Who Is the Client?
- The sport psychologist must first determine who the client is 🧑🤝🧑.
- If the client is the athletic department 🏢, they define the relationship with the athlete 🏃♂️ or coach 🧑🏫.
- If the client is the coach 🧑🏫, the coach defines the relationship with the athlete 🏃♂️.
- If the athlete 🏃♂️ is the client, the athlete defines the nature of the relationship.
Initial Meeting with the Athletes
- This meeting emphasizes the athlete's commitment 🤝 to the Psychological Skills Training Program (PSTP).
- Athletes must view psychological skills training 🧠 as equally important as physical practice 🏋️♂️ for peak performance 🏆.
Education of the Sport Psychologist Relative to Activity
- Athletes relate better to psychologists 🧠 who understand the sport 🏀🏊♂️ nuances.
- A sport psychologist must be both a psychologist 🧠 and an exercise/sport scientist 🏋️♂️ 🎓.
Development of a Needs Assessment Plan
Determine psychological skill strengths 🌟 and weaknesses ❌ for each athlete 🏃♂️ and the team 🤝.
Methods to assess 📝:
1. Interview
Open-ended discussion 🗣️ to establish trust 🤝 and learn attitudes, perceptions, strengths 🌟, and weaknesses ❌.
2. Performance Profiling
- Athlete rates themselves 1–10 on psychological skills 📊.
- Skills may include intrinsic motivation 🔥, self-awareness 🧘, self-esteem 🌟, self-confidence 🌟, attentional focus 🎯, arousal control ⚡.
3. Observation
Observe athletes during practice 🏋️♂️ and competition 🏆 to assess real performance under pressure 😰 👀.
4. Pencil-and-Paper Inventories
Use objective measures like 16-PF and POMS 📝 and compare with subjective observations 👀.
Psychological Methods and Strategies to be Taught
- Based on needs assessment, develop a master plan 🗺️ to enhance psychological skills 🧠.
- Timing ⏰ and sequence of methods 🛠️ is determined.
Actual Teaching and Learning of Selected Methods
Teaching is targeted to enhance specific psychological skills 🌟.
Example: If self-confidence 🌟 is low, use self-talk 🗣️, self-hypnosis 🌀, and imagery 💭.
1. Psychological Methods
- Goal setting 🎯
- Relaxation 🧘
- Self-talk 🗣️
- Imagery 💭
- Attention skills 🎯
- Self-hypnosis 🌀
2. Performance Routines
- Used before, during, or after closed motor skill execution 🏃♂️ ⏱️.
- Helps athletes focus attention 🎯 effectively.
- Supported by research ✅ (Hill & Borden, 1995; Lidor & Singer, 2000).
Ongoing and End-of-Season Evaluation
- Evaluate PSTP 🧠 at the end of the sport season 🏆 🔄.
- Re-administer psychological inventories 📝 to track changes 📈.
- Discontinue methods 🛑 if an athlete feels uncomfortable 😕.
Summary
This chapter provided detailed implementation of the Psychological Skills Training Program (PSTP), covering the critical first step of identifying the client (athletic department, coach, or athlete defines the relationship), the initial meeting emphasizing commitment and equal importance to physical practice, the need for sport psychologist education in sport nuances, the four-method needs assessment plan (interview for open-ended discussion, performance profiling with 1-10 ratings on skills like motivation/self-confidence/attentional focus, observation during practice and competition, pencil-and-paper inventories like 16-PF and POMS), developing master plans for teaching methods and strategies, the actual teaching of six psychological methods (goal setting, relaxation, self-talk, imagery, attention skills, self-hypnosis) and performance routines for closed motor skills (supported by Hill & Borden 1995, Lidor & Singer 2000), and ongoing/end-of-season evaluation through re-administering inventories to track changes and discontinuing uncomfortable methods.