Abstract

Psychosocial skills and characteristics (PSCs) are vital for players to reach their potential in soccer and also develop life skills beyond sport, preparing them for transitions within and outside of soccer. The overall purpose of this thesis was to investigate assessment and development of PSCs in male English academy soccer. Chapter 1 set the scene, with an outline of my background and how I came to be interested in this particular topic. It also set out aims and objectives including an infographic illustrating the structure of the thesis. In Chapter two a narrative literature review aimed to 1) identify which PSCs are important, 2) evaluate current approaches to assessment and development of PSCs, 3) discuss factors affecting development of PSCs within academies, and 4) propose future research. Key findings were that (a) a number of PSCs were important to deal with transitions, (b) it is important to develop PSCs from a young age, (c) players should be developed holistically and, (d) there is limited research investigating assessment and development of PSCs in academies. In Chapter 3, a ‘psychological characteristics of developing excellence (PCDE)’ questionnaire was deployed across categories of participation (academy Categories 1 to 4 and grassroots) and age groups (U13 to youth team) in youth soccer to examine the differences in psychological characteristics across age groups and performance levels. Findings suggest that across age groups, greatest differences in PCDEs were reported in perfectionistic tendencies and adverse response to failure, with youth team players reporting the highest scores. Across categories of participation greatest differences in PCDEs were observed in perfectionistic tendencies, self-directed control
and management, and adverse response to failure, with Category 1 players reporting the highest scores. Youth team and Category 1 players also demonstrated the highest scores in use of imagery and active preparation. Category 1 players also demonstrated the highest and lowest score on use of active coping strategies and presentation of clinical indicators, respectively. Using semi-structured interviews, Chapter 4 obtained academy managers experiences of how PSCs are developed in English Premier League (EPL) and English Football League academy soccer players. There was universal agreement from participants of the importance of PSCs, not only to develop soccer players, but to develop well-rounded human beings capable of functioning outside of soccer. PSCs identified by academy managers as being important included the players being able to realistically self-evaluate, resilience, good work ethic, interpersonal competencies, autonomy, and seeking out social support when necessary. Suggestions were made around trying to more effectively implement PSC programmes included upskilling coaches, collaborating with external agencies (such as universities and charities), and further assistance from national governing bodies such as the EPL, the Professional Footballers Association and the Football Association. Chapter 5 evaluated the effectiveness of a 21-week PSC intervention programme delivered in a Category 3 soccer academy working alongside coaches at U13 level. The main findings were that the PSC programme had both positive and negative effects on player PSCs, highlighting that PSCs may be enhanced through a carefully designed programme. Finally, Chapter 6 provides recommendations for implementing a PSC programme in academy soccer, using the PACER (plan, approach, coach, environment and review) model developed from the findings of this thesis. The findings of this thesis can help sport psychology staff and other academy staff effectively integrate PSC assessment and development into academy curricula. The recommendations on assessing and developing PSCs from this thesis could also be incorporated into other performance settings such as education, dance, music and the corporate world.