Exploring the Impact of a Global Pandemic (COVID-19) on Factors Impacting the Resilience of Top-Tier London Hockey Players

Table 9

Coach reflections.

Themes	Subthemes	Example quotations
Role change (motivation)	Focus	The most important thing was to cheer all the players and make them integrated to the routine again”
		“We focussed on providing player feedback and nominating the players with the most potential to the next level of the Player Pathway (Performance Centre)”
		“I think the big and most important change was the motivation factor”
Team contact (motivation)	Making the most of it	“Once restrictions allowed, we ran a series of summer training sessions. This involved designing around 20 new socially distanced exercises—the aim was “to make the most of our time on the hockey pitch”. To reduce pressure, we made it clear that their performance, at this stage, had no impact on selection”
		“It is a bit difficult for an adult coach to establish direct contact with a junior player, so our approach was for the coaches to make contact with all the parents and for a WhatsApp group to be created. Over the various lockdowns we had skills challenges, fitness challenges, a Strava group and we ran a detailed player survey and discussed it over Zoom”
		“I think motivation was very high, they really missed hockey”
Return to play (opportunity)	Mental health	“Mentally I feel like it took a bit longer for some of the players to return to something like normal”
		“After lockdown the players were as combative as ever. Perhaps sport gave them the outlet they required”
	Physical fitness	“Physically and tactically, we were very well positioned for Return to Play. We had a fantastic season”
		“Adolescent growth is one of the main reasons to abandon sport in this age for men, they grow every day, so their skills are affected—lockdown definitely made this worse”