Kilpailukauden aikaiset kollektiiviset tavoitteet ja tavoitteenasettelu naisten SM-tason palloilujoukkueissa

Abstract

Goal setting is an effective and widely used technique for performance enhancement in sports. Previous studies have mainly focused on examining the effectiveness of individual goals in individual sports. Therefore, we have only a little knowledge on collective goals and goal setting in team sports. In addition, we do not know how goal setting is implemented within team sports, or are evidence based goal setting procedures followed on team sports. The aim of this study was to examine players’ perceptions on collective goals and perceived goal setting practices during a competitive season. The relationship between goal setting and cohesion was also examined. Quantitative data were collected via three online-surveys in the beginning, in the middle of, and after the competitive season from players (n=230) playing on the Finnish national league level in ice hockey, ringette or floorball. The participants aged from 14 to 36 years and they represented a total of 27 different teams. The online-surveys were used to collect information of collective goals, and practices used on setting and evaluating the goals. The group cohesion was measured twice, in the beginning and after the season, using the Group Environment Questionnaire (the GEQ). Qualitative data, collected as semi-structured interviews, were used to examine the reasons for contradict opinions regarding team’s outcome goal within one team. The aim of the first sub-study was to examine collective outcome-, performance- and process goals teams had set for the competitive season. The second sub-study used qualitative data in order to examine contradict responses in online-surveys regarding team’s collective outcome goal during the season. A mixed method research was used in this study to broaden the quantitative data with the findings from semi-structured interviews. The third sub-study used longitudinal data (n=146) to examine the implemented goal setting practices during the season. The fourth longitudinal sub-study (n=146) examined the relationships between goal setting and cohesion. Majority of the participants (86 %) perceived that her team had set a collective outcome goal. In addition, participants perceived that their teams had set on average of more than 20 collective performance- and process goals. The results unexpectedly indicated that within 40 percent of the teams the players on a same team had contradictory opinions about the outcome goal. The results of case- and follow-up study indicated that prior success of the participants and the team, as well as different perceptions of cohesion partly explained why more than half of the players perceived winning a medal as team’s collective outcome goal, whereas nearly half of the players perceived that team’s goal was to avoid relegation to the lower league. In this study one-third of the teams followed goal setting procedures suggested in the literature, whereas two-thirds of the teams followed some or none of the procedures. The results suggested that following goal setting practices was positively related to perceptions of goal achievement, but not to higher points-per-game average. Perceived achievement of the outcome goal was positively related to task cohesion, but perceived goal setting practices were not related to changes in task cohesion during the season. This study is one of the first to describe the used goal setting practices in team sports, providing us with novel information regarding collective goals set for the competitive season among women’s sport teams. Practically all of the teams set collective goals and used goal setting practices to some extent. However, it can be argued that outcome goal conflict does not increase the effort, and that more than 20 process- and performance goals do not direct the focus on the optimal way. Therefore, it is possible that many of the teams participating the study did not achieve the best possible benefits of goal setting on performance. The results of the study broadens the knowledge of positive relationship between cohesion and success, suggesting that subjective perception of goal achievement is positively related to cohesion