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The Psychology of Athletic Preparation and Performance for Athletes Before and During Competition, Research Paper Example

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Research Paper

Introduction

During the past century, the psychology of athletic preparation and performance for athletes before and during competition has been the subject matter of research studies and intense debates. The fast-growing field of sport psychology has significantly changed our lives, lives of many athletes, their relatives, coaches, and other sport and exercise professionals all over the world. The effective performance of athletes before and during competition is the connection of physical, psychological, technical and mental preparation. Competition influences athletic body and mind. They work together to produce effective results.¹ During competition, well-prepared athletes should regulate their performance for optimizing general result.²Nowadays, practice and exercise are the main components in athletic life. They help athletes to study important and necessary physical and mental skills for improving performance before and during competition.³

The development of sport psychology gave the world a new profession of a sport psychologist. Sport psychologist is a person who researches and implements various mental and psychological techniques and exercises for better athletic preparation and performance.⁴ The way a sport psychologist arranges athletic work has an important and significant impact on their preparation and performance during competition.¹That is why the main purpose of a sport psychologist is to help athletes to achieve a better level of performance at, or near their physical capabilities by thoroughly controlling their physical abilities through appropriate and conformable psychological techniques and tactics.

With this background, this paper brings out the psychology of athletic preparation and performance. Their mental and physical state and the ways mental and psychological tactics influence the athlete’s skills, well-being and performance. The paper investigates the impact of using various mental and psychological techniques, makes the analysis on clinical implications of the researched questions and future researches of the investigated issues.

Statement of Research Questions

After studying in the introduction basic summary of the research on psychology of athletic preparation and performance, this paper proceeds to study the researched field. Due to fast-growing importance of sport psychology and nature of the report, the researched questions are:

RQ1: What are the various mental or psychological techniques athletes use to prepare for competition and during competition?

RQ2: How does a sport psychologist help athletes during preparation and performance on competition?

Answering these two main questions can help thoroughly investigate psychology of athletic preparation and performance. They will help to find various mental and psychological methods and techniques, which athletes use before and during competition. They will show the goals of a sport psychologist and its importance for athlete’s achieving better level of performance and well-being. The analysis of these questions will show the influence of using different mental and psychological techniques. It will make future research of the investigated field.

Data Sources

Two online databases were used for thorough research and analyze of distinguished questions. They were PsycINFO ^2-9 and SPORTDiscus ^{1, 10-12}databases. PsycINFO database provided the articles on researches of psychological scholarly publications in sociology and behavioral science. In a contrast to PsycINFO database, SPORTDiscus database provided not only publications of sociology, behavioral science and allied health literature, but includes the researches of sports and sports medicine. The research, analysis and studying of databases had been investigated since the middle of October until November 2009. The following terms were used for searching and analyzing the psychology of athletic preparation and performance: “psychology of athletes”, “sport psychology”, “psychological preparation of athletes”, “strategies from health and sport psychology”, “keeping athletes on track”, “athletic performance” etc. The research of PsycINFO and SPORTDiscus databases gave a clear description of investigated questions. It had shown problems and fields for future research.

Annotated Bibliography

This chapter is devoted to the detail review of academic literature and studies on psychology of athletic preparation and performance before and during competition. For examination of researched questions, a representative selection of literature published within the past seven years was used.

Abbiss CR, Laursen PB. Describing and understanding pacing strategies during athletic competition. Sports Medicine. 2008;38(3):239-252. Available from PsycINFO database. Accessed November 5, 2009.

Abbiss and Laursen are from School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University Excellence Award in Australia. The article researched athlete’s pacing strategy, or the way athlete distributed “work and energy throughout an exercise task”.^{2 (p240)} The purpose of this article was to study different pacing strategies and possible factors, which influenced the self-selection of these strategies. These pacing strategies were the positive, negative, all-out, even, parabolic-shaped and variable. Various examples from swimming, rowing, cycling and running were used for this research. The positive pacing was the strategy where athletic rate little by little decreased throughout the continuance of the performance. The results of the research shown that negative pacing strategy was often studied during middle-distance competitions when output power and speed were increased. The studying of all-out and even pacing strategies indicated that short-duration competitions could benefit from an “explosive all-out strategy”,^{2 (p241)} whereas during the prolonged competitions if athlete distributed his / her pace more evenly the performance time might be perfected. The research of parabolic-shaped pacing strategy pointed that athlete could progressively reduce race at the time of “endurance trial”,^{2 (p246)} in spite of the aim to raise speed during recent portion of competition. The article shown that variable pacing strategy was used to determine the variation in exercise intensity of work during competition. Further research is important for better understanding the physiological influence of varying output power for defining the probable outcomes and restrictions of different pacing strategies.²

Calmeiro L, Tenenbaum G. Fluctuation of cognitive-emotional states during competition: An idiographic approach. Revista de Psicologia del Deporte. 2007;16(6):85-100. Available from PsycINFO database. Accessed October 30, 2009.

