Psychological Skills Training Program

PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM 2

PsychologicalSkills Training Program

Theimportance of psychological skills training program (PST program) isto enhance mental ability of a sport man or woman during performance.The psychological skills assist the athlete to have the right mindsetto complete the set goals and attain success. The PST programs assistthe athletes to have the best time of year in sport. PST programseffeteness is not only enhanced through athlete-specific but alsothrough sport-specific (Bacon, 1989). This paper gives description ofPST program for a collegiate athlete (Julia Lester) SEC soccer,giving discussion of several strategies such as emotional control,self-talk, relaxation and refocusing among others.

Socceris a game that requires fast thinking, action and fast recoveryduring play. There are numerous factors that make the game difficultand stressful and therefore unless a player knows how to enhance hisskills, he/she may not be able to give his best. The PST program willtake educational form.

PsychologicalSkills Training Program

Target

JuliaLuster needs to improve his psychology skills on emotional control,self-talk, arousal level, relaxation, anxiety level, and refocusingamong others skills in six weeks of PST program. I carried out fourdifferent methods to find out that his emotion level and arousallevel are low and need to be given special attention within the sixweek. The low arousal level is advocated by poor anxiety score whilelow motivation is as a result of low level of enthusiasm.

Goalsetting

Goalsetting is the skill to employ since it gives the general settingout. It will enable Julia to fully understand how goals are appliedfor both short and long term goals. In this program I will progressgoals therefore I will be fully involved. The goals agreed upon mustbe perfected by Julia.(BROOKFIELD, 2009)&nbsp

Relaxationsession

Thisshould be practiced throughout the program. It is done in 3 stages.

1. Progressive Muscular Control (PMR): Julia will practice centering technique in order to control breathing. PMR is applied in training session to become habitual to her hence becoming naturally part of her skills in real games.

2. Julia will monitor her tension level before and after relaxation through response to verbal descriptors. She then scale her feelings from very tense (zero) very relaxed(ten) to allow her gauge her own tension and be able to apply PMR when necessary to control anxiety.

Imagery

Imagerywill enable Julia to include imagination (internal) and videodemonstration (external) performances. Imagery session focuses onlyon optimal performance and Julia will use imagery both in slow motionand in reality to perfect performance(BROOKFIELD, 2009)&nbsp.

Self-efficiency/self Confidence

Accordingto BROOKFIELD,(2009)&nbspself-efficiencyis closely linked to performance of an individual in sport. Toachieve it the Julia must believe that she is good and able toimprove on a daily basis this will raise her confidence making herto perform much better.

Self-efficiencymany a times fluctuate between apparatus during training as well asin competition. Reduction in self-efficiency changes performancevariables such as stress, anxiety and arousal.

Arousal

Arousalis the unitary concept that holds either the physiological andpsychological active systems or it is the stimulating functions incharge of connecting the body’s resources for extreme and forcefulactivities (BROOKFIELD,2009)&nbsp.It is measured using self-report by answering questionnaires or byphysiological test, blood pressure, heart rates among others. Arousalshould be controlled to normal for better performance.

Anxiety

Thisis the feeling of tension and nervousness and is mostly associatedwith the level at which one is aroused. It is divided into cognitiveand somatic(Bacon, 1989). Cognitiveanxieties lead to /are negative thoughts about performance leading topoor concentration as well as making one to pay no attention toinstructions. Effects of anxiety depend on individuals and eitheraffects their performance negatively or positively as per athleteperception. Control of anxiety to a good level before the competitionis vital for better performance and it perfectly done by lightjogging and stretching to lower tension.

Conclusion

Accordingto research, physical and mental practice enhances performance. Thedeveloped PST program will enhance Julia performance when followedand practiced religiously(Bacon, 1989). Self-efficiency/confidenceis the main focus to be improved by this program. Goal setting givenwill allow Julia maximize her performance and become much better.

References

Bacon,T. (1989). The Planning and Integration of Mental Training Programs.Sports,10(1).

BROOKFIELD,D. (2009)&nbspPsychologicalSkills Training&nbsp[WWW]Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article001.htm[Accessed&nbsp9/1/2017]