Abstract

Formation of a handball team begins with unification and alliance of individuals. Therefore, cohesion is the most important parameter of their interpersonal relations. Group cohesion is among the key characteristics disclosing the essential traits of a group. Formation of concentrated sports teams is presently the top social objective that sports organisations have to face. The question arises, which inner forces exist thast can cohese individual players into a team, where they emerge from and on what social-psychological principles they are based. The above issues have been of utmost importance recently in preparation of professional teams for high-level competitions. The aim of the present article is to establish the basic parameters of handball team cohesion based on corresponding opinions about significant objects as well as their dynamics in a five-year period in teams having different levels of social-psychological maturity. Research methods and research conduction: analysis of methodical literary sources; CDMT – the Co-Educational Decision Making Technique. SPGM – Social-Psychological Group Maturity, mathematical statistics. The research involved two teams, one having high-level mastery and one low-mastery team. By using the CDMT technique, the authors distinguished the basic cohesion parameters of the aforementioned teams. Using the SPGM technique, the authors distinguished the teams’ social-psychological maturity level, the parameter that indicates high-mastery team advantages against low-mastery teams, which also indicates that suchg teams participate in complex game activities. Research results: The research results disclosed two parameters of team cohesion: FRM , i. e. “functional role matching”, and FRI, i. e. “functional role interchange”. Two forms of FRM were recorded: 1) “individual functional role compatibility” and 2) “interpersonal functional role compatibility”. This parameter indicates correspondence of the players’ desired and compulsory roles. Expression of FRI: What possibilities the players have or how they can play different roles and substitute the interacting players in need during games. The research proves the fact that teams having sufficient levels of maturity, as compared with those having insufficient maturity, have these parameters much higher expressed (p<0.001). The aforementioned facts allow us to state that FRM and FRI are parameters reflecting unity of value orientations. These parameters depend on social-psychological team maturity. Thus unity of a team’s value orientations is a parameter of its cohesion. Verf.-Referat