BETWEEN ANXIETY AND ACHIEVEMENT: EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES OF ADOLESCENTS IN VOLLEYBALL DURING THE PARÁ STUDENT GAMES (JEP’S)

Abstract

This article analyzes the emotional experiences and experimentations of female adolescents participating in volleyball competitions at the Pará State Student Games (JEP’S), considering the subjective dimensions that permeate the competitive context. This is a qualitative, interpretative study based on field observation during game situations, preparation, and daily life in shared lodgings. The findings highlight feelings such as anxiety, fear, nervousness, and the expectation of victory, associated with factors like lack of knowledge about opposing teams, performance pressure, and the transition from one context to another. The analysis articulates contributions from Viktor Frankl, Zygmunt Bauman, Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault, Erik Erikson, Leonardo Boff, Rubem Alves, Contardo Calligaris, and Paula Sibilia, understanding sport as a space for the production of meaning, the disciplining of bodies, and identity construction. It concludes that while school sports hold formative potential, they can also reproduce logics of pressure and control that intensify suffering, requiring pedagogical practices that are more sensitive to the emotional dimensions of adolescents.