The effects of perceived stress and recovery-stress factors on absenteeism, injury rates and performance of varsity swimmers

This study looked at the relationships between stress-recovery and perceived stress on absenteeism, injury and performance in varsity swimmers. The swimmers were followed for the second half of their season to assess changes in both their abilities to recover from their training regimens and the stresses involved in being a full time University student. The swimmers were monitored daily for attendance at both practice & dryland training, twice a month for stress-recovery levels as measured by the Recovery Stress Questionnaire (Kellmann & Kallus, 2001) and attendance to the injury clinic, twice for sport specific stressors as measured by the Athletic Experiences Survey, and once for general stressors as measured by the Student Stress Scale. The swimmers were also monitored to determine the overall effects of stress-recovery and perceived stress on their swimming performance.; The results of this research point to the importance of having coaches monitor athletes throughout the season to ensure that they receive appropriate psychological and physical training to assist them in reaching their optimal performance by the end of the season. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...