The developmental patterns of 2x2 achievement goals and body mass index in young soccer players

The present study examined the developmental patterns of approach-avoidance goals and body mass index (BMI) in a sample of young soccer players. Participants were 652 Finnish competitive soccer players with a mean age of 11.49 in the beginning of the data collection. The data comprised four measurement phases across two full seasons for each player. The key findings were that 1) performance-avoidance goal decreased and BMI increased over time, 2) the higher perceptions of mastery-approach associated with lower BMI scores and higher mastery-avoidance goal with higher BMI scores, and 3) the level of mastery-approach goals was higher than performance-approach and mastery- and performance-avoidance goals, whereas mastery- and performance-avoidance were higher than performance-approach goals. Based on previous and current findings, a transition of players with lower perceptions of mastery-approach and higher BMI to the higher level of mastery-approach goals requires players should spend more time with a variety of soccer drills and practices. Practically, these players could be given more responsibility, for instance, through task-involving coaching methods, in which the main objective is to increase players’ perceptions of physical competence through development and learning. These coaching strategies could not only increase players’ positive perceptions of mastery-approach but also reduce their negative perceptions of mastery-avoidance goals.