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2021 (1)

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Dissertation
Stress Measurements of Youth Volleyball Players: the impact of coach interventions on stress levels and performance during training

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Abstract

Technology has become indispensable in our daily life and has also found its way into the sports environment where it has proven its benefits. Sensors are implemented for measuring variables such as heart rate, blood pressure, speed and distance covered. One equally important but often forgotten variable in elite sport is the mental load of an athlete. Top performances cannot be reached when psychological aspects are unfavourable. This variable however remains difficult to measure, especially when using physiological signals. In this master’s thesis, a method is examined to establish an athlete’s mental state using real-time physiological measurements of the heart rate and the physical activity. Nine youth volleyball athletes were monitored during six trainings to assess the impact of coach interventions on their mental state. Athletic performance was established and the link with the obtained stress levels is explored. The possibility to simulate coach-related stressors is investigated and whether the extra stress generates a difference in heart rate-derived stress measures. Specific coach-related stress instants are examined more closely. The possibility to implement questionnaires is explored before summarizing the results and their link to competition. The mental HR, the raw HR, and the frequency analysis of the HRV showed no significant difference when comparing the two types of trainings. HR normalized to the physical activity suggested a higher value, around 20 bpm/m/s², in the stressful trainings. Match formats and services generated a higher mental HR (±15 bpm) compared to standard set, pass, and attack exercises. During the stress moments, specific responses were observed in all the different stress indicators. However, not all moments generated a response and not all indicators presented a response to the same stress instants. The performance during the stressful trainings appeared higher in the service exercises. Nevertheless, overall conclusions about the higher performance trend in the stressful environment could not be made and more data is needed to suggest individual trends. The results from the questionnaires were inconclusive, questioning the usefulness in underage athletes and whether a true discrepancy between the stressful and stressless training existed. We may conclude that it is hard to create a stressful environment during training but that the suggested stress indicators (especially the ones considering physical activity) could provide useful insight into specific stress moments.

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