Social Factors Collecting Information on the impact of Social Factors on Your Teams Performance

Why is it important to collect information on social factors?  In your team it is important to know if all players understand their roles and responsibilities. Also, you need to find out if players communicate effectively with each other so they work as a cohesive unit.  In pressurised situations in sport quite often players social skills break down, therefore it is vital to collect data in this type of environment.  Collecting data prevents you practicing the wrong aspect of the game. It allows your team to firmly focus on weaknesses and solutions to these problems.

What are the 2 methods we have used to collect data on social factors? 1.Team Dynamics Questionnaire 2.Teacher Feedback

Task: Describe, in detail how you carried out the Team Dynamics Questionnaire Think about the following important aspects:  What does it collect information on?  When is it completed?  What type of format is it in?  How many questions?  How do you answer the questions?

Task: Describe, in detail how you carried out the Team Dynamics Questionnaire  The team dynamics questionnaire is used to collect information on the social factors that impact on my performance in volleyball.  It is completed at the beginning and the end of the volleyball block.  The questionnaire is in a paper format and has 10 questions related to the different features of Team Dynamics.  For each question I have to circle a number between 1 and 9 to show how strongly I agree with each statement.  In order to identify my strengths and weaknesses I must reflect on these results and summarise the most significant statements.

Benefits 1 The written format provides a permanent record that allows for comparison at a later date. You can look back and compare your results to check for improvement during and after your training programme. 2 A coach/teacher/performer can get large quantities of information about social factors in a relatively short period of time. Subsequently, strengths and more importantly weaknesses can be identified quickly and addressed through an appropriate development programme and monitoring process. 3 Everyone in the class is answering the same questions. This reduces bias and increases the validity and reliability of the results because the performers are not being influenced by an interviewer.

Limitations 1 The information which is being collected is based on a performer’s perception of their social performance. Subsequently, this could impact on the validity of the results as it could be a bias assessment. 2 It depends on the importance a performer places on the process. If a performer doesn't take the process seriously this will impact of the validity of the results. 3 The questions being asked are only closed questions. A lack of open questioning means that the performer’s answers lack explanation, which could impact on the accuracy of the results

Task: Describe, in detail how you received teacher feedback on social interactions Think about the following:  When did you receive the feedback?  What did the feedback focus on? (be specific)  What type of comments did your teacher give you?

Task: Describe, in detail how you received teacher feedback on social interactions Regular feedback was provided to the team by our teacher both during practices and at the end of training sessions. Also, this feedback was given to our team during breaks in the game e.g. at a “timeout” or interval. The information given by the teacher focussed on our social interactions such as how well we communicated with each other, were we carrying out our individual roles effectively, were we supporting each other through encouragement or positive feedback. Our teacher would also comment on whether or not he felt there was camaraderie amongst the players in our team. Our teacher would always try to find a balance between positive and negative comments when providing feedback.

Benefits 1 This allows a team to change their performance immediately to bring about improvements and this can prevent bad habits surfacing. If feedback is provided consistently during practice it will allow for quick progress and result in a performer/team going into a competitive match with confidence. 2 Coaches can give clearer information away from the pressurised environment giving the team a better understanding of how to improve their performance. 3 A balance of positive and negative feedback keeps the team motivated and encourages them to practice effectively in order to bring about positive changes in their performance.

Limitations 1 Often noise can impact the coaches ability to provide quality verbal feedback making the information less accurate as performers struggle to hear what is being said. 2 When breaks are brief it can be difficult for coaches to focus on only several points when there is a lot that they can talk about and they want to make this time count. 3 It can be difficult to balance the feedback when a team or performer is having a dip in performance and form.