Basics of Psychological SKills Training to Enhance Performance

By Dirk Smith, MSc, SDL (He/Him). 

Over the last few years, there has been an increasing emphasis on the psychological and mental well-being of athletes and how it impacts sports performance. The topic of sports psychology is becoming increasing relevant as we are learning that performance outcomes are rooted in the mental capabilities of the athlete as much if not more than the physical. Many studies have shown a relationship with mental health and sports performance, making the field of sports psychology and the tools to coach athletes through Psychological Skills Training ever more relevant.
 
Have you ever felt the butterflies in your stomach before stepping up to give a speech in front of a crowd? Nervous before a big game? Worried about embarrassing yourself on a date? Perhaps, feeling like your heart is about to beat out of your chest when all the pressure is on you to perform, unable to cope with the anxiety and stress. These are things we’ve all experienced and serve as the basis for Psychological Skills Training.

So, what is Psychological Skills training exactly? Psychological Skills Training (PST) is a comprehensive term for a series of tools and exercises that athletes and performers can use to regulate their emotions, cope with anxiety and focus arousal to drive performance in a proactive manner. Simply put, it is “the deliberate, systematic practice of strategies and methods designed to enhance an athlete’s performance, by improve their psychological skills.”
 
Most athletes, one time or another have used a tool of PST in their own competitive and training environments, even if they didn’t fully realize that is was PST. The basic components that constitute PST include Goal Setting, Mental Imagery, Self-Talk, and Relaxation. However, just like any sport specific skill and task, it takes time to learn and develop your psychological skills through deliberate practice and guidance. As your mental strength and skills grow, it will help you improve your performance and can help you succeed in your sport. (1, 2, 3)

There are a few myths about Psychological Skills Training that are important to clear up…
 

• That it is for "problem" athletes only—PST focuses on developing psychological skills of "normal" athletes;
• That it is for elite athletes only—Young and developing athletes (Hellestedt, 1987) and special populations will benefit from PST (Asken, 1991, as cited in Weinberg & Gould, 1999; Clark & Sachs, 1991, as cited in Weinberg & Gould, 1999);
• That it provides "quick-fix" solutions; and
• That it is not useful (Weinberg & Gould, 1999).

Psychological Skills are rooted in three subsections, Foundational Skills, Performance Skills, and Facilitative Skills. Each of these skill sets takes time and practice to develop in order to be an effective tool for an athlete. Just like any seasonal training program, these can also be adapted to a periodized schedule to enhance the effectiveness of the training.

• Foundational Skills- Establishing a foundation is the basis of any and every kind of training. These skills focus on enhancing commitment and motivation while working to improve self-confidence and self-esteem all of which contribute to the overall wellness of the athlete create a platform that will help drive performance.
• Performance Skills- Are the psychological skills that an athlete will use during training and competition. These skills are about focusing attention, maintain concentration, coping with pressure, and focus of arousal.
• Facilitative Skills-In order to enhance the performance skills, facilitative skills are necessary to create the appropriate conditions for an athlete to overcome barriers and adapt to new circumstances. These skills include building communication, training motivation, team work as well as psychological rehabilitation from injury, lifestyle/ time management, avoiding burnout and eventually retirement from sports.

Psychological Skills Training
The four basic PST methods that Vealy (1988) identified as being the most prominent include Goal Setting, Self-Talk, Mental Imagery, and Mental Rehearsal. Each one of these skills include various techniques and exercises that are designed to build upon the Foundation, Performance and Facilitative skills that enable an athlete to be successful in their pursuits within and outside of sports. These include building self-confidence, self-esteem, commitment, motivation, concentration and relaxation.

• Goal Setting- “What an individual is trying to accomplish; it is the object of aim of an action.”- Locke, Shaw, Saari & Latham, 1981, p. 126
  1. Setting short, mid-term, and long-term goals that are fluid and adaptable to the context of your situation are important. Writing down goals is committing to them, but make sure they are adaptable to the situation. If things are not progressing according to plan or another obstacle comes along, then goals can be changed to suit the new context.
  2. Process goals are just as important as outcome goals. Outcome goals focus on what is to be achieved, whereas process goals focus on completing each step toward the outcome goal. Process goals can help improve skill mastery and performance through the development of smaller tasks necessary to achieve the outcome goal.
• Self-Talk- “The act or practice of talking to oneself, either aloud or silently and mentally.”
  1. Self-Talk has various motivational and cognitive functions that are based on the kind of self-talk employed. Studies have shown that positive self-talk can build self-confidence, increase confidence and help control anxiety. (Hardy, et. al., 1997, Hardy, et. al., 2004; Weinberg & Gould, 1999)
  2. Focusing self-talk on goal achievement, and desired thoughts focused on the training or competition task can build focus of attention, concentration and serve as an “internal distractor” from other thoughts that are not relevant to the task at hand.
• Mental Imagery- “Mental imagery involves the athlete imagining themselves in an environment performing a specific activity using all of their senses (sight, hear, feel and smell).”
  1. Imagery can be used to enhance physical and psychological skills. It serves as a way to mentally prepare for a specific situation including a competitive and training environment. This in turn can improve emotion regulation, self-confidence and ability to cope with pressure and adverse circumstances. (Weinberg & Gould, 1999)
  2. Imagery exercises also help to train the neuromuscular system through engagement. According to (Porter, 2003.), "Physical performance improves because your mind can't distinguish between a visualized and actual experience" and has also been found to improve mental rehearsal.
  3. Mental Rehearsal- Similar to mental imagery, mental rehearsal serves as a form of imagery training that simulates an actual event. It is best used in conjunction with the actual event, either before or during. Such as rehearsing a race strategy, a specific exercise or drill technique, or something else relevant to the training and competition. It has also been shown to enhance improvement when physical training isn’t always possible.
• Relaxation- “When the body and mind are free from tension and anxiety”
  1. The ability to relax is one of the most important tools for all athletes to cope with pressure and stress that come with sports. From being able to relieve tension to go to sleep, to using relaxation exercises to help quell nervousness and anxiety during a high-pressure situation. The ability to relax can improve many aspects of a person’s life.
  2. A common form of physical relaxation is called Progressive Muscular Relaxation (PMR) and is an exercise helps to relieve anxiety and tension through the physical contraction and relaxation of all the muscles in the body. The exercise takes 5-15 minutes, lying flat on a bed or the floor; tense each one of your muscle groups at a time for 10-15 seconds and then relax. Start from the feet to the head or the head to the feet.
  3. Other exercises include paced breathing exercises, meditation therapy, and mindfulness exercises. These have shown to reduce anxiety and stress as well as calm arousal and improve quality of sleep. (Haney, 2004)

