Swimmers' Compliance to Training as a Function of Observation: A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Swimming Performance
• Behavioral Analysis in Athletics

Background:

• Adherence to prescribed training intensity is crucial for improving seasonal swimming performance.
• Swimmers often struggle to comply with coach-prescribed training regimens.
• The impact of coaching presence on training compliance remains under-examined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate swimmers' adherence to prescribed training intensity under three distinct observational conditions.
• To quantify compliance differences using activity monitors during swim training.

Main Methods:

• Developed individualized prediction equations for swim intensity based on arm-stroke and leg-kick activity counts in collegiate swimmers.
• Assessed compliance during standardized training sessions with varying observational conditions: coach present, no coach, and coach with an additional observer.
• Utilized repeated-measures ANOVA to compare compliance rates across different coaching conditions.

Main Results:

• Swimmers demonstrated significantly lower compliance to prescribed training intensity when no coach was present compared to when a coach was present.
• Compliance was also higher when both a coach and an additional observer were present, though the effect size for this condition was notable (η² = .58).

Conclusions:

• The presence or absence of a coach critically influences swimmers' adherence to prescribed training intensity.
• An additional observer, beyond the coach, does not appear to significantly impact swimmers' compliance levels.