ENHANCING EMOTIONAL SELF-REGULATION AND INTERPERSONAL SYNCHRONY IN THE TRAINING OF YOUNG ATHLETES

Abstract

This paper examines the development of emotional self-regulation and interpersonal synchrony in the training of young athletes. Adolescence is a period in which competitive sport simultaneously creates opportunities for mastery, social belonging, stress exposure, public evaluation, and identity development. The ability to regulate emotions under pressure therefore becomes inseparable from the interpersonal environment in which training occurs. In this paper, interpersonal synchrony is understood as the flexible coordination of attention, communication, emotional signals, and task-related behavior between athletes, teammates, and coaches. The analysis integrates contemporary evidence on emotion regulation, peer norms, coach-athlete relationships, psychological safety, motivational climate, and team coordination. On the basis of this literature, a six-component developmental framework and an eight-week training model are proposed. The model combines emotional awareness, cognitive reappraisal, brief recovery routines, supportive feedback, peer-based coordination tasks, shared performance cues, and structured reflection. Four practical tables summarize the conceptual components, recent evidence, intervention sequence, and assessment indicators. The central argument is that emotional self-regulation should not be treated only as an individual skill: in youth sport it is learned, reinforced, and sometimes disrupted through social interaction. Training environments that combine autonomy-supportive coaching, psychologically safe communication, constructive peer norms, and coordinated team routines are more likely to promote stable engagement, adaptive coping, and long-term athlete development.