Stressful factors of parents in professional youth football academies: a qualitative study
Poster Presentation
Paper ID : 1989-SSRC
Authors
1. Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
2آزاد خوراسگان
3دانشکده علوم ورزشی، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، واحد اصفهان (خوراسگان)، اصفهان، ایران
Abstract
The role of parent and child in the environment of youth sports is clearly very different. Parents are providers and role models for adolescent athletes who are effectively participating in sports. On the other hand, due to the importance of human relationships in the success of athletes, it is important to understand the parent's experiences of football youth sports. This research was conducted with the aim of identifying the stress factors of parents in the field of professional football academies. Focusing on the specialized stage of the athlete's growth, a total of 41 parents participated and expressed their experiences of stressful factors in the early and later stages of the specialized stage. A semi-structured interview was used to collect qualitative data. The text of the obtained data was carefully implemented and analyzed using thematic analysis method. This analysis led to the extraction of four communication quality factors, environmental and personal factors related to competition, school support and educational issues, and the conflicting role of sports and family. Parents identified the uncertainty of their son's persistence in the academy and the quality of communication with the team staff as constant and important stress factors. Managing the demands of school and academy emerged as stressful factors in the early stages. While unfamiliarity with new coaching methods and competition in the next stage was significant. The findings showed that the management of parents' expectations of their children in the academy and the ability of a professional club to communicate with "nurturing" and "non-nurturing" methods may play an essential role in their support and well-being. The findings of this research provide a practical strategy for parents, coaches and sports organizations.
Keywords