Perceived Level of Emotional Intelligence and Sport Performance of College Varsity Athletes in Open-Skill and Closed-Skill Sports

Abstract

This study examined the emotional intelligence (EI) and sport performance (SP) of college varsity athletes from the Laguna State Polytechnic University. A total of 112 athlete-respondents were involved in the cross-sectional survey, consisting 98 basketball players and 14 swimmers, representing the open-skill and closed-skill athletes, respectively. The perceived levels of EI and SP of the athletes were assessed through self-and coach-rating, using a structured questionnaire with Likert scale items. In general, both open-skill and closed-skill athletes often exhibited high EI levels with respect to four domains: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. It was found that majority of the athletes had EI scores within the effective functioning or enhanced skills level. The possible relationship between the athletes' level of EI and SP was examined via the Spearman's correlation. Results revealed that the SP of basketball players (open-skill athletes) was significantly correlated (P<0.01) to their self-awareness (r=0.353), self-management (r=0.319), social awareness (r=0.393), and relationship management (r=0.411). In general, it can be deduced that the SP level of the open-skill athletes appeared to improve with increasing EI level. On the other hand, significant relationships did not exist (P>0.05) between the SP of swimmers (closed-skill athletes) and their EI with respect to the four domains. Implementation of motivational programs aimed at enhancing the EI levels among open-skilled athletes are recommended to boost their SP during the game.