Motivação de atletas e técnicos de atletismo da Universidade Federal da Paraíba em tempos de pandemia de Covid-19.

Abstract

Caused by the Sars-Cov-2 virus, covid-19 is an acute respiratory infection, considered serious and highly transmissible, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. In this sense, in order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in the world of sports, competitions were cancelled, as well as training centers, clubs and gyms were closed. In view of this, many athletes were left without training or had little help from their coaches. In this perspective, the present study aims to analyze the motivation of athletes and athletics coaches in Federal University of Paraíba and understand the influence of social isolation caused by the pandemic on training and interest in sport. Characterizing itself as a qualitative research, with a descriptive-explanatory typology and transversal temporal cut. The universe of this study had twenty adult participants, 16 athletes and 04 coaches. The methodological procedure was organized and systematized from the application of two data collection instruments: a questionnaire built through the Google Forms application for athletes and an interview script carried out with the coaches through Google Meet. For the analysis of the information obtained, the technique of discourse analysis was used. As a result, we found that the technicians were more intrinsically motivated, having personal satisfaction and identification with the modality as determining factors for choice; in terms of permanence, being able to contribute with the knowledge and love they feel for the sport are the main influences. However, the social isolation caused by the pandemic has shaken the taste for athletics. As for the athletes, we observed that in an attempt to motivate themselves, there was a concern to maintain their physical shape and avoid large losses of performance. In view of this, some athletes performed their training in an adapted way at home or in inappropriate places. However, those whose modalities require specific centers and equipment to practice athletics found themselves demotivated. Feelings of fear and anguish, as well as the uncertainty of returning to competition, were also reported. In this way, social isolation added to the difficulty of staying active can lead to the aggravation of psychological factors in athletes, such as stress and anxiety.