Investigation of Self-Perception of Players in Sports in Meru Technical Training Institute in Kenya.

Abstract

Technical Institutions like all other institutions of Learning in Kenya take sport as an important component of their educational programmes. The Kenya Colleges Sports Association organizes annual sports competitions in which all colleges participate. The Meru Technical Training Institute has been a regular participant in the annual sports events. During the years 2000 to 2004, the Institute continuously excelled in football, handball and women’s volleyball at zonal and national competitions. However, in spite of thorough training and technical preparation, performance in men’s volleyball, netball and hockey has been dismal. The current study was therefore carried out to establish the self-perception of players in sports in Meru Technical Training institute by considering perception in volleyball and football. Self-perception is viewed as an important determinant of a player’s performance. A sample of 24 players participated, where 12 were from each team. Volleyball had 14 players and football 22. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. A majority of footballers and volleyball players perceived themselves positive as fit, active and healthy. But, volleyball players perceived themselves negative in being attractive, happy, relaxed, optimistic, successful and confident while football players perceived themselves positive in all these attributes. Arising from the results, it was recommended to have regular self-perception tests for sports participants to enhance their positive self-perception.