TY - JOUR
T1 - Nationality and sociocultural factors influence athlete development and sport outcomes
T2 - Perspectives from United States and Austrian youth alpine ski racing
AU - DeCouto, Brady S.
AU - Cowan, Rhiannon L.
AU - Fawver, Bradley
AU - Müller, Erich
AU - Steidl-Müller, Lisa
AU - Pötzelsberger, Birgit
AU - Raschner, Christian
AU - Lohse, Keith R.
AU - Williams, A. Mark
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to acknowledge United States Ski and Snowboard (USSS) and its High-Performance Director, Troy Taylor, for help with study coordination, contact, and recruitment. Funding for this study was provided by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) through USSS and the University of Utah Sports Medicine and Sports Science Institute. We would also like to thank our colleagues in Austria for their significant contribution to this study, and Sarah Taylor for her assistance with data reduction and processing.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Geographical regions possess distinct sporting cultures that can influence athletic development from a young age. The United States (US) and Austria both produce elite alpine ski racers, yet have distinct sport structures (i.e., funding, skiing prominence). In this exploratory study, we investigated sport outcomes and psychological profiles in adolescent alpine ski racers attending skill development academies in the US (N= 169) and Austria (N= 209). Sport participation and psychological questionnaires (mental toughness, perfectionism, grit, coping, burnout) were administered to athletes. In Austria, athletes participated in fewer extracurricular sports, began competing and training younger, and accumulated less practice hours than athletes in the US. Athletes in the US reported greater burnout than athletes in Austria. Finally, in the US, women accumulated more practice hours and experienced more parental pressure than men, while men accumulated more practice hours in Austria. Austria’s skiing-centric sport culture may encourage athletes to fully immerse into the sport, contributing to positive psychological outcomes. Reduced sport opportunities in the US beyond educational institutions may pressure athletes to practice more to ensure continued competitive skiing. Stressors for sport participation will be unique to gender in each country though, given their implicit gender stigmas for sport participation.
AB - Geographical regions possess distinct sporting cultures that can influence athletic development from a young age. The United States (US) and Austria both produce elite alpine ski racers, yet have distinct sport structures (i.e., funding, skiing prominence). In this exploratory study, we investigated sport outcomes and psychological profiles in adolescent alpine ski racers attending skill development academies in the US (N= 169) and Austria (N= 209). Sport participation and psychological questionnaires (mental toughness, perfectionism, grit, coping, burnout) were administered to athletes. In Austria, athletes participated in fewer extracurricular sports, began competing and training younger, and accumulated less practice hours than athletes in the US. Athletes in the US reported greater burnout than athletes in Austria. Finally, in the US, women accumulated more practice hours and experienced more parental pressure than men, while men accumulated more practice hours in Austria. Austria’s skiing-centric sport culture may encourage athletes to fully immerse into the sport, contributing to positive psychological outcomes. Reduced sport opportunities in the US beyond educational institutions may pressure athletes to practice more to ensure continued competitive skiing. Stressors for sport participation will be unique to gender in each country though, given their implicit gender stigmas for sport participation.
KW - Culture
KW - injury
KW - performance
KW - practice
KW - psychological
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85098622742&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02640414.2020.1861739
DO - 10.1080/02640414.2020.1861739
M3 - Article
C2 - 33381998
AN - SCOPUS:85098622742
VL - 39
SP - 1153
EP - 1163
JO - Journal of Sports Sciences
JF - Journal of Sports Sciences
SN - 0264-0414
IS - 10
ER -