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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Research
article
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ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS AND INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACHES IN YOUTH VOLLEYBALL TRAINING |
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Felismina Pereira, Isabel Mesquita 
and Amândio Graça |
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Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Portugal Center of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2009) 8, 366 - 373 |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| The purpose of this study was to examine accountability systems
operating in youth volleyball training sessions and to understand how those
systems vary according to the instructional tasks and the nature of the
information provided by coaches. Additionally, the interactive effect of
the players' age group on accountability systems and instructional tasks
will be inspected. Twenty-eight youth volleyball coaches (for under 14s
and under 18s) were observed, one training session each. Systematic observation
strategies were used to describe and analyse task presentation and task
structure during practice. Results convey that the accountability systems
implemented by coaches were mainly implicit and governed by opportunity
rather than explicit performance criteria imparted in task presentation.
Remarks on the quality of performance only occurred during ongoing practice.
More often than not coaches showed no reaction when athletes did not accomplish
the tasks, failing to convey consequential expectancy-demand-monitoring
messages. The instructional approach was predominantly composed of informing
tasks, of technical nature and general information, which can reflect a
technique and generalist coach profile. These results indicate the presence
of weak and ambiguous accountability system, also corroborated by positive
correlations of extending tasks with the category without exigency task
presentation as well as with no reaction to unaccomplished tasks. There
were no notorious differences in accountability behaviours between players'
age group. Key words: Accountability, instruction, coaching, youth sport, volleyball. |
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