The Organization And Management Of Sports Teams In Competitions

Abstract

The modelling of the sports training for participation in the World Handball Championship was carried out within a centralized 10 day training program, a training cycle specific to the competition period, with a total of 1-3 training sessions per day, depending on the objectives of the proposed training. Of real importance in the leadership of the sports team was the determination of the components of the process organization in order to establish the objectives of the group, the functions and activities that would lead to the achievement of the expected objectives, among which priority was the creation of an atmosphere conducive to performance, they came after a long and tiring competition system with a huge number of official games (around 70 games), most of the athletes being members of leading teams and various National Teams. During the course of the activity, the most well-known and used management methods were: meeting, SWOT analysis, Grant diagram and PERT / CPM diagram adapted to the particularly complex activity subordinated to the proposed performance objectives;

Keywords: Handballmanagementsports competitionsports teams

Introduction

Managing and conducting performance sports is not an easy thing and is at the fingertips of everyone, but requires from the people involved a high degree of knowledge of the phenomenon and a commitment focused on the same goals on the part of all. The diversity of management in performance sports requires finding the most effective and important resource management elements to maximize performance in the shortest possible time. In performance sports, "as in any other activity, the manager organizes the execution work in order to obtain the highest possible efficiency, keeping in mind the needs and aspirations of the people, as well as the importance of the unity and the activity he is leading" (Moldovan , 2010, p. 6).

The development of interpersonal relationships in order to form a strong group cohesion where each member of the team learns what is expected of him, what are his duties and tasks within the group, was one of the main goals of the leadership team. At the level of the batch of players, a constructive culture was implemented in which athletes were "encouraged to interact with each other and address their tasks so as to meet their higher needs of satisfaction" (Voicu, 2013, p. 130), but and the concern to achieve the highest performance.

Throughout the entire activity (training and competition), the development of personal relationships has been developed, each of them participating in solving group problems and increasing the cohesion of the group. Athletes begin to feel like they are an integral part of the group, are pleased with this, and interactions are characterized by sincerity and altruism, which leads to the achievement of performance goals.

The high level of trust the leadership has gained has been, in particular, effective communication with group members as well as the respiration manifested for each team member, consistency in thinking and actions as well as the theoretical and practical skills demonstrated on the course of the joint work. Mihăilescu (2008) considers that the achievement of sports performance involves selection activities, sports training and participation in competitions, through a balanced assignment of tasks on the workstations, with well-defined attributions in the organization and efficiency of the specific activity.

Problem Statement

The centralized training period with the National University Team members to participate in the World Championship was short-lived (10 days) and was focused in particular on strengthening interpersonal and game relationships to form a strong core both within the group, as well as outside, in meetings with other teams. At the same time, the proposed performance management and the scientific training of the training lessons were designed so as to increase the athletes' performance capacity and, implicitly, to achieve superior results. According to Mihăilescu (2008), performance of sports performance involves selection, sports training and participation in competitions, through a balanced assignment of tasks on job positions, with well-defined attributions in the organization and efficiency of the specific activity. Exercise in global effort of technical tactical actions has positively influenced the degree of involvement of athletes in the training and competition process as well as their precision and efficiency, thus responding to the requirements of great performance. Particular importance was given to restoring the body after effort, using a range of remediation means geared towards neuropsychic, neuromuscular, endocrine-metabolic and cardio-respiratory remodelling.

The SWOT analysis at the beginning of the action helped us to better understand the context in which we were going to work, managing to determine the strengths of the team and reducing the effect of weaknesses while at the same time maximizing opportunities and diminishing threats. All of this has helped us find the most effective strategic and operational decisions that can be applied in practice during this time when the team has found itself in centralized training.

Research Questions

The analysis of the national and international situation of the possibilities of the National University Team of Romania to reach again in the international student handball elites, at the level of the male teams after a 29-year break, was made through the PEST Analysis. It was of no real use for the Romanian Handball Federation to organize the centralized training of the teams in conditions conducive to achieving sporting performances, as well as the fact that all the selected players managed to participate in this action (Table 01 ).

Table 1 -
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Purpose of the Study

In the elaboration of this research I started from the following hypothesis: We believe that if at the level of a sports group we apply a specialized managerial program, in full compliance with the bio-psycho-motor specifics of the subjects, as well as with the sports training period, then the group's degree of cohesion will have superior indices with positive implications on sports performance.

