Is There a Correlation in Improvements of TOPS Scores and Improvements in Track and Field Performances in Collegiate Athletes?

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-184
Author(s):  
Trey Brokaw
Keyword(s):  
Goal Setting ◽  
International Association ◽  
Collegiate Athletes ◽  
Track And Field ◽  
Ncaa Division Ii ◽  
Mental Skills ◽  
Optimum Level ◽  
Select Group ◽  
Self Talk ◽  
Field Season

This presentation will share the results from a study conducted on college track and field athletes at the NCAA division II level. The study compares the results of scores on the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS) and, individual athlete’s improvements in their event area according to the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) scoring charts for track and field. A select group of primarily middle distance and distance runners was selected for the study. These athletes were given a baseline TOPS examination to evaluate their prior knowledge and use of mental skills in their athletic experiences. Personal best times in the athlete’s primary events were recorded from the previous year. During the nine weeks of the outdoor track and field season that this study took place; athletes were introduced to a wide array of activities associated with improving their mental skills. Such activities included goal setting, imagery, relaxation, optimum level of arousal, affirmations, and the use of positive self-talk and routines. Athletes would have an organized mental skills session at least twice each of the nine weeks of the season. Athletes also had an individual meeting with the coaches to go over goal setting and the use of their mental skills to enhance their physical skills. After the outdoor season was completed the athletes took a post-examination TOPS. The scores were compared with their pretest scores as well as their improvement in personal best times in their main events on the track.

Elite Wheelchair Rugby Players’ Mental Skills and Sport Engagement

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 253-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey J. Martin ◽  
Laurie A. Malone
Keyword(s):  
Goal Setting ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Skills ◽  
Descriptive Data ◽  
Disability Sport ◽  
Wheelchair Rugby ◽  
Mental Skill ◽  
Self Talk ◽  
Elite Level ◽  
Rugby Players

Although sport psychologists have started to examine elite disability sport, studies of comprehensive mental skill use are rare. In the current study, we examined multidimensional imagery and self-talk, as well as comprehensive mental skills (i.e., coping with adversity, goal setting, concentration, peaking under pressure, being coachable, confident, and feeling free from worry). In addition to descriptive data, we also were interested in the ability of athlete’s mental skills to predict engagement (e.g., being dedicated). Fourteen elite level wheelchair rugby players from the United States participated, and results indicated that athletes employed most mental skills. We accounted for 50% of the variance in engagement with comprehensive mental skills (β = .72, p = .03) contributing the most to the regression equation, while imagery (β = -.02, p = .94) and self-talk (β = -.00, p = .99) were not significant. Athletes who reported using a host of mental skills (e.g., coping with adversity) also reported being engaged (e.g., dedicated, enthused, committed) to wheelchair rugby. Athletes reporting minimal mental skill use were less engaged.

Straight from the horse’s mouth: understanding professional event riders’ mental preparation for maximising self-confidence prior to competition using thematic analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-270
Author(s):  
S. McGinn ◽  
D. Alcock ◽  
L.J. Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Elite Athletes ◽  
Collegiate Athletes ◽  
Psychological Interventions ◽  
Relaxation Techniques ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Self Talk

High self-confidence or sport-confidence has been defined as a key psychological characteristic required by elite athletes, promoting optimal performance and helping manage competitive anxiety. Investigations have demonstrated that a mix of psychological interventions such as self-talk, goal setting, imagery, pre-performance routines and relaxation techniques are used by elite athletes as coping strategies. To date, most of this research has been carried out on collegiate athletes across a variety of sports but with limited research attention on equestrian sports. This study, using semi-structured interviews, explored five professional event riders’ experiences of psychological interventions used leading up to and during elite level international competition. Thematic analysis identified two meta-themes; Planning and Preparation, Arousal and Distraction Management. The riders outlined the importance of goal-setting, managing time and pre-performance routines as part of planning and preparation. They discussed the use of interventions such as self-talk and imagery in managing arousal levels with support teams playing a key role in distraction management. The findings from this study support previous research, suggesting that these riders have similar approaches to other non-equestrian athletes in their use of a combination of coping strategies to manage competition anxiety and build self-confidence.

A Mental Warm-Up for Athletes

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Britton W. Brewer ◽  
Adisa Haznadar ◽  
Dylan Katz ◽  
Judy L. Van Raalte ◽  
Albert J. Petitpas
Keyword(s):  
Goal Setting ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Soccer Players ◽  
Mental Skills ◽  
Male Youth ◽  
Warm Up ◽  
Youth Soccer ◽  
Competitive Season ◽  
Self Talk ◽  
Male High School

The purpose of this research was to develop and evaluate a 5-min structured mental warm-up involving aspects of goal setting, imagery, arousal regulation, and positive self-talk. Results of a study that featured a pretest–posttest design with 101 male youth soccer players (Study 1) and a study that featured a repeated-measures experimental design with 29 female intercollegiate soccer players (Study 2) indicated that executing the mental warm-up was associated with significantly greater readiness to perform and to use mental skills to enhance performance. In Study 3, 30 male high school soccer players used the mental warm-up daily over a competitive season and rated it as acceptable (albeit less so than their physical warm-up) at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the season. The findings suggest that a mental warm-up is both acceptable to athletes and potentially useful in helping them prepare for training and competition.

