Psychological Skills Training
What exactly is Psychological Skills Training and for a coach or instructor, what advantage is gained by its implementation? In other words, why bother?
Psychological Skills Training (PST) is typically more comprehensive than a few short sessions with a few simple interventions that a coach or instructor might suggest. PST usually integrates cognitive and relaxation techniques in a more encompassing approach to mental training and as a complement to physical training. Individualism is a hallmark of most PST programs. (Gill, 2000)
The Importance of Mental Skills
Why are mental skills so important to performance and why are they often neglected by coaches and athletes? Yogi Berra has been quoted as saying, "sport is 90% mental and 50% physical." You can question his mathematical savvy, but if you're an athlete, coach or fan, you can't question his wisdom. (Hacker, 2000) Many athletes understand that while developing oneself to their physical potential is a critical element in performance potential, it is often a deficit in our psychological game rather than errors in our physical performance that keep us from performing at optimum levels in practice, games or matches. Spud McKenzie, the Budweiser poster puppy, suggested that it is important to say when, but also emphasized the critical element of knowing “when to say when”. It is often the successful athlete has recognized what needed to be done and the unsuccessful athlete was unable to do so. As a consequence, it is not the physical talents or abilities that separate athletes and teams, or successful versus less successful performance, rather, the psychological dimension that most frequently explains a given sport outcome or individual performance. For this reason games are played. Prior to each contest, judgment could be made with regard to which team or individual is the “more highly skilled”. If games were decided on who is the most physically gifted and/or talented individuals or teams, it would prove to be an exercise in futility to compete. As a result, whether you are an athlete or a coach, mastering the mental game of sport will allow you to achieve a level of success as a competitor than you could otherwise not achieve by focusing exclusively on the physical side of sport.
PST - The Initial Learning Phase
The four commonly used PST techniques are: arou...
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...file becomes increasingly significant in terms of achieving desired performance levels.
The margins for success and failure as a world-class athlete can be miniscule. Skiers go wide on the third gate of a downhill race to find they have not only lost the gold medal, but any medal. Members of the PGA, after playing 72 holes, find themselves losing the tournament by one stroke, as a result of the missed three-foot putt on the second day of competition.
Works Cited
Gill, D. L., (2000), Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise, Champaign, IL, 2nd Ed., p197, Human Kinetics.
Hacker, C., (February 2000), Introduction to Psychological Skills, Eteamz, http://www.eteamz.com/baseball/instruction/psych/index.cfm?m=1,2,3,4,5
Rushall, B. S., (1995). Mental Skills Training for Sports, Sports Science Associates, Spring Valley, CA., 8.1- 8.3,
White, S. A., Psychological Skills: Differences between Volleyball Players on the Youth National Team and Those Involved in the 14’s High-Performance Camp, Unpublished Thesis, Illinois State University, Normal, IL.
Weinberg, R.S. & Gould, D. {1995} Foundations of sport and exercise psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Ch.15
Ratey, John J. (2008). Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. New York, NY: Little Brown and Company.
Conroy, D. E., Elliot, A. J., & Hofer, S. M. (2003). A 2 x 2 Achievement Goals Questionnaire for Sport: Evidence for Factorial Invariance, Temporal Stability, and External Validity. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 37(1), 42-56.
Jeffers, N. (n.d.). Training youths for a sound future in athletics. Intensity Magazine. Retrieved March 17, 2004, from http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/inmag51.htm
Why do we do what we do? This is one question that summarizes the motive for psychology. The answer to this question is the reason why I declared psychology as my major. Current psychologists and those dating back to the year 1879, strove to achieve the answer to this reoccurring question. “The Father of Psychology”, Wilhelm Wundt, and those psychologists of-age, have been strenuously consulting and researching to truly understand the mind and its effect on human behavior. Over the last 127 years, an accumulation of various answers to that specific question have been made. In this paper, the main focus will be the working memory in athletics; how the conscious movements become unconscious and almost instinct-like, and how coaches can teach their athletes better, using explicit and implicit technique.
