A repeated-measures examination of organizational stressors, perceived psychological and physical health, and perceived performance in semi-elite athletes.

Organizational stressors can undermine the psychological well-being and performance of athletes. Less is known, however, about how these relationships unfold over time and whether organizational stressors can impact upon perceived physical health. The current study, therefore, used a repeated-measures design to examine relationships between organizational stressors with components of perceived psychological (anxiety and depression) and physical (illness symptoms and missed training days via illness) ill-health, and perceived performance at the within-person level.

Coaching under pressure: a study of Olympic coaches.

The Olympic environment has been identified as particularly stressful and unlike any other in terms of the media attention and focus placed on the competition. While the potential negative consequences of stress for coaches and their athletes have been explored, relatively little is known about the factors underpinning successful Olympic coaching performance. We explored elite coaches' perceptions of the factors that enable them to coach in a stressful Olympic environment.

The role of confidence in world-class sport performance.

In this study, we examined the role of confidence in relation to the cognitive, affective, and behavioural responses it elicits, and identified the factors responsible for debilitating confidence within the organizational subculture of world-class sport. Using Vealey's (2001) integrative model of sport confidence as a broad conceptual base, 14 athletes (7 males, 7 females) were interviewed in response to the research aims. Analysis indicated that high sport confidence facilitated performance through its positive effect on athletes' thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.