Practical Considerations for Working with Athletes with Disabilities

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 346-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie J. Hanrahan
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Body Awareness ◽  
Mental Skills ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Blind And Visually Impaired ◽  
Control Goal ◽  
Athletes With Disabilities

This paper presents general considerations for working with athletes with disabilities and the usefulness and possible modification of specific mental skills for those athletes. Common concerns for athletes with specific disabilities are discussed. Specific disabilities are considered under the headings of amputees, blind and visually impaired, cerebral palsy, deaf and hearing impaired, intellectual disabilities, and wheelchair. Arousal control, goal setting, attention/concentration, body awareness, imagery, self-confidence, and precompetition preparation are discussed in terms of disability-specific issues as well as suggestions for application.

scholarly journals Evaluation of psychological performance strategies of volleyball players

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 812-821
Author(s):  
Aylin Özgen Feralan ◽  
Serkan İbiş ◽  
Bülent Okan Micoogullari
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Full Text ◽  
English Summary ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Psychological Performance ◽  
Self Talk ◽  
Volleyball Players ◽  
Study Performance ◽  
Performance Strategies

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the performance strategies of volleyball players and also comparison of usage levels of strategies in training and competitions. Method: Total 134 voluntary amateur volleyball players between the ages of 15-24 participated in the study. Performance strategies of volleyball players were determined with Test of Performance Strategies that designed by Thomas et al., (1999). To examine the performance strategies of volleyball players and also comparison of usage levels of strategies in training and competitions Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programme was employed. To define possible differences between variables Independent samples t test was used.     Findings: Practice scale’s highly used strategy was self-talk and the lowest usage percentage was attention control. Meanwhile, competition scale results indicated that the highest used strategy was activation and lowest used strategy was relaxation. While comparison of differences between practice and competition scales strategies, it was found that except of goal setting and imagery all other strategies showed significant differences. Conclusions: Psychological performance strategies’ averages of volleyball players were ensured and it is exhibited that to which strategies should be thought and focused. ​Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file.​​ Özet Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, voleybolcuların kullandıkları psikolojik performans stratejilerinin incelenmesi ve antrenmanlarda ve müsabakalarda kullanılan stratejilerin kullanım düzeylerinin karşılaştırılmasıdır. Metod: Çalışmaya 15-24 yaş arasında 134 gönüllü voleybolcu katılmıştır. Sporcuların kullandıkları psikolojik performans stratejilerini ve bu stratejilerin düzeylerini belirlemek üzere Thomas ve ark. (1999) tasarladığı Psikolojik Performans Stratejileri testi kullanılmıştır. İstatistiki analizlerin yapılması amacıyla Sosyal Bilimler için İstatistik programı kullanılmıştır. Olası farklılıkların tespiti için Bağımsız Örneklem t testi kullanılmıştır.     Bulgular: Antrenman alt ölçeğinde kullanılan stratejiler arasında en yüksek ortalama kendinle konuşma becerisi; en az kullanılan ise dikkat kontrolü saptanmıştır.  Müsabaka alt ölçeğinde ise en fazla kullanılan strateji olarak da aktivasyon becerisi; en düşük düzeyde kullanılan beceri stratejisi de rahatlama olarak bulunmuştur. Kullanılan becerilerin karşılaştırılması sonucunda hedef belirleme ve imgeleme becerileri dışındaki tüm becerilerde anlamlı farklılık bulunmuştur. Sonuç: Voleybolcuların psikolojik becerileri kullanım düzeyleri ve ne tür becerilerin daha fazla oranda çalıştırılması gerektiği ortaya koyulmuştur.

scholarly journals Competitive Performance Effects of Psychological Skill Training for Youth Swimmers

2019 ◽  
Vol 126 (5) ◽  
pp. 886-903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Meggs ◽  
Mark A. Chen
Keyword(s):  
Goal Setting ◽  
Swimming Performance ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Psychological Skills ◽  
Competitive Performance ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Self Talk ◽  
Positive Effect

This study assessed the effect of two different psychological methods of skills training—self-talk and goal setting—on the swimming performance of youth swimmers. We allocated a convenience sample of club and county level youth swimmers ( N = 49; Mage = 10.8, SD = 1.25) to one of the three groups: self-talk, goal setting, or a control group engaged in no systematic psychological method of skills training. The groups were balanced in terms of competitive performance ability, age, and gender. Participants in the experimental conditions (self-talk and goal setting) completed a 5-week psychological skills intervention program and were measured on pre- and post-200-m swimming time in competition. After controlling for level of engagement in the program, analysis of covariance revealed a significant omnibus effect ( p = .006, [Formula: see text] = .20) with post hoc pairwise comparisons using magnitude-based statistics demonstrating that goal setting had a small positive effect compared with self-talk ( η2 = .40; ± 0.45). Both self-talk ( η2 = .50; ±0.48) and goal setting ( η2 = .71; ±0.4) showed a small and moderate positive effect, respectively, relative to the control group. A social validation check confirmed that the swimmers found the intervention to be relevant, beneficial, and meaningful for improving performance. Psychological skills training may be effective in improving youth swimming performance; specific mechanisms underlying these benefits need further exploration.