Calmeiro is from University of Abertay Dundee, School of Social and Health Sciences. Tenenbaum is from Florida State University. The ambition of this study were to describe fluctuations of emotional states and athlete’s “cognitive-emotional processes”^5(p86) during competition by the way of ecologically true study methods. These methods were grounded on verbal protocols and competition investigation. The subjects were 58-year-old male and 59-year-old elite male athletes with 28 and 30 years of competitive experience accordingly.^{5 (p87)} Various verbal reports were gathered after each set. The study also conducted an event sequential research. Moreover, interpersonal patterns, as a function of realized performance, were also determined. The results of the research shown special interpersonal patterns of emotional states fluctuations and self-adjustment strategies. A 59-year-old elite male athlete was the particular winner of the research. His current affective state, verbal reports, stable pleasure and arousal levels were much higher than the first subject had. The winner mostly focused on the problem and on supporting emotional control by trying to distance himself from the situation or undertaken the responsibility for the miss. In contrast to him, the loser was directed towards disapproval and self-blame. The analysis and research of the article underlined that coping strategies could centre on raise efforts to modify aspects of the situation – “problem-focused coping”.^{5 (p86)} On the other hand, they could regulate the emotions appeared by the situation without modifying it – “emotion– focused coping”.^{5 (p86)} This article will be useful for sport psychologists and coaches looking for effective and scientifically proven ways for helping athletes.

Fox A. Fear of failure in the context of competitive sport. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. 2008;3(2):173-177. Available from PsycINFO database. Accessed November 1, 2009.

The author of this article on fear of failure in the context of competitive sport is from San Luis Obispo, California. The article discussed “fear of failure emanates from the enormous discrepancy”^{6 (p173)} among the psychological and practical after-effects of winning against losing. On the other hand, it discussed the particular incomprehensibility of consequence in any closely discussed athletic contest. It drawn attention that winning was worthwhile and losing was heavy. Fox⁶ found that an effort to relieve at the time of competition was the result of a “variety of escape responses”^(p173) that were counter-productive to his / her goal of winning. The author indicated that among those were anger, acceptance of loss, defeat of concentration and focus. They were shown as subconscious and instinctive techniques, which lower the stress of competition and conceal the fear of loss. The research examined the ways to escape from a stress. They were “to become angry, make excuses, focus on and complain about problems rather than work to solve them, or simply give up”.^{6 (p174)} The study also shown the importance of a sport psychologist for athletic performance and preparation. It demonstrated that a sport psychologist had to have a verbal talent and a patience for helping athlete to cope with his / her problems. They should have an agile mind for using athlete’s crave to win in different ways. This study would be relevant to sport psychologists, which logically and emotionally desire to help athletes before and during competition.

Frey M, Laguna PL, Kenneth R. Collegiate athletes’ mental skill use and perceptions of success: An Exploration of the practice and competition settings. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 2003; 15(20:115-128. Available from PsycINFO database. Accessed November 2, 2009.

Frey and Laguna are from California State University. Kenneth is from University of Tennessee. The purposes of this study were to research athlete’s mental skill use and their sensation / feeling of success. The authors came to the conclusion that mental skills training referred to “experience with an individual, such as a sport psychology”^{3 (p174)} during of which mental skills were offered to athletes. The subjects were the divisions of baseball and softball players aged from 18 to 25 years. The methodology of these researches was based on athlete during competition. It investigated the questions of what specific skills were used more frequently, which skills were wholesome for particular sports or aim, or the relationship among mental skill use at the time of performance and competition success. The research examined athletes’ goal setting, relaxation, emotional control, self-talk and imagery. The results of this study indicated that athletes who used a special mental skill at the time of preparation were likely to use another mental skill during competition. The analysis and research of the article underlined that athletes demonstrated a low usage of mental skills during practice while compared to their use of their skills during competition. It could not indicate the reason for why athletes were not using them. It also could not be sure as to why these athletes felt themselves as good and lucky during preparation and performance setting. The authors also found that factors, such as injury, a final performance slump and outcome in the athlete’s individual life could play a significant role in such feeling. Based on current literature, the recommendations from this article were that in case athlete received mental skill training, it was considered that he / she would be more likely to use mental skills before and during competition.

Hardy JT, Hall CR, Hardy L. Quantifying athlete self-talk. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2005;23(9):905-918. Available from SPORTDiscus database. Accessed November 5, 2009.

Hardy JT and Hardy L are from School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor, UK. Hall is from School of Kinesiology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main purpose of the study was to conduct two studies of self-talk. The authors found that self-talk was “what people say to themselves either out loud or as a small voice inside their head”.^{10 (p905)} The first study aimed to “generate quantitative data on the content of athlete’s self-talk”.^{10 (p905)} On the other hand, it aimed to research the distinction in use of self-talk in general the same way as the role of self-talk in practice and during competition. The subjects of the first study were 295 athletes aged 21.9 plus / minus 4.2 years. Among them were 48% female and 52% were male. Athletes were compared in team (basketball, ice hockey, water polo, volleyball, swimming etc.) and individual. They completed specially created Self-Talk Use Questionnaire (STUQ).¹⁰ The research shown that single-factor between group multivariate investigations and researched of variance appeared important distinctions across sport type and sex for the content of self-talk. This research study also demonstrated that mixed model multivariate investigation of variance uncovered overall greater use of self-talk, just as a growth use of roles of self-talk during competition compared with preparation. Besides, individual sport athletes shown higher use of self-talk than their team sport counterparts. Athletes more often used self-talk in connection with competition as contrary to practice settings. The research shown that in contrast to female, male athletes completed in team sports. And vice versa, more female athletes completed in individual sports. So, the research indicated that there was disbalance between female and male athletes in team and individual sports. The authors found that male athletes used mostly negative, more external and less internal self-talk than female athletes. In contrast to the first study, the second study aimed to employ more exact samples to research closely the impact “sex suggested by the findings of Study 1”^{10 (p912)} and to cross-validate some of the obtained results of the first study. The subjects of the second study were sixty-four male (40%) and female (60%) volleyball players of 21.5 years old. Athletes completed a “situationally modified version of the STUQ”.^{10 (p912)} This research shown almost similar to the first study results. The content of athlete self-talk was commonly positive. It shown that in spite of athletes in the second study were not competitive volleyball players, it was likely that they were competitive athletes in other sports. Based on the analyses and research of various academic literature and studies, this article will be useful for both sport psychologists and athletes.

Lane AM, Thelwell RC, Lowther J, Devonport TJ. Emotional intelligence and psychological skills use among athletes. Social Behavior & Personality. 2009;37(2):197-201. Available from SPORTDiscus database. Accessed October 21, 2009.

The authors of the article are from different Universities in the United Kingdom. Lane and Devonport, PhD, are from University of Wolverhampton. Thelwell, PhD, is from University of Portsmouth. Lowther is from Kingston University. The article discussed and investigated the relationships between self-report feature “emotional intelligence and psychological skills”^{11 (p195)} between athletes. The influential function of emotions on athletic preparation and performance had a great importance among athletes, sport psychologists and coaches regarding those factors. They helped athletes to show and develop emotional control techniques. This study was conducted on 54 male student athletes aged 21.7 years, and played collegiate-level sport. The researchers used Test Performance Strategies (TOPS) and “Emotional Intelligence Scale” (EIS)^{11 (p197)} which was a 33-item trait measure of emotional intelligence. This study explained that athletic use of goal-setting, imagery, self-talk and relaxation skills were associated mostly with one or more subcomponents of emotional intelligence and the possibility to regulate emotions. This study also demonstrated that athletes that used self-talk were more likely to estimate their own and others’ emotions. The authors came to the conclusion that the individuals which frequently used psychological skills shown stronger sensation of emotional intelligence. This study is comparable to the other articles that study emotional intelligence and psychological skills, but it is believed that the results, which were found in this article were more useful for athletes and sport psychologists.

Lloyd PJ, Foster SL. Creating healthy, high-performance workplaces: Strategies from health and sport psychology. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. 2006; 58(10):23–39. Available from PsycINFO database. Accessed October 17, 2009.