I am a young ambitious student who strives to excel in everything I do. I want to study Sport Psychology as I know I possess the right skills to further and develop myself in the career of sports. I have the ability to understand others in sports as I also play sports myself. I have been in high pressured sporting situations which I have used my psychological skills to help increase my performance. What interests me in Sport Psychology is that I can make a big difference to not just my life but the lives of people in sport such as rehabilitating athletes or boosting athlete performance. I am fascinated by how different athletes perform in the same environment and getting practical with the mind, body and brain. Improving performance, consistency and stability in an athlete’s
Wiese-Bjornstal, D. M., Smith, A. M., Shaffer, S. M., & Morrey, M. A. (1998). An intergrated model of resonse to athletic injury and rehabilitation. Journal of Applied Sports Psychology, 10, 46-69.
Practicing meditation daily or before a game builds mental strength. Scientists have proven that meditation improves many cognitive functions not only in athletes, but in everyday life, “Emerging scientific literature further suggests that mindfulness meditation is a productive method for improving self awareness” (David and Hayes 198) Another way that athletes can mentally prepare themselves is by visualizing the outcome that they would like before an event. This makes that outcome seem more realistic to them and closer in reach. This is called imagery. “Imagery has been described as a mental event that recreates actual experience and is frequently adopted by athletes as a covert rehearsal technique to aid both motoric and psychological performance.” (Parker et al. 22) . If you go into a game or match with the mindset that you are going to lose, you will not play to the best of your
Research has shown that the level of our physical activity can have a direct and very influential impact on our state of mind and how the body goes through many physical changes. The qualification to deal with life events such as stress, change or sickness is also an explicit objective of the mental strength. Accepting a positive opinion of the body which allows the body to interact with others in a firm ways and form relationships of a positive and confident way.
It’s difficult to say whether motivation is produced by the mind rather than acquired through experience, our genes are what primarily affect our intellect, while being deprived of observing external factors can contribute adversely towards a person’s developmental progression and their primary outlook on their performance. Motivation is essential for success in sports, it is why people strive to become better athletes. The direction and intensity of one’s efforts reflects on their determination to achieve their goals. The more motivated you are, the higher the likeliness you have to succ...
In sports, so many things are left to chance. Sports are predictably unpredictable. Why let your mental mindset be another one of those things? There?s no reason for your mental game to be your one weakness! You have the power to control that. These tools and resources will help you remove psychological barriers that can get in the way of ??peak performance?? and give you some control over your own performance. Mark McGwire has worked with a Sports Psychologist since 1991, saying that the sessions help him find inner peace. He said it was totally his decision and the best one he made.
Vickers, E. (2014, February 11). Mental Health in the Student-Athlete. - The Sport In Mind – Sport Psychology. Retrieved April 1, 2014, from http://www.thesportinmind.com/articles/mental-health-in-the-student-athlete/
Negative, irrelevant thoughts cause the individual to doubt him or herself. The chain reaction of these events cause anxiety, and either affect or halt the action that was meant to take place (Lenac). Psychological skill training is used to enhance performance by a systematic practice of skills, and in this case, can be used to help the choking response (Weinberg, 248.) A sport psychologist will have the client recognize what happened when the choking first ensued. The client can now receive help with managing thoughts, emotions, and awareness so that she will not choke again. It is important for the client to only think about now, while managing breathing, so the negative thoughts can be released.
Clough, P., K. Earle, and D. Sewell. "Mental toughness: The concept and its measurement." Solutions in sport psychology (2002): 32-43.
Sports psychology continues to evolve in order to ensure that comprehensive and evidence-based psychological services are available for athletes and teams. Giving athletes an understanding of their psychological functioning, and building the ability to implement a range of psychological strategies in competition enables athletes to both execute their skills and thrive under pressure as they strive to reach their performance potential.
Millions of children worldwide participate in a multitude of sports, either in school or outside of school. As they grow older, they get better, but some of them stop playing. We have discussed that the best and sometimes oldest of the kids (in their age groups) are given more chances and more opportunities, as well as better coaching. This results in them gaining more experience and practice. Ultimately, some of them end up being national or world-class athletes competing and representing their country. In order for that to happen, they have to be recognized as talented and be presented with a chance to become great.