Psychology within the Coaching Process II
CSC206 Week Four
Learning Outcomes
Recognise mental skills Outline the use of mental training tools Understand performance profiling and the rationale for undertaking them
Mental Skills
How much of competitive sport do you think is physical, and how much is mental? __% physical __% mental
Why?
In pairs, justify your view to each other and agree on a compromise figure In fours, justify your joint view to the other pairs and agree on a collective figure In eights, justify your collective view to the other four and agree on a final figure
Player types
Do you know practice players? Excellent in practice but cannot cope in competition
Do you know hustle players? Winners despite a relative lack of talent
Mental Skills
What mental skills do successful athlete possess that less successful athletes dont? Come up with a list of five mental skills Select the three you believe to be most important Pair up Agree on a top three between you Add any to your list that you did not have Tick those that you agree on Move on to four other people and repeat the process Which mental skills have the most ticks?
Mental Skills
Examples Perform under pressure Psych themselves up to optimum arousal Remain in control Focus on important aspects Motivation Self-belief
Mental Skills
Motivation High vs. low motivation Energy Management Physiological arousal Attentional Skills Concentration
Stress Management Mental Toughness Self-confidence Belief
Mental Skills Training
Can these skills be trained? What can MST bring to an athlete?
Improved performance Enhanced enjoyment Personal development
What do you think?
Mental Skills Training
Takes up a lot of valuable time? They are innate? Only relevant to weak people/athletes with psychological problems? More for elite athletes?
Developing MST
Phased approach to delivery Education Phase Assessment Formulation Socialisation Acquisition Phase Learn basics of the skills Implementation Phase Practice in training Learn comprehensively Apply to competition Evaluation Re-assessment
Mental Training Tools
Goal Setting Imagery Relaxation and Activation Self-Talk Stress Management Problem Management
Mental training tools can develop mental skills
Mental training tools Mental skills
Goal setting Imagery Relaxation and energization Self-talk
Motivation Energy management Attention Stress management Self -confidence
Assessment Phase
What assessment tools to we have available? Performance profiling Quantify and represent opinions of players and coaches Perceived strengths and weaknesses Questionnaires Standardised measures of specific aspects of psychological state
Performance Qualities Broad Headings
Physical Strength Endurance Flexibility Agility Speed Balance Tactical Decision Making Memory Psychological Concentration Control Motivation Confidence Mentally Tough Technical Sport Specific Skills
When Would You Profile?
Off-season? Beginning of season? Peak performance? Any time it is required?
Swimmer Profile
Physical Tactical
Strength
Power
Race position
Opponent awareness
Flexibility
Coordination
Technical
Stroke technique
Speed
Stroke rhythm
Breathing
Psychological
Confidence
Relaxed
Pace
Sharp
Cope with Pressure Goal Setting
Practice
In pairs, complete a performance profile on each other Behave as a coach! Preferably from a different sport Put their words into the slots Agree on the entries under the four headings Get them to rate themselves in comparison to a specific role model Assume that the role model is a 10 in all categories How does your player match up? Shade in the areas to produce a pattern
Questionnaires
Competitive State Anxiety Inventory 2 (CSAI-2) Provides a measure of Existing states of cognitive anxiety Somatic anxiety Self-confidence
Complete a copy and score it up
CSAI-2 Norms: College Sample
College CSAI -cog CSAI - som CSAI - sc
Male
17.68
17.68
25.37
Female
18.40
16.85
24.67
Questionnaires
Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS) Direct test of utilised mental tools Contrasts practice with competition Can inform intervention choice Complete a copy and score it up
Progressing Assessment
Education Phase Assessment Formulation Socialisation
Formulation
Collate information form assessment Analyse the findings Identify potential target areas Strengths and weaknesses Assessment profile Player and coach opinion
Socialisation
Share the formulation with
Player? Coach? Team? Parents? Check understanding Check commitment Formulation must have face validity Or what?
Next Week
Acquisition Phase
Goal Setting Imagery
References
Butler, R. (2005). Performance Profiling. Leeds: Coachwise, Sports Coach UK Burton, D. And Raedeke, T., D. (2008). Sport Psychology for Coaches. USA: Human Kinetics.
Martens, R. (1987). Coaches Guide to Sport Psychology. Champaign IL: Human Kinetics. Martens, R., Vealey, S.V, and Burton, D. (1990). Competitive Anxiety in Sport. Champaign IL: Human Kinetics.
