98 Chapter 5 The present study sheds light on a unique and specific aspect of the SRL concept in relation to sports. However, it is important to realize that SRL is a dynamic, multidimensional construct, which can be viewed, measured, and applied across different dimensions (see the review of McCardle et al., 2019). Consequently, our findings relate to how we approached SRL: as a domain-specific aptitude (i.e., the consistency of SRL processes in competitive swimming) applied during daily training sessions (temporal framing). This means that specific SRL subprocesses are measured during specific phases of the training process (e.g., reflection processes are measured during a training session, whereas evaluation processes are measured after a training session). We believe that when used in combination with the included performance variables, and when corrections are made for differences in weekly training hours, the theoretical and practical relevance of our SRL approach is apparent, advancing understanding of progression toward elite level swimming performance. From a theoretical perspective, the finding that training-centered SRL is not only related to performance level but also to progression within a season, provides an important link between the SRL framework and athletes’ development of expertise. Whereas previous studies mainly promoted the idea that self-regulating athletes are able to derive more from training and likely to reach higher performance levels, our findings add to the body of literature, suggesting that performance progression within a season is an important link in understanding this relation. We found that high-performing swimmers who demonstrate greater improvements during a season (i.e. are on track to becoming elite swimmers) are characterized by more frequent use of reflection and evaluation processes in their daily training sessions. These individual characteristics are considered to contribute to more effective and efficient learning (and training), which may explain why these swimmers improve more during a season and, consequently, reach higher performance levels. Therefore, the present study contributes not only to a deeper understanding of the individual characteristics relating to advancement toward swimming expertise but it also sheds light on the potential underlying mechanisms that may partly explain why higher scores for SRL subprocesses are ultimately related to higher performance levels. This finding is strengthened by the finding that between-group differences in reflection and evaluation processes remained significant after controlling for differences in weekly training hours. Therefore, we suggest that swimmers who are on track to attain the elite level are able to get more out of their training in terms of quality and ultimately to benefit more from this ability by practicing for more hours in a week (see Table 1). These conclusions are in alignment with the theory of deliberate practice (DP; Baker et al., 2003; Deakin & Cobley, 2003; Ericsson et al., 1993) Pursuing this line of reasoning, we suggest that future studies should examine the causal relationships among training-centered SRL, the quantity and quality of DP, and the development of sport expertise (McCardle et al., 2019). However, a number of issues need
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTk4NDMw