International Journal of Sport Psychology

Contrarily, the direct comfort and concern provided by parents was perceived
to be unlimited and unconditional in both the swimming and general
life contexts. In spite of the fact that swimmers felt their parents were not
completely understanding of what they were doing or how hard it was for
them to train and compete, they appreciated that their parents were always
there when they needed them: “…she does everything and she’ll always be
there, ’cause my friends might not and my coach might not, but my mom will
always be there no matter what” (P9). Several swimmers also indicated that
parents showed them acceptance and love whether or not they swam and
that was encouraging to them.
Like parents and coaches, the girls indicated that their teammates were
understanding and showed care and comfort in many ways. Teammates
knew when to leave the swimmers alone, and the participants themselves
tried to avoid others if they knew their negative mood might interfere with
their teammates’ swimming. Teammates would also give them non-verbal
encouragement (pats on the back, hugs, smiles, etc.) and indirect forms of
understanding such as distractions. The swimmers appreciated the distraction
strategies that their teammates offered in difficult environments and
the ability to diffuse focus. Some distraction tactics included avoiding the
topic, changing the emphasis to something unrelated to swimming, and
humor.
The swimmers perceived the more rational, logical, and specific emotional
support strategies from coaches as effective for their continued motivation
in swimming. Many of the girls (n=6) also reported wanting their
coaches to recognize and validate their efforts in swimming as well as their
performances. Many swimmers (n=8) also felt that their coaches did not
understand issues that they had to deal with outside of swimming, such as
schoolwork, employment, and social interactions. These perceptions allude
to the limited contextual nature of coaches’ provision of emotional support.
Nonetheless, parents were perceived as providing emotional support unconditionally,
which appeared to comfort the swimmers and indirectly enhance
their sport participation. Finally, all girls expressed a gratitude for their teammate’s
indirect provision of emotional support.
ESTEEM SUPPORT
Coaches and teammates were the most salient providers of esteem support
because of their knowledge and participation in the swimming context.
Parents provided minimal, more distal esteem support. There were two
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