Analyzing the relationships between years of experience and performance anxiety in teen volleyball players

Performance anxiety in athletes exists; when participating in a competitive sport like volleyball, athletes experience stress, and although there is some expected level of nervousness, intense anxiety is not a typical response. This study analyzed variables such as experience and age as crucial factors in the development and persistence of performance anxiety in young volleyball players. We hypothesized that teen volleyball players with more years of training in club volleyball would have less performance anxiety than players in their 1st or 2nd year since the more an athlete trains and plays, the more confident they are of their performance. During the 2023 volleyball season (January to early May), we surveyed 108 athletes from 12 to 18 years of age. We asked 15 questions to assess anxiety symptoms—the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2)—and two extra questions to assess the relationship between performance anxiety and volleyball experience. The results suggested that as experience increases, players have less performance anxiety, but only until they are 17 years old. When athletes had five or more years of competitive experience, however, anxiety scores rose again with disregard to the amount of experience, indicating the presence of new stressors in the life of the now young adult. Performance anxiety can be an annoying feeling for the amateur player and a stressful problem for the experienced one getting closer to college age. Knowing these relationships may help athletes, parents, and coaches understand the main drivers of performance anxiety and potentially decrease its incidence in this population.