A.
Defined as systematically applying psychological
principles to enhance performance, enjoyment, and satisfaction.
Based on the notion that much of
sports are mental (concentration, confidence, anxiety management) and that
psychological factors account for the variation in day-to-day performance.
This is especially true in
individual sports.
B.
In the history of sports, psychological aspects have been
ignored. Why?
People didn’t understand the importance
of the psychological side, or understand that mental skills could be taught.
People thought that mental
toughness was inherited just like physical prowess.
People felt that they didn’t have
enough time to teach mental skills.
C.
There are many myths surrounding psychological skills
training (PST). These include:
PST is only for athletes who have
serious “clinical” problems
PST is only for very elite and
accomplished athletes
PST can provide a quick fix. Like other types of therapy PST takes time
and practice to develop.
PST is hocus-pocus and has nothing
useful to offer. However, PST
principles are based on sound psychological research, studies with athletes,
and interviews with those in the world of sports.
D.
How effective is
PST? Two reviews, of 68 studies of
these techniques in sport settings, finds positive improvement effects in 85%
of the cases.
1. Arousal regulation—gaining awareness and control over arousal
(anxiety). Using relaxation and other
methods.
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Progressive muscular relaxation
involves the active contracting and relaxing of muscles. When a muscle is
tightened for 4-6 seconds and then relaxed, the muscle returns to a more
relaxed state. This process should be performed for the following parts of the
body in turn - feet, legs, thighs, buttocks, stomach, back, neck, shoulders,
arms, hands, jaw, face and eyes.
People experience one of two
sensations: the feeling of warmth or the feeling of heaviness in completely
relaxed limbs. During the relaxation process concentration should be focused on
one of these sensations. For the first few sessions the athlete should
alternate the focus between sessions to determine which one they prefer.
If we were to use relaxation
procedures with an overly excited athlete, we might be able to reduce his/her
arousal level to that of the optimally excited athlete. This would have a
positive effect on his/her performance. However if we asked an under-excited
athlete to use relaxation procedures it would only make it harder for him/her
to "get-up" for the competition.
A number of people involved in sports
psychology believe that meditation can be useful in getting maximum
performance from an athlete. Engaging in meditation helps reduce stress before
an event and with experience the athlete can learn to relax different muscle
groups and appreciate subtle differences in muscle tension. The technique
includes the following steps:
Maintain a passive attitude,
permit relaxation to occur at its own pace and expect other thoughts. When
distracting thoughts occur return your concentration to your breathing.
2.
Imagery (mental preparation). We deal with this and the next three interventions in subsequent
chapters.
3.
Confidence Building
4.
Increasing Motivation and Commitment (Goal-Setting)
5.
Attention or Concentration Skills
F.
Phases of PST
programs
1.
Educate people to recognize the importance of PST and how
the mental side of sports and exercise affects performance. In this phase you also explain your
particular approach and what you do.
The importance of building trust
and using key counseling skills
2.
Acquisition-teach them the skills
3.
Practice-practice and learn the skills well, integrate the
skills into their performance situations, be able to generalize the skills to
actual competitions
G.
Self-regulation: We want
athletes to function on his or her own without having to rely on the sports
psychologist or consultant. People need
to learn to manage their own thoughts and behaviors—this is known as self-regulation. This process also involves generalizing
these skills to other situations (including non-sport) in the person’s life.
H.
Who should conduct
PST training? A qualified sports
psychologist either directly or serving as a consultant.
I.
When should a PST program be implemented?
In
off-season
Move from
practices and simulations to actual competition
J.
How one goes about
implementing a PST program
Assess the athlete’s mental and
psychological skills. You can assess
attention, anxiety, concentration, confidence (to name a few)
You can do
this through interviews and questions (structured and unstructured)
Next, give
feedback to athlete regarding the findings (strengths and weaknesses)
Then, begin
to design a training program, deciding what skills you need to build. You will probably need to prioritize these
in some way.
Once you
have identified objectives and way to meet them, design a training schedule. It is better to hold more frequent but
shorter meetings than less frequent and longer meetings.
Finally,
evaluate the program in terms of the objectives.
K.
Common problems in
implementing PST programs
Convincing others that the program
is valuable
People believe that they don’t
have enough time to do it
The psychologist may be unfamiliar
with the particular sport
The psychologist fails to
follow-up once the program is underway