Exploring the Influence of Sports on Student-Athletes’ Competitive Mindsets during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Sports aim to enhance an individual’s formation through organized physical and mental involvement. As sports participation promotes teamwork and dedication, athletes develop sportsmanship, mindfulness, and mental toughness, which brings out their confidence. While the COVID-19 pandemic has caused distress and tested the resilience of people, the effects of the situation on student-athlete mindset and competitiveness remain unresolved. With Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory as its foreshadowing theory, this qualitative study focused on the experiences of 10 high school to collegiate student-athletes from a private university in Manila who were asked about their mindsets during the COVID-19 pandemic. After analyzing the data from the transcribed interviews through thematic analysis and the use of the Tracy Coding Matrix, findings revealed the effects of Bandura’s sources of self-efficacy expectations that influenced the student-athletes’ will to win, particularly performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. The researchers found that sports affect student-athletes’ competitive mindsets by developing their traits, such as self-confidence, motivation, self-assurance, self-reformation, and wellness. Although sports participation also caused feelings of insecurity and pressure among the participants, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, student-athletes were able to adapt, particularly through being supported by their environment. With this, some of the findings suggest that a social circle's presence may ignite student-athletes' drive for victory but may also demotivate them. Finally, the findings of the study may be used to understand student-athlete behavior and strategies such as positive reinforcement and goal-setting may be used to improve their mentalities.