Descriptive statistics (mean ± standard deviation)
for all measures at the beginning and the end of training
were calculated. Pre/post season changes in the will to
excel and the will to compete were examined based on
two-level models. Each participant’s successive measurements over time were defined as an individual response change and a random error (level 1). Differences
in response change between groups of individuals were
examined (level 2). The 95% confidence limit for each
effect was calculated to make inferences about the true
(population) values of the effect of training (Batterham &
Hopkins, 2006). The between-subject standard deviation
for each dependent variable was used to convert the absolute changes´ values in responses into standardized
changes in the mean. The smallest standardized change
was assumed to be 0.20 (Cohen, 1988). SPSS software
package, version 20.0 was used.