Athletes and Coaches through the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative View of Goal Management

Sergio Costa, Eugenio De Gregorio, Lisa Zurzolo, Giampaolo Santi, Edoardo Giorgio Ciofi, Francesco Di Gruttola, Luana Morgilli, Cristina Montesano, Francesca Cavallerio, Maurizio Bertollo and Selenia di Fronso
Additional contact information
Sergio Costa: Independent Researcher, 00165 Rome, Italy
Eugenio De Gregorio: Department of Life and Health Sciences, Link Campus University, 00165 Rome, Italy
Lisa Zurzolo: Department of Education, University of Genoa, 16128 Genova, Italy
Giampaolo Santi: Independent Researcher, 00165 Rome, Italy
Edoardo Giorgio Ciofi: Independent Researcher, 00165 Rome, Italy
Francesco Di Gruttola: IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100 Lucca, Italy
Luana Morgilli: Independent Researcher, 00165 Rome, Italy
Cristina Montesano: Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Francesca Cavallerio: School of Psychology and Sport Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
Maurizio Bertollo: Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Selenia di Fronso: Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Since the end of 2019 and throughout 2020, the world has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The sports world suddenly had to deal with a massive reorganization of events with important implications for the physical and psychological preparation of athletes and coaches. The purpose of this study was to explore how these changes impacted coaches’ and athletes’ goal-setting strategies and their experience of goal adjustment. As part of a wider mixed-method project involving 2162 coaches and 1354 athletes, an online qualitative survey was used, and data collected were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings highlighted three overarching themes, in response to goal adjustment: “Moving on toward new goals”, “Letting go of goals”, and “Trying to hold on”, with several themes and sub-themes identifying different nuances of athletes’ and coaches’ experiences. The implications of such findings for the mental preparation of high-level athletes are discussed in two ways. Firstly, in light of existing literature on goal setting from an applied perspective; secondly, in the broader perspective of the sports culture and the application of our themes to other challenging moments that sports professionals might encounter.

Keywords: goal setting; goal adjustment; lockdown; qualitative survey; reflexive thematic analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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