SMART objectives (those that need to be specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and well delimited over time) focus on the process of preparation and performance proposed with the team's components, have been formulated in the sense of everyone and in a manner that to lead to the optimization of sports performance. The drive systems, careful selection and in full accordance with the particularities of the precompetitive period in which we are located, were precisely oriented towards homogenizing the lot and increasing the level of tactical collectivity, the most efficient combinations, related to the possibilities of the players and the specific motric structure current handball game (Table 02 ).

Table 2 -
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Research Methods

The most used research techniques used in the present paper were: the method of studying the specialized and interdisciplinary literature, being consulted both in the field of sports training and in the specific management; the pedagogical observation, conducted throughout the research (starting with the selection of athletes for the team, the training process during the centralized training period, as well as during the verification and official games), being the one through which we could permanently update the behavior of each member of the organization; the tabular method, used to centralize observations and research results; SWOT analysis, identifying the points that define the group, and how to intervene; setting SMART goals and PEST analysis to identify the current state of knowledge. All of these techniques have been used during the research, from the selection of the athletes, during the preparation and the competition, as well as at the end of the competition, in order to process and interpret the results obtained.

Findings

"The need to increase effectiveness and efficiency in the management of sports activity is determined by the influence of resources (which are limited) and by the competition manifested in the provision of financial resources, as well as by the complexity and the specific competitiveness in the field" (Lador & Mihăilescu, 2008, p. 17). Thus, the managerial plan developed during the pedagogical experiment has proved its efficiency, especially through the active and conscious participation of all the components in the training program, but especially in the competition, the individual and collective efficiency being at superior parameters, evidence of players' records and protocols to record the evolution of players.

The degree of cohesion and performance of athletes achieved through the implementation of specific sports management techniques at team members led to the achievement of the proposed training and performance objectives, demonstrating the effectiveness of the independent variables applied during the training. Thus, in addition to winning the title of World Champions, at the end of the competition the Romanian athletes also abdicated the title of the best goalkeeper of the tournament, as well as the title of best scorer.

Conclusion

The implementation of a communication policy based on a strategy to represent "the defining lines of attitude and conduct of the organization in order to achieve its objectives" (Oprisan, 2004, p. 94) of training and performance was a complex process that involved knowledge in detail of all the factors involved in achieving sports performance.

Strengthening the basic mechanisms of the main technical elements and tactical actions, a priority objective of the experimental research, led to their appropriation within complex structures with a high degree of applicability in official games.

The implementation of the new management and its determinations, centered especially on the perception of team members over the activity to be carried out by each component of the sports group, highlighted the positive attitude towards the training, competition and recovery process as well as the beneficiaries of the result sports, respectively, occupying the first place and winning the title of World University Champions.

Achieving exceptional performance at an international level requires the implementation of a well-performing management with well-defined criteria and means of action aimed at optimizing the individual and collective potential.

Sport performance can only be achieved by implementing a high-performance management involving highly qualified specialists, as well as material, human, financial and informational resources to support successful participation in major competitions.

References

  1. Lador, I. I., & Mihăilescu, N. (2008). Concepte specifice managementului modern în organizațiile sportive [Concepts specific to modern management in sports organizations]. Pitești: Universității
  2. Mihăilescu, N. (2008). Organizare şi conducere în structurile sportului [Organization and leadership in sport structures]. Piteşti: Universității
  3. Moldovan, Șanta I. C. (2010). Perfecționarea managementului echipelor de jocuri sportive de mare performanță (Improving the management of high performance sports teams). Retrieved from https://doctorat.ubbcluj.ro/sustinerea_publica/rezumate/2010/management/Santa_Moldovan_Ioan_RO.pdf
  4. Oprișan, V. (2002). Marketing și comunicare în sport[Marketing and communication in sport]. București: Uranus
  5. Voicu, V. (2013). Mediul și cultura organizațională în sport[Organizational environment and culture in sport]. Pitești: Universității.

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About this article

Publication Date

15 August 2019

eBook ISBN

978-1-80296-066-2

Publisher

Future Academy

Volume

67

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-

Edition Number

1st Edition

Pages

1-2235

Subjects

Educational strategies,teacher education, educational policy, organization of education, management of education, teacher training

Cite this article as:

Mihaila*, I. (2019). The Organization And Management Of Sports Teams In Competitions. In E. Soare, & C. Langa (Eds.), Education Facing Contemporary World Issues, vol 67. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 1202-1206). Future Academy. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2019.08.03.147