Sports Psychology Evaluation
Introduction
The mind-body connection is a very powerful one. For everything you think in your mind, your body has a reaction, regardless of whether it is real or imagined. For example, if a person is home alone and they hear a noise and interpret it as the wind, they are fine; but if they interpret it as a prowler, their fight or flight response takes over and they become fearful, their heart begins going a mile a minute, their eyes dilate and they are scared. This is psychological and has proved to be apparent in many aspects of live, sport especially.
' The psychology of sport is perhaps the real discipline that can make the difference between participation and being competitive'
(Syer & Connolly, 1984, p.6).
Psychology has become a major element in sport in recent years, in particular for elite athletes. For example, one third of golfers on major tours work with a sports psychologist or consultant. (Brennan, 1990, p.252). The main aspect of sport psychology is the understanding of individual differences within and between sports.
The understanding of sports psychology is important for the coach and the athlete equally. The coach needs to focus on psychological factors, especially 'the four C's' which are control, confidence, commitment and communication.
' ...coaches can adapt normal training practices to incorporate a number of simple mental skills'
(National Coaching Foundation 1996 pg. 3)
The National Coaching foundation gives examples for the mental skills as;
* Commitment- Shared goal setting
* Concentration- Distraction training
* Confidence- Goal-setting
* Control- Cognitive restructuring
Each of these mental skills effect each other and are all interrelated. For example reduced level of concentration could lead to poor levels of confidence.
Method
Subject characteristics: The subject who was used for the experiment was a female twenty-year-old student at Marjons University. Her main sport is netball and she is at a competitive standard, playing in a netball team in a high division.
Protocol: Many tests were completed over a four-week period to determine the subject's self-confidence, concentration and attention, motivational, and emotional levels. An interview-style questionnaire on each psychological factor was also completed each week. The tests were as follows:
Introduction
The mind-body connection is a very powerful one. For everything you think in your mind, your body has a reaction, regardless of whether it is real or imagined. For example, if a person is home alone and they hear a noise and interpret it as the wind, they are fine; but if they interpret it as a prowler, their fight or flight response takes over and they become fearful, their heart begins going a mile a minute, their eyes dilate and they are scared. This is psychological and has proved to be apparent in many aspects of live, sport especially.
' The psychology of sport is perhaps the real discipline that can make the difference between participation and being competitive'
(Syer & Connolly, 1984, p.6).
Psychology has become a major element in sport in recent years, in particular for elite athletes. For example, one third of golfers on major tours work with a sports psychologist or consultant. (Brennan, 1990, p.252). The main aspect of sport psychology is the understanding of individual differences within and between sports.
The understanding of sports psychology is important for the coach and the athlete equally. The coach needs to focus on psychological factors, especially 'the four C's' which are control, confidence, commitment and communication.
' ...coaches can adapt normal training practices to incorporate a number of simple mental skills'
(National Coaching Foundation 1996 pg. 3)
The National Coaching foundation gives examples for the mental skills as;
* Commitment- Shared goal setting
* Concentration- Distraction training
* Confidence- Goal-setting
* Control- Cognitive restructuring
Each of these mental skills effect each other and are all interrelated. For example reduced level of concentration could lead to poor levels of confidence.
Method
Subject characteristics: The subject who was used for the experiment was a female twenty-year-old student at Marjons University. Her main sport is netball and she is at a competitive standard, playing in a netball team in a high division.
Protocol: Many tests were completed over a four-week period to determine the subject's self-confidence, concentration and attention, motivational, and emotional levels. An interview-style questionnaire on each psychological factor was also completed each week. The tests were as follows:
