Search

Background. Social competences have become a popular issue especially in recent years. This is related mostly to possibilities of practical use of information and conclusions from various studies to improve human social functioning, and to increase effectiveness of undertaken tasks. It is justified therefore to consider social competence in the light of sport -- achieved results and simultaneous personal development of competitors. The goal of the paper was to analyse social competences of female volleyball players -- competitors from best Polish youth volleyball teams. The aim of the paper was also to emphasise the role of social competences in the process of sport training in youth. Material and methods. Examinations were carried out in a group of 78 female volleyball players (aged 14-17 years) -- finalists of the Polish Nationwide Youth Olympics (Biłgoraj, June 2005). A Questionnaire of Social Competences -- KKS-A (M), prepared by Anna Matczak (2001) was used to assess the level and scope of social competences. Results. The results of analyses revealed social competences on average level in all measured scales. Significant correlations between the level of presented social abilities and sport achievements as well as other variables characterising sport activity of the examined sportswomen were also noted. Conclusions. This paper contains results of the study and suggestions concerning broader use of knowledge about social competences in sport. Conclusions drawn from the study give initial indication in favour of the necessity to enrich current training programmes realised with young sportsmen with elements of social abilities training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]