Psychological Skills Training come from a base knowledge of original research studies on elite athletes and the observation and experience of athletes and coaches. Several studies (Hardy, Hall & Alexander, 2001; Hardy, et. al., 1997; Harwood, Cumming & Fletcher, 2004; Weinberg & Gould, 1999) have shown that commitment, self-confidence, arousal regulation and focus of attention contribute to the success of skilled athletes. In addition, Psychological Skills Training has shown to improve overall performance in Olympic Level athletes through the use of self-talk, positive thinking and imagery.
 
There are meant exercises that can be performed to meet the four basic components of Psychological Skills Training, but it depends on the individual athlete and the demands of their sport. A qualified sports psychologist can work with an athlete on identifying the needs of the athlete to design a PST based program. There is not a “one size fits all” kind of program, so exercises are selected to meet the athlete’s needs and desired outcomes.

A Psychological Skills Training program can be assembled into three parts, Education Phase, Acquisition Phase and Practice Phase.

• Education Phase- Is exactly that. All about teaching and learning what PST is, how it can influence performance and what are the methods and skills to be learned. This method is the most crucial because it will develop the Foundational Skills of PST.
• Acquisition Phase- Acquisition is all about actually learning the methods and developing the different psychological skills. This phase is best done with a sports psychologist or qualified instructor who will coach and guide the athlete through each exercise and learn what to do.
• Practice Phase- Is all about taking what is learned in the acquisition phase and practicing it. This is the phase that lasts the longest because it is also ongoing. Practice makes perfect, so in order to master the Psychological Skills, practicing is important. Practice should last until the following three objectives are achieved. (Weinberg & Gould, 1999)
  1. To automate psychological skills through over learning—i.e. practicing PST methods every day until the skills that the athlete wants become automatic;
  2. To teach the athlete to systematically integrate psychological skills into their competitive situations—i.e. using relaxation before a competition to decrease anxiety;
  3. To simulate the psychological skills that athlete needs in competition—i.e. using self-talk to increase self-confidence.

 
Finally, during a PST program, it is a great idea to keep a log or journal of the Psychological Skills Training on the same notion that one would keep a log for physical training. Evaluation and reevaluation are important to allow the program to adapt as the needs and context change. Just like with goals, the program is fluid and should be adapted to meet the context. 

By Dirk Smith

References
Gould, D. & Eclkand, R. (1991). The applications of sport psychology for performance optimizations. The Journal of Sport Science, 1. (p. 10-21).

Hardy, J., Hall, C. R. & Alexander, M. R. (2001). Exploring self-talk and affective states in sport. Journal of Sports Sciences, 19. (p. 469-475.)

Hodge, K. (2007). Sport motivation: Training your mind for peak performance. Auckland, New Zealand: Reed Books.

Porter, K. ( 2003). The mental athlete: Inner training for peak performance in all sports. Canada: Human Kinetics.

Weinberg, R. S. & Gould, D. (1999). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology (2nd ed.). United States of America: Human Kinetics.

Haney, C. J. (2004). Stress-management interventions for female athletes: Relaxation and cognitive restructuring. International Journal of Sports Psychology, 35. (p. 109-118).

Hamilton, R. A., Scott, D. & MacDougall, M. P. (2007). Assessing the effectiveness of self-talk interventions on endurance performance. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 19. (p. 226-239).

Hellestedt, J.C. (1987). Sport psychology at a ski academy: Teaching mental skills to young athletes. The Sport Psychologist, 1. (p. 56-68).

Weinberg, R. S. & Gould, D. (1999). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology (2nd ed.). United States of America: Human Kinetics.

Locke, E. A., Shaw, K. N., Saari, L. M. & Latham, G. P. (1981). Goal setting and task performance. Psychological Bulletin, 96. (p.125-152).

Harwood, C., Cumming, J. & Fletcher, D. (2004). Motivational profiles and psychological skills use within elite youth sport. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 16. (p. 318-332).