A case study of a collapsing handball team

Collective collapse in team sports, conceived in terms of negative psychological momentum when the players on a team suddenly perform below the expected level despite having had a good start, was investigated involving nine male players from an elite handball team. Semi-structured interviews were employed. The major causes of collective collapse were found to be inappropriate behavior, failure of the role system to function properly, negative communication within the team, a change in the tactics of the opposing team, and goals being scored by that team. Factors seen as needing to be dealt with to prevent collective collapse included negative thinking, negative emotions, and negative emotional contagion. The study provides a team perspective on negative psychological momentum as well as tentative proposals for avoiding collective collapse.