Le rôle joué par les parents dans le développement et le maintien de la performance athlétique experte

Abstract

This study examined the role of parents in the development and maintenance of expert athletic performance. Nine parents and ten athletes having won at least two gold medals at separate Olympics, World Championships, or both were interviewed using an in-depth, open-ended, and semistructured approach (Patton, 1987). The data were analyzed both inductively and deductively using Côté and Hay's (2002) model of stages of sport participation as a framework. Results revealed that the athletes progressed through four stages throughout their career: the sampling, specializing, investment, and maintenance years. Parents were perceived to play an important role across the four stages but more so during the sampling and specializing years when the children were more dependent. During the investment and maintenance years, the parents were not as directly involved because their children, now elite athletes, were more independent and had access to various resources. Providing them with moral support and unconditional love was, however, as important at this level as it was in previous stages of their children's career. Implications for parents interested in increasing the quality of experience of athletes at all levels of sport participation are discussed.