First-person Experience of Optimal Sport Competition Performance of Elite Team Athletes

Researchers in many domains (i.e. personality, self-confidence, self-efficacy, anxiety, motivation) have investigated optimal performance. Unfortunately, no clear and unambiguous explanation can be given of such performance. In our study, we used a first-person phenomenological qualitative method of research (explicative interview), which can provide an insight into the complexity of human experience. We interviewed 14 elite team athletes about their experience of a recent competitive optimal sport performance. The qualitative analysis showed that achieving an optimal performance is a dynamic process during which different factors, that establish complex relations, are important. Optimal performance started with a preceding challenging situation in which no solution to the problem could be found quickly and in response to which situational anxiety developed. However, athletes decided on an active approach and took responsibility for their action. Trust seems a crucial factor for doing this; trust was initially oriented towards oneself and one’s teammates, and only later it became general. Alongside, a certain level of personal unimportance emerged and goal orientation changed to process orientation. The findings suggest the relevance of certain psychological factors for optimal performance and provide practical avenues for sport psychology professionals to assist athletes in experiencing it.