Mental Skills Are A Huge Struggle For So Many Athletes Essay

According to the Gotham Girls FC article, The Mental Game, “Confidence, concentration, motivation, discipline, and patience are examples of the important mental skills of soccer”(Ali). When a player is taught to concentrate on protecting the ball, shown discipline for wrong doings, and waiting for their turn to defend the ball , it creates an important mental skill in which they can become more focused. In the article, Sam Snow on the Benefits of Playing Soccer, the author states that, “They have the opportunity to develop an open mindset. They learn conflict resolution skills. They learn how to both cooperate and compete with others” (“Sam Snow on the Benefits of Playing Soccer”). A player should be taught to communicate and compete with others in the proper way to develop the basic mental skills for better social skills. When a player is on a soccer team, “They learn punctuality and responsibility. They learn how to contribute to a group. They learn communication skills and how to lead” (“Sam Snow on the Benefits of Playing Soccer”). When each soccer player is assigned a uniform and a soccer ball to take care of, they are taught how to be responsible of their own items. These are the important drills players need to know to develop the mental skills they need the right

Before exploring the health of an athlete its important to understand what mental health is. Mental health is characterised by emotional wellbeing and resilience to stress (ClearingHouseForSport Australian Government Ralph Richards 9th June 2016). Mentally healthy individuals are able to cope with daily stresses and fully participate in family, work and in this case sport activities. A mental disorder is a diagnosable illness that affects a persons thinking, emotional state and behaviour and disrupts his/her ability to carry out normal daily activities and maintain personal relationships. Exercise has many benefits, not only for physical health but also your mental health as well. In the brain, exercise stimulates chemicals that improve an

Summary of an Article: A Qualitative Analysis of the Types of Goals Athletes Set in Training and Competition

The purpose of this case study was to find the central issue, constraints, critical factors, and Theoretical Framework that will later help a client in building an intervention plan for this client whom is having issues with their overall performance on the basketball court. One issue was trying to balance college, family, and working. Providing for his kids even though he is away from home. Another issue would be finding a place and adjusting to the areas overseas. In many cases there are many steps we can take in trying to help the client perform better. The steps in becoming a better athlete could possibly help in this case of Lack of Positive Thinking and the Presence of Negative Thinking. The five phases of assessment, which are screening, outlining the issue, identifying objective behaviors, checking progress, and following up with the client, all provide essential elements that allow for the development of a comprehensive and effective intervention plan (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007).

For High Performance athletes, there can be a lot riding on their results and performance in competition. If athletes develop an over-reliance on sporting success as a source of self-worth and identity, it can lead to serious emotional issues if things do not go as desired. Athletes often identify their self-worth with their ability to perform, and performance failure has been significantly associated with depression (Taylor, 2015 pg.11; Troijan, 2016, pg. 137) Athletes face many struggles and when something goes wrong it can leave them not knowing where to turn for help. They can be left with they feelings that they are nothing, undeserving, and alone. This may also exacerbate their feelings of seclusion, depression, or grief. Most athletes

It has been identified that through sports psychology one can improve their physical ability and performance. Sports psychology is the study of how the mind, mental states and behaviour effect sporting performance. There are several sport psychology techniques, which have helped me become a better volleyball player. These techniques include planning for performance, controlling arousal levels, mental rehearsal and concentration.

The utilization of the mental skills to increase or enhance performance and optimal functioning has been a major focus of sport psychology since the fields early days, the importance of having pinnacle mental and emotional skills is seen in the highly valued Olympic gold medalists. Mental toughness which is having control, focus, resiliency, and the ability to cope with pressure, all empowers an athlete to tackle the best possible attitude to compete at a high caliber. Many athletes use numerous mental techniques to give them the best edge at having the most ideal game or season. These techniques are the basis of psychological skills training. Psychological skills training (PST) by definition refers to systematic and consistent practice of mental or psychological skills for the purpose of enhancing

Sport psychological principles can be applied to young children by firstly making them understand the kind of behaviour which is acceptable with the specific sport so to allow them to cope well with the sport. As well as training the children in a way that they can make clear of what will be happening in the environment there in and to be able to control it. In addition, this can be done whilst following a planned routine which will enable them to easily handle any situation.

As a coach I think it is very important for my athletes to reflect on their performance after each training session and competition so they can work out what they individually need to work on and what we need to work on as a team. One way that I will allow reflection to occur in my team is through the use of reflective journals. I would ask that the athletes record the feelings and emotions as well as records of team and individual success and failures and also what they would suggest needs improvement. I think that the athletes should use these journals to set themselves goals for the tournament. The reflective journals can be reviewed as a whole team or in a one-on-one situation between the players and myself as the coach.

There are a couple different things that I would do. First, after meeting them I would want to observe a week or two of practice and a competition. It would be important to see how the athlete arrives to practice on a daily basis. What type of attitude does he have? What about body language when practice is starting? How is his attitude while being coached or asked to repeat a certain drill? All these situations will give me an up-close view of how to attack their weaknesses when it comes addressing mental toughness.

In earlier days sports psychology was mostly concerned with developing assessment methods that would identify those people with the potential to become serious superior athletes. Today the focus is on psychological training, exercises that strengthen the mental skills that will help athletic performances on the path to excellence. These skills include mental imagery and focus training. If an athlete is serious about becoming the best he or she can possibly be, the most essential ingredient is commitment to practice the right things. It takes incredible commitment to reach the top: a commitment to rest and train the body so it can perform under the most demanding conditions and a commitment to train the mind to

As hard as world is, I think most people can accept a reason or two, especially when it’s out of anyone’s control. But excuses have to go right out the door.

I would ensure that their goals were specific to learning, practice, and performance; measurable in regards to performance milestones toward improvement through greater effort; action oriented (Woolsey, 2010) and attainable now or in the long term future toward an outcome or dream; realistic (challenging yet reasonably achieved through practice and effort yet not impossible (Schmidt & Lee, 2014)), relevant with retention measured through a transfer or retention test (Schmidt & Lee, 2014); and time bound with specific completion times and dates in the near future (Gould, 2015). If not, I would start working with the athlete on basic goal setting

In order for any of the treatments or techniques to work it is crucial to cooperate with the coach, the parents, and the athletes simultaneously. Individual’s family and coaching stuff present a family and team that needs to work together in order to succeed. Everyone in the team needs to be in the loop, without secrets or hidden agendas. Obviously, the biggest key in order for any of the strategies or treatments to work is the individual’s will to cooperate and correct certain things. In today’s advanced sport and mental strategies field it is very important to choose the right treatment for an individual. What works for one may not be the best mental training strategy or the most appropriate for another athlete. As Dr. Loehr would say: ‘’in

Youth sports are an incredibly healthy way for kids to grow and release energy. Children in preschool can begin to take part in sports like dance and soccer, and as they grow older, the lists of sports gets longer. However, there are negatives of sports that are often not talked about by parents, coaches, schools, or the media. As a result, stigmatization occurs, leaving children struggling with sports to suffer alone. With youth sports, elevated levels of stress occur, and as a consequence, mental health can decline. Youth sports can have an adverse psychological effect on young athletes and it is an effect that can be damaging for children for their entire lives.