Introduction: Previous studies have shown that peer-created motivational climates have a decisive influence on young people’s motivation and persistence in sports. However, this seems not to be encouraged in youth football, where training structures are largely tradi-tional and instructive. This study tries to develop the established training practices in youth football in order to promote a peer-created motivational training climate. The ob-jective of this study was to examine how peer-feedback helps to create a motivational climate on a youth football team.
Methods: The present study was performed as a grounded theory case-study in the foot-ball club Aalborg Freja. The case of this study was an under-14 boys’ football team (15-16 players) who participated in a program of four peer-feedback training sessions. The analy-sis was based on qualitative data from video observations during each peer-session, play-er-logbooks after each peer-session, and a focus group. The focus group was conducted at the completion of the training program which included six players. Micro analysis was used for video observation, while meaning coding was used for the analysis of the players’ logbook and the focus group. The study is founded in phenomenology and a hermeneu-tic approach.
Results: The data indicated that peer-feedback was challenging for the players, though it became easier to manage further along in the training sessions. Players found peer-feedback easier when the content was familiar and when they gave feedback to a non-familiar companion. The feedback had a positive effect on the recipients’ perceptions of improvement while the training program enhanced the players’ sense of belonging to each other. Results also indicate that the players had a positive perception of the peer-program, as they received more feedback than usual. These findings were central to the players’ perspective on the peer-feedback program and was based on self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), goal-achievement theory (Nichols 1984), and self-efficacy (Bandura 1977).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that peer-feedback helps to promote a positive climate by stimulating young players’ motivation to be self-determining, to learn, and to exert greater effort to succeed in football training.