This study aimed to determine and investigate the strategies from health and sport psychology. The authors emphasized the importance of health care of athletes and offered different recommendations for “nutritional counseling, smoking cessation, stress management, and exercise initiation”.⁷ In contrast to other researched literature and studies, this field is important not only for people who are the part of a sport psychology, but also for those who are just interested in this sphere. The authors⁷ believed that “consulting psychologists were ideally suited to assist in the creation of healthy and life-enhancing workplaces”.⁷ Except for the psychological research and searching of new techniques in the field of psychology of athletic preparation and performance, there were lots of problems that sport psychology was trying to cope with for keeping athletes on track. “When psychologists integrate strategies from health psychology, these interventions can help reduce medical costs”.⁷ The results of this study shown that using performance-enhancing drugs, doping and alcohol were still remaining critical problems for athletes, their coaches and sport psychologists.⁷

Miller TW, Ogilvie BC, Branch J. Sport psychology consultation: The influence of gender on learning style. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. 2008; 60(3):279-285. Available from PsycINFO database. Accessed October 15, 2009.

Miller and Branch are from University of Connecticut, Storrs, United States of America. Ogvilie is from San Jose State University, San Hise, Unites States of America. The purpose of this study was to review the importance of sport psychology consultation before and during competition. In contrast to other analyzed literature, this article paid great attention to the question that sport psychology consultants had to be a professional in the learning style distinguishes between male and female athletes. They had to be “aware of the potential gender differences among athletes”.⁸ “Identified were the observed differences in male and female response style on learning patterns for the population studied”.⁸ The researchers found that female athletes were less disposed to take what they were learning. They were more prudent when putting skills to the test. They shown more conflicting with consideration to their ability to make alternation. Female athletes found it uncomplicated to place faith in their sport psychologists and coaches than did male athletes. This study also demonstrated that the learning style of female and male distinguished at a “statistically significant level”⁸ of various factors. Statistically considerable distinctions were found on factors measuring capacity to confidence, disappointment, abilities to modify, and feedback predilection. Visual, kinesthetic, testing, and auditory learning, were four modes of learning athletic skills. An estimation of best learning included estimation of such factors as learning comfort, ability to modify, attempt level, disappointment tolerance, obligation to change, and conformity with what was studied. The results of this study shown that female athletes’ learning performance emphatically distinguished them from male athletes on some factors. Ability to modify, measure facilitation, ability to trust, readiness to modify, interpersonal control and feedback preference were realized better by female athletes that male. On the other hand, in favor of male athletes were consummated on the factors, which measured ability to modify, compliance, frustration tolerance and skill rating. Understanding the learning styles and supporting appropriate strategies for each learning style could increase a sport psychologist’s and coach’s ability to improve personal and team performance. Miller, Ogilvie, and Branch⁸ in their article also studied the importance of a sport psychologist. They determined a sport psychologist as an expert in using psychological skills for mental and psychological welfare of athletes. Like other researchers, the authors emphasized that main functions of a sport psychologist were helping athletes to increase his / her scores and perfecting personality.

Munroe-Chandler KJ, Hall CR, Weinberg RS. A qualitative analysis of the types of goals athletes set in training and competition. Journal of Sport Behavior. 2004;27(1):58-74. Available from PsycINFO database. Accessed October 20, 2009.

Munroe-Chandler and Hall are from University of Western Ontario, Canada. Weiberg is from Miami University, Oxford. The primary purpose of this study was to study the types of goals athletes set before and during competition. The authors investigated outcome and performance goals. They underlined that outcome goals were “conceptualized as more product oriented, focusing on social comparison”.⁹ On the other hand, performance goals were defined in terms of their concentration, improvement and obtaining particular performance standards. The subjects of the research were 249 athletes representing 18 various sports and aged from 18 to 30. Most of the participants were female. The athletes were asked about the goals they set during preparation and performance. The results of the investigation indicated that the goals athletes set before and during competition were almost similar. During competition athletes set “primary for skill execution rather than skill improvement”⁹ goals. The results of this study indicated that during competition athletes tried to understand whether the tactics they were using were effective. This study also demonstrated that athletes set goals during preparation and performance to stay focused. As the analysis shown, during performance athlete’s goals were “winning, beating an opponent, and receiving a medal.”⁹ During preparation athletes thought about “training effectively, having fun, and making the most of practice”.⁹Based on various literature and articles, this study would be relevant to sport medicine professionals and sport psychologists as it provides more specific and useful information about the types of goals athletes set than was accessible from previous researches.

Naylor AH. The role of mental training in Injury prevention. Athletic Therapy Today. 2009;14(2):27-27. Available from SPORTDiscus database. Accessed October 20, 2009.

The author of this article on the role of mental training in injury prevention is from Boston University Athletic Enhancement Center. The study aimed to determine the role of athletic coaches and sport psychologists in sports injury prevention. The article discussed athletic psychological preparation for the stress performance because such stress could be the cause of athlete’s increasing injury risk. The study pointed that poor concentration could cause risky influence or “awkward physical movements to avoid contact”.^{1 (p27)} The author found that program elements, for instance self-talk, goal-setting, relaxation and imaginary should be meaningfully developed in participation with a sport psychologist. This research examined that mental skills implemented during competition and practice could improve athlete’s mental approach to sport. This study found that main mental skills program could engage a “cognitive behavioral approach to teaching effective management of the stresses associated with training and competition”.^1(p28) That sort of program was composed of application, education and fulfillment. In his research the author underlined that two cognitive skills which helped athletes to focus on strategies or visual goals were self-talk and goal setting. This study also demonstrated that “behaviorally, diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation”^{1 (p29)} were the main skills which could help in controlling anxiety during competition. Based on various literature reviews and researches, the article will be useful for those sport psychologists who are trying to utilize stress management skills and to produce athletic effective performance.

Van Raalte JL, Andersen MB. When sport psychology consulting is a means to an end(ing): Roles and agendas when helping athletes leave their sports. Sport Psychologist. 2007;21(2):227-242. Available from PsycINFO database. Accessed October 25, 2009.

Judy L. Van Raalte is from Springfield College and Mark B. Andersen is from Victoria University. Based on various academic literature reviews, the purpose of the study was the complex issues, which a sport psychologist brought together while working with athletes. The research shown that athletes were always contrary about termination of their sport career, so “termination concerns present in complex and disguised ways”.^{4 (p228)} For instance, athlete could come to a sport psychologist because of inability to focus, lack motivation or any problems with studying new techniques. The article researched the issue of “bias and prejudice”.^{4 (p227)} Bias could influence on how sport psychologists and coaches listen to, formulate and interpret athlete cases. The authors found that sport psychologists often had a bias toward sport relation to another probable goals and activities. This study explained that with a help of care, sport psychologists could control career termination. They could rationally address the health of athletes with which they worked. “Written contracts can serve as a good starting point for detailing specifics”^{4 (p232)} the authors found. This study will be relevant to sports psychologists who are trying to help athletes throughout the process of leaving a sport. Also it will be useful for athletes which are at the stage of career termination and are trying to cope with different mental and physical problems.

Wesch NN, Law B, Hall CR. The use of observational learning by athletes. Journal of Sport Behavior. 2007;30(2):219-231. Available from SPORTDiscus database. Accessed October 20, 2009.

The authors of this article on the use of observational learning by athletes are from The University of Western Ontario, Canada. The article discussed the use of “observational learning in male and female recreational and varsity athletes”¹² in team or individual sports. The subject of the article were 312 recreational and 330 varsity athletes. They completed the Functions of Observational Learning Questionnaire (FOLQ) to define the use of their three “functions of observational learning: skill, strategy and performance”.¹² The results shown that athletes used skill function of observation learning the most, followed by the performance and strategy functions. This study also demonstrated that gender, competitive level, and sport type influenced the use of observational learning by athletes. Male used the performance function meaningfully more than females. The authors found that for reproducing the behavior, athlete should code the received information into “long-term memory (retention)”.¹² The pointed imagery, use of analogies and verbal reiteration of main points, as main methods of coding information. The results of this study also indicated that athletes should be motivated to recall and realize behavior. The authors found that motivation could be external or internal. This research also examined that observational learning could have an influence on motivation to modify or fulfill a behavior, manage with fear and assurance. The results of this study indicated that “athletes used observational learning for its cognitive function more than its motivational function”.¹² The study also pointed that individual sport athletes used more of the skill function than team sport athletes, at the time when “team sport athletes used more of the strategy function than individual sport athletes”.¹²

Clinical Implications

This part of paper presents research and analysis of various information gathered from studies and articles incorporated under the previous chapter. Different researches in sport psychology shown that athlete’s mentality and psychology greatly affect his / her performance before and during competitions. Various changes appear in athlete’s body before and during competitions. Today, in addition of being physically prepared and fit, athletes are able to perform much better by using their mental skills. Thus athletic ability to choose effective and appropriate variant of preparation and performance gains a significant meaning: the value of psychological factor increases and, as a result, athletic psychological preparation for competition. Lack of motivation and progress may be “psychological and behavioral sequel of seriously contemplating leaving sport”.^{3 (p229)}For optimizing and controlling athlete’s performance, sport psychologists found various mental techniques, which help athletes to achieve best performance and success. They will help athletes to cope with stress, anxiousness, arousal, and nervousness.

