriate players' positions in different attack or defence situations have been made. The aims of this study were to develop a classification of offensive and defensive behaviours and to identify team-specific tactical patterns in international women's volleyball. Both the classification and identification of tactical patterns is done by means of a hierarchical cluster analysis. Clusters are formed on the basis of similarities in the players' positions on the court. Time continuous data of the movements, including the start and end points during a pass from the setter, are analysed. Results show team-specific patterns of defensive moves with assessment rates of up to 80%. Furthermore, the recognition of match situations illustrates a clear classification of attack and defence situations and even within different defence conditions (approximately 100%). Thus, this approach to team tactical analysis yields classifications of selected offensive and defensive strategies as well as an identification of tactical patterns of different national teams in standardized situations. The results lead us to question training concepts that assume a team-independent optimal strategy with respect to the players' positions in team sports.