Counseling needs of student-athletes at universities

150 ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to determine students athlethes' needs related to the counseling services at the universities. With this aim, related literature has been screened and necessary information has been provided. Further, a questionnaire has been developed and the data have been collected in order to answer research questions. The population for this study was state universities in Turkey. The sample consisted of licenced sportmans studying at Gazi University, Marmara University, Selçuk University, 19 Mayıs University, Atatürk University, Fırat University, Gaziantep University, Akdeniz University, Celal Bayar University and Çanakkale 18 Mart University. Six hundred three students (380 Male and 223 Female) participated in this study. Following tests have been used in this research: frequency, percentage, X2 at 0,05 significance level. Analysis of the data has been done by "SPSS" package computer program. The results of this study can be summarized as follow. The sample of the study is licenced sportsmen and sportswomen. Most of the students participated in this study have introduced their opinions as whether "they had solved their problems themselves"(%59), or "they hadn't known how to get information of counseling services" (%22,6), or "I do not beliene in counseling"(%19,2). The following problems have been faced by the students: stress, extremely tired, career selection, economic problems, girlfriend-boyfriend problems, homesickness, self-decision, responsibility, needs for leisure time, playing in team, personel demands, physical trauma, dismissal from university and sport team. Significant relationships between preceeding problems and sex have been found.151 Male and female sportmen students at the universities have generally solved sports problems by asking their trainers. Such other problems as foby, relationship with other people, boyfriend and girlfriend relationships, to be alone, and other personel problems have been overcome by getting help from close friends. Family members helped to solve economic and other life problems. Another interesting result of this research is that students get higher satisfaction with the advise they get from their families than the satisfaction they get from their advisor, team members, sporting psychologist, guider, religioous person, coach. Moreover they have enumareted their family as a first, team friends or other friends as a second, trainer and advisor as a third while getting help to their problems. Both group athletes-students said that they couldn't use counseling services sufficiently, but they were not afraid of asking. any help. They have complained about lack of counseling services. If they were offered these services, they would use them. There was no significant relationships between sex and asking counseling services. As a result, it has been found that students in this study accepted counseling services as a valuable and important need to solve their economic, social, personal, and sporting problems.