athletes need to think and plan

goals need to energize athletes to become more productive and effective

goals can represent internal or external motivation 

Outcome goals

Performance goals

Process goals 

interpersonal comparison

(winning a basketball game) 

-directs attention

-effort mobilization

-persistance

-promotes the development of new learning strategies 

1. specific, measurable, and observable

2. time constraints

3. moderate difficult goals

4. write them down and monitor them

5. use a mix of process, performance and outcome goals

6. use short term goals to acheive long term goals

7. have team and indiviidual goals

8.  make sure goals are internalized by the athlete

9. consider personality and individual differences

1. failure to set specific goals

2. setting too many goals

3. failure to adjust goals and monitor performance

4. poorly written goals

5. failure to devise and follow a goal attainment plan

6. failure to celebrate goal acheivement 

through positive reinforcement when athletes

-work hard

-demonstrate improvement

-help others learn through cooperation

-believe that each player's comtribution is important 

-poor performance and mistakes will be punished

-high-ability athletes will recieve the most attention and recognition

-competition between team members is encouraged 

-success is a function of effort and mastery

-personal improvement dut to their hard work

-developing skill, exterting effort and self improvment 

-success is a function of how well a person performs relative to other people

-ability is independant of effort

-enhance social status 

What combination of goal orientation and motivational climate will yield the highest levels of performance, personal satisfaction and enjoyment?

focus on the relevant cues

maintain this focus over time

have awareness of the situation and maintain it

shift attentional focus when necessary 

select what cues to attend to and what cues to disreagrd

irrelevant cues are either eliminated or disregarded 

-the ability to maintain this focus for more than an instant,

many athletes have instants of greatness yet few can sustain a high level of play for an entire competition

maintaining focus over long periods of time is no easy task 

1. broad

2. narrow

3. external

4. internal 

spectators

other players

trash talk

own thoughts

everything going against you

inexperience

too much to take in 

thoguhts, feelings, worries, concerns,

attending to past events, attending to future events, chocking under pressure, overanalyzing body mechanics, fatigue, inadequate motivation 

stimuli from the environment that divert people's attention from the cues relevent to their performance

such as visual distracters (spectators) auditory distracters, gamesmanship (physical , verbal intimidation, stalling, use of insults) 

-mirroring potential conditions of the competition in practice (simulation training)

-using cue words (automatically triggering the desired response, motivational or instrumental orientated statements that help focus a person on the task at hand)

-use non-judgemental thinking ( don't ignore errors and mistakes but rather see your performance as it is)

-establish routines (this allows performance to stay automatic without the interference of conscious awareness and helps structure the time before performance and between performances)

-develop competition plans

-helps athletes prepare for what they would do in different circumstances

-practive eye control (to ensure eyes do not wander to irrelevant cues)

-monitor yourself (systematic self-monitoring can enhance concentration and improve performance) 

1. progressive relaxation

2. breath control

3. biofeedback training

4. autogenic training 

involves tensing and relaxing specific muscles in a predetermined order

it is not possible to be tense and relaxed at the same time

decreased muscle tension will in turn decrease mental tension 

chest/thoracic is shallow, irregular and rapid

abdominal/ diaphragmatic is deep regular and slow 

exercises designed to produce sensations of warmth and heaviness

it involved the use of imagery and self-statements

WARM COOKED NOODLE! 

focusing attention on a single thought, sound, object and repeating it over and over

-a passive quiet mind

-using coping skills like imagery, positive self statements

-practicing in low stress situations, gradually progressing to moderate and high stress situations 

overt or covert personal dialogue in which the athlete interprets feelings, perceptions and convictions and gives him/herself instructions and reinforcements

1. overcome anxiety

2. increase self confidence

3. improve technique 

task related statements relating to technique

encouragement and effort

mood words 

brief and phonetically simple

logically associated with the skill involved

compatible with the sequential timing of the task being performed 

to build and develop efficacy

skill acquisition

to create and change moods

to control effort

to focus attention 

kinaesthetic

auditory

olfactory

visual

1. psychoneuromuscular theory

2. symbolic learning theory

3. attention and arousal set theory 

imagery results in subliminal neuromuscular patterns that are identical to the patterns used during actual movement

it is a physiological approach 

action is planned before a physical response is required - a mental blueprint

it is a cognitive approach 

imagery helps adjust one's arousal level and selectively attends to the task at hand

