Vers l’exploration de la créativité tactique dans les sports d’équipe
Tactical creativity (TC) has been identified as an essential component of exceptional performance in sport, more specifically in team sports where the athletes have to invade the opposition’s territory to score a goal (Altavilla et Raiola, 2015; Memmert, Baker et Bertsch, 2010). The creative athlete is one who can generate original, flexible and varying decisions in specific game situations (Greco, Memmert et Morales, 2010; Memmert et Roth, 2007). The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore in greater depth the phenomenon of tactical creativity as it is perceived and experienced by university-level athletes and coaches involved in certain invasion sports. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with head coaches of different teams and their athletes who were identified as being creative players. Transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. Results pointed to common attributes shared by creative players, the most important ones were game vision, non-conformity/novelty and quick decision-making. From a developmental perspective, TC was linked to diversification between and within sports as well as a high volume of experience. The microstructure of practice activities also contributed to the development of creative abilities, more specifically game-centered exercises that promote decision making and problem solving. Unlike previous studies, the present results revealed that autonomy-supportive coaching and a positive coach-athlete relationship facilitate the development of creativity allowing us to make links to the self-determination theory. Finally, TC was associated with social and performance related consequences. Interestingly, our results suggest a functional role for tactical creativity in the use of adaptive coping mechanisms. The practical implications of this study are twofold. First, the results of this study will provide coaches with specific guidelines in order to establish an ideal environment that enhances the development of TC. Second, the results will provide athletes with an awareness of the importance of certain developmental and environmental factors that contribute to maximizing their creative potential.
tactical creativity invasion sports athletes developmental experiences