Life Development Intervention for Athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe sport psychology and a model for its practice that is consistent with the training of counseling psychologists as teachers of life skills. Following an examination of the role that sport plays in our society and its importance for the development of identity and personal competence, what is meant by sport psychology and why it is a relevant area of study for counseling psychologists will be specified. A psychoeducational model for the practice of sport psychology, life development intervention (LDI), will be delineated and some examples of sport psychology consistent with the LDI model proposed. Using LDI as a base, dilemmas that counseling psychologists face when doing sport psychology will be considered Finally, some of the training issues for counseling psychologists doing sport psychology will be presented.

Mental Qualities and Employed Mental Techniques of Young Elite Team Sport Athletes

“…The higher order themes of responsibility for self and squad spirit incorporate lower order themes such as life balance, athlete lifestyle, respect, role model, sportspersonship, social skills, and peer support. These mental qualities go beyond the playing field and may be classified as life skills (Danish, Petitpas, & Hale, 1993). The mental qualities deemed necessary by the current sample support previous work examining the life skills required by youth athletes (e.g., Jones & Lavallee, 2009) and illustrate the importance of considering the larger social context in which youth athletes develop (Gardner & Moore, 2005.…”

Developing Communication and Organization Skills: The ELITE Life Skills Reflective Practice Intervention

“…Danish, Petitpas, and Hale (1993) stated that one of the barriers to life skill development might be that athletes are not aware of the skills they have learned. Young people could develop and transfer life skills to other life domains if they increase their awareness of the skills they acquired through sport, increase their awareness of knowledge of how and in what context they learned life skills, and increase their awareness that skills are valued in other life domains (Danish et al, 1993). Researchers have also identified self-awareness as a crucial developmental outcome for all youth development programs, not just sport.…”

The impact of an educational course for swimming on free style swimming performance and life skills for deaf students

“…Students who have learned to effectively deal with the demands of university life through mastery of life, academic, and athletic skills have a better chance of succeeding at multiple tasks in their lives (Vernacchia, 2007). Programs that help physical education students to recognize how to transfer their mental skills which they have learned from sport to their lives outside of sport can lead to improve their quality of life as a whole (Danish et al, 1993). Physical activities have the potential to reduce health risk factors and positively affect other physiological subsystems in the body during certain critical developmental periods (Kozub, 2003).…”