Future Directions in Psychological Skills Training

Abstract

This decade has been marked by the development of several approaches to psychological skills training (PST). To assess current trends in PST in order to ascertain if consumers’ needs are being met, a content analysis of PST approaches published in books in North America between 1980 and 1988 was conducted with regard to target populations, content areas, and format characteristics. Based on the content analysis, six needs representing viable future directions for PST are outlined. These needs include targeting youth and coaches in addition to elite athletes, moving beyond basic education into specific implementation procedures, differentiating between psychological skills and methods, adopting a holistic approach based on the interactional paradigm and a personal development model, defining the practice of sport psychology based on the personal development of sport consumers, and facilitating the theory/practice relationship through research-based PST programming and evaluation research.

Psychological Skills Training Applied to Soccer: A Systematic Review Based on Research Methodologies

“…Indeed, before the Nineties, PST research applied to soccer seems to be almost non-existent. One possible explanation is that the majority of PST research until the 1990's was targeted for athletes in general rather than athletes of specific sports (Vealey, 1988). A further explanation may be related to the lower popularity of soccer in the USA (where the first sport psychology journals emerged).…”

“…Targeting youth soccer players can be considered a positive trend. According to several authors (Cruz, 1984;Vealey, 1988), the perspectives of adhesion and success of this type of programme will be radically different if, instead of focusing on experienced athletes, it is geared to younger athletes. In addition, "PST with younger athletes can be especially effective rewarding as a means of helping youngsters develop appropriate psychological skills for sport competition" (Vealey, 1988, p. 323).…”

“…A further explanation may be related to the lower popularity of soccer in the USA (where the first sport psychology journals emerged). In a content analysis of PST approaches published in North America between 1980, Vealey (1988 stated that 74% of the studies were targeted for athletes in general and only 26% were targeted for athletes in specific sports. PST approaches targeted for specifc sports included golf (Keogh & Smith, 1985;Rotella & Bunker, 1981), body building (Kubistant, 1988), skiing (Loudis, Lobitz, & Singer, 1986), basketball (Mikes, 1987) and tennis (Weinberg, 1988).…”

“…The use of interviews, for example, provides the researcher with a more holistic and contextualized knowledge about the problem and produces relevant information which is not always provided by other assessment methods (Valles, 1999). For the Vealey (1988) "information such as this can facilitate the development of salient and appropriate PST approaches that truly meet the needs of athletes" (p. 332). The deep understanding of athletes' self-perceptions, beliefs and opinions about their knowledge of, use of, and importance placed on PST, could enhance the PST interventions and increase the number of soccer players Regarding sample characteristics, the majority of reviewed studies comprised a sample composed of young and non-elite soccer players.…”

Categorising and defining popular psychological terms used within the youth athlete talent development literature: a systematic review

“…Moving beyond the talent development literature to general sport psychological literature, a need to define different categories of psychological terms was identified by Vealey nearly three decades ago (Vealey, 1988). This realisation emerged when content analysing 27 books published in North America between 1980 and 1988, with the aim to systematically examine the content of psychological skills training approaches in relation to target populations, content areas, and format characteristics.…”