Mental Preparation for the Performer

2014 ◽  
pp. 666-688
Author(s):  
Alma Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Performing Arts ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Mental Skills ◽  
Mental Preparation ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Regular Practice

Mental skills are integral to success in practice and performance. Prominent educators in sport and in the performing arts have advocated their use for years. This chapter provides voice educators and singers with illustrative mental skills that are based on recent research, supplies further background on mental training, and provides examples of key concepts. Teachers, coaches and singers are encouraged to apply the exercises presented and, if necessary, adapt them through experimentation to meet individual needs. Mental skills require regular practice and commitment, and should be an integral part of all teaching and learning. The literature in sport, and more recently in music education and performance, is full of the benefits of using mental skills, and full of ways in which mental skills guide and enhance performances at all levels. The key mental skills covered in this chapter are commitment and motivation, goal-setting, managing anxiety, relaxation, imagery, and developing self-confidence.

A Visual Comparison of Psychological Profiles between Able-Bodied and Wheelchair Athletes

1984 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Henschen ◽  
Michael Horvat ◽  
Ron French
Keyword(s):  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Human Body ◽  
The State ◽  
Mood States ◽  
Track And Field ◽  
Mental Skills ◽  
Profile Of Mood States ◽  
Psychological Profile ◽  
State Trait Anxiety Inventory ◽  
Wheelchair Athletes

The purpose of this study was to visually compare the psychological profile of 33 male wheelchair athletes who competed in track and field events, with previous results of able-bodied athletes. Based on the data gathered using the Profile of Mood States and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory the wheelchair athletes demonstrated a profile similar to that of able-bodied athletes. This finding was discussed in terms of mental skills that may be developed by wheelchair athletes because of their injuries, possible influence of medication, and higher level of demonstrated anger.Considering that the human body is made for movement, it is a universally accepted fact that sports are one of the activities that are extremely healthy for man. Unlike the machines invented by man, the human machine deteriorates with inactivity. (Monnazzi, 1982, p. 85)

The Goal Effectiveness Paradox in Sport: Examining the Goal Practices of Collegiate Athletes

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 404-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damon Burton ◽  
David Yukelson ◽  
Robert Weinberg ◽  
Daniel Weigand
Keyword(s):  
Discriminant Analysis ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Implementation Strategy ◽  
College Athletes ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Collegiate Athletes ◽  
Female College ◽  
Highly Effective ◽  
Goal Implementation

The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify how frequently and effectively collegiate athletes set goals and goal strategies and assess differences in goal practices across effectiveness groups. Participants were 321 male and 249 female college athletes participating in 18 sports at four universities, who completed the Collegiate Goal Setting in Sport Questionnaire. Descriptive results indicated that most athletes set goals but rated them as only moderately effective. MANOVA findings revealed that highly effective goal setters used all types of goals and implementation strategies more frequently and effectively than their less-effective counterparts. Discriminant analysis results revealed that the frequency of product-related goals and goal implementation strategy usage and the effectiveness of process-related goals best discriminated between effectiveness groups. Discussion focuses on the need to educate practitioners about the value of goals and how to use them most effectively.

The Creation of a Mental Skills Training Program in Elite Youth Tennis: A Coach-Driven Approach to Developing Resilient, Confident Competitors

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-81
Author(s):  
E. Earlynn Lauer ◽  
Mark Lerman ◽  
Rebecca A. Zakrajsek ◽  
Larry Lauer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Training Program ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Youth Sport ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Mental Skills ◽  
Strength And Conditioning ◽  
Mental Skills Training ◽  
Self Talk ◽  
Strength And Conditioning Coach

In this paper, we describe the development and content of a mental skills training (MST) program and how a strength and conditioning coach/certified mental coach delivered this program within a United States Tennis Association (USTA) Player Development (PD) program. The purpose of the MST program was to create resilient, confident youth tennis competitors. Specific mental strategies (i.e., journaling, routines, breathing, imagery, self-talk) were identified to best meet the objectives of the MST program and were delivered using a three-pronged approach: (a) classroom lessons, (b) strength and conditioning sessions and on-court lessons, and (c) homework assignments. Specific ways that the USTA PD coaches reinforced the use of these strategies during tennis practice are described. Recommendations for coaches to integrate an MST program in high-performance youth sport environments are also provided.

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