Chapter 10: Meaning Formation in Elite Sports Clubs: Development of Self-Esteem and Higher Performance

This chapter focuses on meaning-making in elite sports contexts, discussing the concept of meaning itself, and concluding that meaning can be understood as “understanding of intention.” The chapter argues that meaning understood in this way means that the development of meaning leads to an increased experience of control and mastery of your context, which again will lead to higher self-esteem.

From this position, the chapter discusses how meaning-making can take place through 3 different processes.

The first process is the development of value-based sports clubs. The presence of strong values in the sports club means that people in the club understand how and why to act in different situations, as the values are premises for action. This again means that the individual’s experience of control and mastery will increase, which again will lead to higher self-esteem.

The second process is the development of recognizing sports club cultures. In these cultures, individual players have different areas of responsibility, which creates the possibility for the players to experience social recognition, which again will lead to the development of meaning and higher self-esteem.