The objective of this paper is formation of a comprehensive hypothetical dynamic interactional process model structured by assumed constructs, i.e. processes or mechanisms that obtain real features and infl uences on athlete's performance and athletic achievement. Thus there are formed and assumed reciprocal relations between high training and competition -based stress as the input variable, cognitive appraisal and interpretation as the mediator, and mood state as the moderator based on the development of the dynamic systems theory. Also, proposed model uses basic assumptions of the Action-Theory approach and it is in accordance with the contemporary socialcognitive view of team functioning in sports. Within the process model, the output variables are measures of effi cacy evident through athlete's individual and team performance and athletic achievement. The situation, the team and athlete attributes, the performance and the athletic achievement are joined variables, and the individual and the collective effi cacy are the consequence of their reciprocal interaction. Therefore, there are complex and reciprocal interactive processes in real sports and explorative situations amongst the attributes of athlete and team and the behaviour and situation that determine performance and athletic achievement. This is probably the result of an integrated network of reciprocal multi-causal activity of a set of stated assumed constructs from different theories. Thus the hypothetical model is an effort to describe elaborate correlations and/or interdependencies between internal and external determinants which presumably affect athlete's performance and athletic achievement.

No abstract

Research in sport and exercise psychology indicates that motivational factors contribute to exceptional achievement, both in individual and team sports. Therefore, analysing differences between junior and senior athletes in contact ball sports in terms of their motivational differences may be an important information source for the selection process and management of the development of the elite athletes. In this study data on athletes' motivation was collected via self-assessments. Data was analysed in order to answer the questions regarding the motivational differences of athletes, which might be related to the type of collective ball sport and their competing level related to age. Sample consisted of 316 athletes at junior and 286 athletes at senior level, which were active in one of the three team sports: football, handball, and water polo. They filled in three self-report questionnaires: Self-motivation Inventory-SMI; Sport Attitudes Inventory-SAI; and Task and ego orientation in sport questionnaire-TEOSQ. Results suggest that senior athletes have higher score on self-motivation, motive to achieve power and task goal orientation scales than junior athletes. These findings were replicated in all three sports which were analysed. Besides that, football players have the highest motive to achieve success, motive to achieve power and task goal orientation; water polo players have the most pronounced self-motivation, while handball players show lowest levels of these motives.

The basic goal of this research was to determine the differences between junior players playing particular positions in the basketball game based on the indicators of situational effi cacy. The sample of examinees consisted of 108 top-level junior basketball players who in average played a minimum of 8 minutes per game and in more than 3 games, and were chosen from 11 teams that played 46 games in the Junior European Championship in Zadar in year 2000. The results show discrepancies in the space of situational effi cacy amongst 5 player positions, as follows: players who play the point guard and the shooting guard are dominant in variables SHOT3-SU, SHOT3-UN, ASSIST, ST and TO. The players who play the position of forward are dominant in variables SHOT2-SU and SHOT2-UN, especially in relation to the power forward and point guard and the shooting guard. Furthermore, the players who play centres can best be distinguished from those playing other positions in variables: DR, OR, BL, SHOT2-SU i PF. We suggest that further research also includes nonstandard parameters of situational effi cacy when analysing differences between elite junior and senior players who play different positions in the game