Nowadays, modern athletic sphere requires a professional sports psychologist. This person is an expert in using psychological skills for athletic mental and psychological welfare and solving psychological problems. Today, some get advantages from the profession of a sport psychologist: athletes who are trying to make their performance better, injured athletes who are searching for a motivation, coaches who are trying to improve the relations with athletes, children who are involved in athletics. Without a sport psychologist’s help athlete could control himself / herself only for a certain time, but the “underlying problem will never be solved”.^{6 (p175)} The activity of a sports psychologist consists in athlete’s psychological guiding before and during performance.

Conclusion

Various changes appear in athlete’s body before and during competitions. For optimizing and controlling athlete’s performance, sport psychologists found various mental techniques, which help athlete to achieve better performance and success. Athletic performance depends on his / her ability to commit various goals which “can positively impact psychological variables, such as self-efficacy and anxiety, as well as physical performance variables”.¹² The commitment can be undermined by a lack of progress or not understanding the goals of training program, or the coach and / or athlete do not working as a team. A great attention of a sport psychologist must be paid to the personal values of athletes, to his / her mental and physical well-being and to clarification of why, it is harmful to use drugs, smoking and doping. Sport psychologists should “consider enhancing emotional intelligence when working with athletes”.^{11 (p199)}

A present-day period is characterized by a steadfast growth of requirements for increasing efficiency of athletic competition activity. By understanding mental and physical tactics and techniques, it is possible to create a specific preparation program, for maximizing athlete’s performance before and during competition.

Future Research

The final part of the study focuses most important areas of sport psychology and makes remarks of future researches based on studied and analyzed questions. The questions of behavioral processes, which influence athletic performance, still need research and practice. Future researches must focus the questions of developing existing techniques for helping athletes to achieve better level of performance through suitable psychological techniques. It should take global approach in “examining factors that may influence the regulation of work rate during exercise”.^{2 (p246)}It is important to “develop psychometrically robust measures capable of providing in-dept examinations of the construct”.^{10 (p905)} It is significant to concentrate on teaching athletes the way to use different mental skills just as “how to incorporate them into practices and competitions”.^{3 (p125)}Future research must search to explore the direction of connection among “emotional intelligence and psychological skills.” ^{11 (p200)}

Except for psychological researches and searching of new techniques, there are lots of questions that sport psychology is still trying to cope with. As Lloyd and Foster⁷ emphasized, using performance-enhancing drugs, doping and alcohol are remaining a critical problem for athletes. For developing a sport psychologist and athlete education level, effective drug and alcohol education and programs are important. Creation of hot line, newsletters and guidebooks will be very useful for athletes and coaches. A great attention should be paid to athletes who left sport because of injury or out of profit. For such athletes, it is necessary to create special programs / organizations which main goal will be helping athletes to find a job and motivate them.

The background for concluding has been laid and the challenge for now is to use and develop the researched knowledge of athletic physical and mental state before and during competition for the future generation of athletes, coaches and sports psychologist.

References

Naylor AH. The role of mental training in Injury prevention. Athletic Therapy Today. 2009;14(2):27-27. Available from SPORTDiscus database. Accessed October 20, 2009.

Abbiss CR, Laursen PB. Describing and understanding pacing strategies during athletic competition. Sports Medicine. 2008;38(3):239-252. Available from PsycINFO database. Accessed November 5, 2009.

Fox A. Fear of failure in the context of competitive sport. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. 2008;3(2):173-177. Available from PsycINFO database. Accessed November 1, 2009.

Hardy JT, Hall CR, Hardy L. Quantifying athlete self-talk. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2005;23(9):905-918. Available from SPORTDiscus database. Accessed November 5, 2009.

Wesch NN, Law B, Hall CR. The use of observational learning by athletes. Journal of Sport Behavior. 2007;30(2):219-231. Available from SPORTDiscus database. Accessed October 20, 2009.