Thirteenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

It is a well-known fact that individual autonomy is essential in self-regulatory behavior and motivation. However, it is lesser known how individuals leverage their autonomy within groups to create, advocate, and consolidate team culture and identity. This study follows four teams of volleyball players within a single club as they navigate the complexity of forging group identity. We aim to further understand the role of individual autonomy in the sport-specific creation of team and club culture through a co-regulation framework that explores the unique roles of the individual, social, and cultural constructs in emergent identity formation. Athletes were given a survey analyzing motivation and identity at three different points during the season. Extensive field notes at games, team meetings, and practices were applied to theoretical coding systems to add group context to the athlete’s individual responses. This study illustrates the importance of the individual athlete’s role in capitalizing on existing moments of tension that the team must navigate together as they continuously redefine their identity in the face of new and unique challenges. Research found that there are both adaptive and maladaptive ways that individual autonomy can be used to leverage tension for productive group affects. This work illustrates that a sense of individual autonomy is essential in fostering adaptive group tension during the season. The resulting tension can be utilized to reaffirm essential aspects of identity as teams confront new challenges. Coaches and players should embrace autonomous behavior to foster growth in existing team sociocultural structures throughout the season.