Grit, self-regulation and resilience among college football players: A pilot study

Abstract

The ability to manage stress and return successfully from defeat is a pre-requisite in achieving sporting excellence. Grit is the ‘perseverance and passion for long-term goals.’ (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews & Kelly 2007) [1], Self-Regulation is the ability to control behaviors as well as develop and implement plans to achieve goals and Resilience is the ability of an individual to recover from defeat. To this end, especially among athletes in the normative stages of their career, Grit, Resilience and their Self-Regulation ability attains great importance, and often defines whether an amateur career evolves into a professional one or not. The present study investigated the operation of Grit, Self-Regulation on the Resilience of college football players. This Pilot study utilised the quantitative method (n= 32). The tools used for this study are the BU Resilience Scale (Anna Lakshmi, 2009) [2], the Grit Scale (Duckworth et al., 2007) [1] and the Self-Regulation Questionnaire (Brown, Miller & Lawendowski 1999) [3]. Correlation analysis indicated that Grit and Self-Regulation both share a positive relationship with Resilience. Self-Regulation is a predictor of Resilience among college football players. The findings and their implications are further discussed herewith.