Coach and Athlete Burnout - West Virginia University

Burnout 20
large sign was also displayed on the table to get competitors’ and volunteers’ attention as
they passed through the registration area and recruit them for participation.
When potential participants arrived to receive their credentials, the researcher
approached them to assess if they were collegiate swimmers and if so, whether or not
they would be interested in participating in the research. All individuals approached were
explained the purposes and procedures of the study. Those willing to participate were
given an envelope containing a cover letter explaining the nature of the study (see
Appendix G), a demographic information sheet, the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire, and
the athlete perception version of the Leadership Scale for Sports. Each packet was
counterbalanced so that order of inventory completion would not influence the results of
the research. All participants were told to keep the cover letter that contained
information on how to contact the researcher if there were questions or concerns.
Participants were also instructed to complete the inventories, place them the envelope,
and seal it when finished. Once envelopes were returned to the researcher, each
participant selected a piece of paper from a basket and told to open it. If the paper
contained a star, he or she won one of the prizes on the display table. Each individual
was thanked for their participation following the raffle.
To increase the sample size of collegiate swimmers, a second round of athlete
data collection was conducted and involved the assessment of collegiate swimmers in the
southeast region of the United States. The researcher contacted the head coach of
swimming programs in this region via phone and/or e-mail to discuss the purposes and
procedures of the study. A time was set up with those teams willing to participate in the
research when the investigator would visit teams before or after practice to administer the