it combines the physiological and cognitive appraoches 

to improve concentration

to build confidence

to control emotional responses

to acquire and practice strategies

to acquire and practice sports skills

to cope with pain and injury

to solve problems 

before, during, and after practice and competition

outside of practice

during injury rehabilitation

off and on season 

surroundings in which the athlete competes

positive or negative nature of images

scences involved in imagery

persepctive (internal vs external) 

vividness - recreating or creating as closely as possible the actual experience in your minf

controllability - being able to manipulating your images so they do what you want them to 

nature of the tast

skill of the performer (novice vs elite)

imaging ability

using imagery along with physical practice 

What are 9 things to remember when developing an imagery training program

1. tailor the program to the individuals needs, abilities and motivation

2. proper setting

3. relaxed concentration

 4. realistic expectations and sufficient motivation

5. vivid and controllable images

6. positive focus

7. videotapes and audiotapes

8. image execution and outcome

9. image in real time 

1. the athletic career end as a singular event

2. the termination of the athletic career as a transition rather than as a singular event

3. life-span persepctive or a 'beginning to end' spanning the athletic and post athletic career 

the termination of involvement in sport was explained in terms of a singular all ending event

the study of the process of dying and death

ie social death

ie stages of death (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) 

an event which results in a change in assumptions about oneself and the world and thus requires a corresponding change in one's behaviour and relationships

pre and post career ending phases 

1. Characteristics of the individual  (gender, age, previous experience with transitions)

2. perception of the particular transition

3. characteriestics of the pre and post transition environment (eg internal support) 

1. athletic level (initiation, development, mastery, discontinuation)

2. psychological level (child, teenager, adult)

3. Psycho-social level (peer, coaches, parents)

4. academic/vocational level (primary education, higher education)

financial or occupation adjustment (31%)

emotional adjustment (26%)

social adjustment (23%) 

denial

anxiety

depression

loss of athletic identity

self esteem problems

financial and social status changes

 loss of social conectedness 

1. cognitive restructurin

2. stress managment

3. emotional expression

4. account making (taking responsibility for whats going on in their lives) 

changes in self identity

changes in emotional and social support

developing a sense of control 

amotivation

external motivation

internal motivation

not valuing an activity

not feeling competent to do it

not believing it will yield a positive outcome 

knowledge

accomplishment

stimulation 

need for competency

need for autonomy

need for relatedness 

1. global motivation

2. contextual motivation

3. situational motivation 

provides for sucessful experiences

gives rewards contigent on performance

involves athletes in decision making 

they lack confidence

the lack motivation

they burnout

they over train

to improve their performance

to over come pressures of competition

to enhance the experience of  youth sport participation

to provide psychological assistance with injury rehab 

clinical

education

reserach 

athletes with severe emotional disorders

(eating disorders, substance abuse, personality disorders, severe depression and psychopathy) 

they are mental coaches who educate athletes about psychological skills

they deal with goal setting, imagery, arousal regulation, concentration, and mental preparation 

psycho-physiological

social psychological

cognitive behavioural 

emphasizes the athlete's cognitions or thoughts and behaviours

behaviour modification

cognitive thinking and therapy

rational emotive theory

systematic desensitization 

arousal recognition

imagery (mental prep)

confidnece building

increasing motivation and commitment (goal setting)

attention or concentration skills (self talk, mental plans) 

1. Education Phase

2. Acquisition Phase

3. Practice Phase 

focus on strategies and techniques for learning the various psychological skills

both informal and formal meetings 

1. autonomate skills through over learning

2. systematically integrate psychological skills into their performance situations 

What are skills?

What are methods? 

skills are qualities to be obtained

methods are techniques used to develop these skills 

goal setting

imagery

progressive relaxation

thought control

 emotional control

volition

self awareness

self confidence 

optimal performance state

flow

resonance

focused attention 

interpersonal skills

lifestyle management

1. problem identification

2. commitment

3. execution - self evaulate and sustain efforts when set backs occur

4. environmental management

5. generalization - sustaining efforts over time and extending behaviours to new conditions and settings 

during the off season or pre season

the first or last 10-15 minutes of practice is often a good time for training

10-15 minutes training sessions 3-5 days a week

it is an ongoing process 

discuss your approach

assess athletes mental skills

determine which psychological skills to include

design a schedule

evaluated the program 

lack of conviction

lack of time

lack of sport knowledge

lack of follow up