Treinador e atleta : significados de uma relação na aprendizagem e desempenho esportivo de alto rendimento à luz da teoria de Buber

Abstract

The complex relationship that coaches and athletes establish throughout years together is permeated by multiple feelings, meanings, and emotions. It is crossed by moments that demand high levels of perfection, productivity, competence and, at the same time, a deep connection between both sides, turning this relationship into a mixture of feelings that oscillate between affection, anger, admiration, confidence and even disappointment. Aiming to discuss important elements that move along this relationship, the coach-athlete relationship was examined through the eyes of Buber's theory, which understands the dialogic existence of the I-Thou as the foundation of human relations and the I-It as the environment and support of experience, knowledge and application. This way, the general objective of this study is to analyze the significance of the coach-athlete relationship in the learning and athletic proficiency of high performance athletes of individual sports modalities from the perspective of Buber's I-Thou and I-It theory. The specific objectives of this research are: to evaluate how the I-Thou and I-It theory, unfolded in the coach-athlete relationship, reflects on the high-performance learning and performance of individual sports modalities and to identify which learning and performance indicators emerge from the I-Thou and the IIt theory in the coach-athlete relationship in individual sports modalities. A semistructured interview was used as the collection instrument of the study and applied on high performance athletes of individual sports modalities and their respective coaches, using as method of analysis of the results the discursive textual analysis. The data analysis of the interviews revealed that the I-Thou and the I-It elements shift constantly, permeating the coach-athlete relationship. Therefore, reciprocity, gathering, confidence, and support are the main characteristics found in the I-Thou relationship, while objectivity, utility, and distance are the characteristics found in I-It, having a direct influence upon learning and sports performance.