The objective of this study was to qualitatively examine and conceptualize a model of the development of ability in the performance process. This qualitative research study was based on the research question, “How do performers narrate the process when they develop the ability to do something?” Data were collected observations and introspective reports from 8 performers who had learned to juggling for the first time and were analyzed using the Trajectory Equifinality Model.
Results showed that performers slowly developed a sensuous understanding about the exercise task because they sought to perform better. Moreover, performers developed the ability to complete the task because of their improved sensuous understanding. That is to say, performers’ narration of the process of ability development reflects a qualitative shift resulting from an understanding of oneself through repeated “self-regulation”and “over-adjustment” .
The following three points are also discussed: 1) The knack of ability development in performance, 2) They were confronted with their personality implied at qualitative shift, 3) The meaning of “stagnant performance” during task achievement.

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In recent years, the high specificity and specialty of the goalkeeper (GK) in soccer have attracted interest. However, the psychological aspects of the GK remain unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to clarify the process by which the GK gets over from the loss of a goal. Using a semi-structured interview, 4 male college student GKs were interviewed about shocking goal losses and how they get over from them. Results were analyzed using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA); 7 categories containing 20 concepts were generated. The following hypothetical idea was developed: “When experiencing a goal loss, the GK will face various contradictions stemming from an unrealistic GK image. The GK will build a GK style of his own that is realistic and adaptive, due to accept a goal loss while then adapt to contradictions”. This hypothetical idea contained counterfactual thinking, self-regulated learning, and adaptation, and suggested the possibility that the goal-loss experience led to increased maturity in the GK. Therefore, it was suggested that GK coach could constitute a training methods including rebound mentality.

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This study investigates the relationship among athletesʼ mindfulness, alexithymia, and burnout.
The participants were 353 athletes (male=223, female=130, mean age=20.54, SD=5.74); they completed a questionnaire comprising the Athletes Mindfulness Questionnaire (AMQ), Sport Alexithymia Scale (SAS), and Burnout Scale for University Athletes (BOSA). The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated, and structural equation modeling was conducted to examine the relationship among AMQ, SAS, and BOSA.
The calculated Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients showed that the total AMQ score was significantly negatively correlated with SAS and BOSA. Furthermore, the total SAS score was significantly positively correlated with BOSA. The results of the structural equation modeling revealed good fit indices and explained 41% of the variance in SAS and 30% of the variance in BOSA. In the model, AMQ was directly associated with SAS and BOSA. AMQ was also indirectly associated with BOSA through SAS.
The results of this study confirmed that athletesʼ mindfulness directly and indirectly affected athletesʼ burnout by decreasing alexithymia. These results suggest that providing mindfulness training to athletes may be an effective intervention for alleviating their mental health problems.

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The purpose of this study was to develop pilot evaluation of psychometric property of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Maintenance Questionnaire (CARM-Q) in Japanese junior tennis players and to examine its reliability and validity. The athlete version of CARM-Q was administered to 240 Japanese junior tennis players with a mean age of 15.7±1.3 years. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis replicated the factor structure found in the original version of the CARM-Q (Rhind and Jowett, 2012). Furthermore, it was suggested that the athlete version of CARM-Q had sufficient reliability and validity. The effects of the combination pattern of the coach-athlete dyad (athlete male/coach male, athlete male/coach female, athlete female/coach male, and athlete female/coach female) were tested via MANOVA using 7 subscales from the CARM-Q. Results revealed that the athlete male/coach female group was higher in Conflict management, Openness, and Motivational than the athlete male/coach male group. Additionally, the athlete female/coach male group revealed higher Motivational than the athlete male/coach male group. Future applications were also discussed regarding the CARM-Q as an assessment of the quality of the coach-athlete relationship in Japanese junior sport settings.

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