Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-1993

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Recreation and Leisure Studies

Major Professor

Mary Dale Blanton

Committee Members

Pat Beitel, Duane Bruns

Abstract

Due to the instability of pro soccer, collegiate soccer is the highest level of league soccer with strong roots and a definite future in the United States in 1993. Intercollegiate soccer exists at the NAIA, NCAA Division I, II, and III levels. In order to raise the level of the intercollegiate game, college players will need coaches who are not just experienced players, but who are also knowledgeable about the training of college players. Currently, if college coaches in the United States wish to read research articles about soccer, they must turn primarily to foreign research articles or youth oriented research, because there is limited data available at the intercollegiate level in the United States. The purpose of this study was to provide American based research which can assist in the development of intercollegiate soccer teams. The problem was to determine if there was a relationship between the areas of coaching emphasis during regular season practice sessions and team success for NCAA Division I men's soccer teams. The study utilized the Division I Men's Soccer Survey developed by the researcher for this study in 1993. The instrument was designed from information obtained in the literature search and through the use of a jury of experts. The statistical methods used to analyze the data included a one-way analysis of variance, crosstabulations, and the Pearson product-moment coefficient of correlation. The statistical analysis of this study indicated only one significant formal relationship between coaches winning percentage and regular season practice activities. There was a significant but weak relationship between increasing emphasis on shooting and increasing winning percentages. Although not statistically significant, there were some notable comparisons of frequency and percentage. The successful coaches spent 48% of their total instruction time focusing on individuals, compared to 44% by the unsuccessful coaches and 41% by the moderately successful coaches. A second notable comparison was that 50% of the successful coaches used praise the majority of the time, compared to 35% of the moderately successful group and 46% of the unsuccessful group. An interesting pattern was also revealed by mean percentages among the scrimmage formats. Coaches who used mostly the 11 a side scrimmage format had a mean winning percentage of 47%. Coaches who used mostly small sided scrimmages, while using some 11 a side scrimmages as well, one had a mean winning percentage of 55%. Although only two coaches used all small sided scrimmages, their mean winning percentage was 61%. The following recommendations are made by the researcher for further research in the area of collegiate soccer coaching. Research should be conducted to: (1) document what successful college soccer coaches are having their teams do during pre-season; (2) evaluate what successful college soccer coaches do different to prepare their team for games than their less successful counterparts; and (3) evaluate the recruiting techniques being utilized by soccer coaches at the NCAA Division I level.

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