Of all the psychological and physical characteristics the coaches could choose from as essential traits to succeeding as an athlete, 43 percent picked loves to play; 32.7 percent picked positive attitude; 29.8 percent picked coachable; 27.4 percent picked self-motivated; and 25.7 percent picked team player. "The coaches also cited the two top damaging forces that hurt developing athletes: criticism (16.8%) and pressure (12.2%)," said Dr. Kuchenbecker.
The physical skills that were rated as important to succeed by the coaches, which were far below the psychological characteristics, were natural physical athlete (10.2%), good eye-hand coordination (8.8%) and coordinated for age (4.0%).
The sports examined were baseball and Little League (14.8%); basketball (17%); football (8.4%); soccer, including AYSO (19.8%); softball (8.1%); volleyball (7.9%); swimming and diving (4.7%); tennis (2.8%); track and field, including cross -country (2.9%); water polo (1.6%) and a range of other sports, including ice hockey, badminton, fencing, martial arts, wrestling, golf, downhill skiing and ultimate frisbee. The coaches rating the athletes averaged 7.8 years of experience, with a range of 1 to 42 years of experience.
Presentation: "Who's a Winner? Coaches' Views of Winning Young Athletes," Shari Young Kuchenbecker, Ph.D., Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Session 4200, 1:00 - 2:50 PM, Monday, August 23, 1999, Hynes Convention Center, Exhibit Hall A (F-14).
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Contact: Pam Willenz
pwillenz@apa.org
202-336-5707
American Psychological Association
23-Aug-1999