Team resilience in high-performance women’s football: Contextual stressors and opportunities for development
A summary of the research:
The study explores team resilience in high-performance women’s football, identifying key stressors, effective resilience practices, and gaps in development. Through focus groups and expert consultations, researchers found that teams face both organizational and on-pitch challenges. Organizational stressors stem from a newly professionalized environment, including high turnover of staff and players, inconsistent resources, and varying levels of professional experience among coaches. On-pitch stressors relate to low social resources, such as suboptimal communication, emotional regulation difficulties, and inadequate team cohesion under pressure. Despite these challenges, teams employ resilience strategies like fostering strong relationships, managing pressure collectively, and learning from setbacks to improve future performance.
However, the study also highlights significant gaps in team resilience development. Many teams lack effective pressure training, leading to inconsistent responses during high-stress situations. Additionally, psychosocial support systems are often inadequate, with players expressing the need for individual psychological support to enhance their resilience. Another key issue is the absence of structured, proactive strategies to handle pressure collectively, particularly in leadership training. The study recommends integrating new players effectively, improving leadership structures, and increasing collaboration between sport psychologists and coaches to enhance team resilience.
Key Takeaways:
Organizational and on-pitch stressors – The transition to a professionalized league brings challenges like inconsistent resources, high turnover, and inadequate team cohesion, making resilience-building crucial.
Effective resilience strategies exist but need strengthening – Teams rely on strong relationships, emotional support, and tactical learning, but these practices lack consistency under pressure.
Leadership and psychological support gaps – Many teams lack structured leadership training and proactive resilience strategies, highlighting the need for better psychosocial resources and pressure-training programs
Authors: Adrienn Szabadics, Paul Morgan, Mustafa Sarkar, Desmond McEwan & Fiona McCormack
You can read the entire article here.
