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Psychological Skills Training
Introduction
Darren Brookfield provides a review of psychological skills training and the factors that can influence the benefits of such a program for an athlete.
Psychological Skills Training (PST) is an individually designed combination of methods selected to attain psychological skill needs (Gill, 2000). There is no single idyllic PST package, each program must be individualised based on the psychological state of the individual and, the sport. To assemble a successful PST program it is important to distinguish between PST skills and PST methods. PST skills are the psychological qualities or attributes that need to be developed (i.e. confidence, concentration), the PST method is the tool that will be used to help improve the PST skill (Calmels et al. 2003). Much of the early research utilizing prescriptive PST programs used single PST methods and examined their effect on performance (Martin, Moritz & Hall, 1999; Garza & Feltz, 1998). Thelwell and Greenlees (2001) argue that when implementing a PST program, it is improbable that a single method will be employed by a sports psychologist. Thelwell and Greenlees (2001) highlight that it is more effective to employ a combination of mental skills that relate to the specific sport.
Emotions
Emotion in sport is much more than a reactive expression to victory or defeat. Sports scientists have argued that pre-competitive and competitive emotional states can influence the athletes ability to perform (Hackford, 1991). Emotion is not a single construct, it can be sub-divided into emotional components (Horn, 2002). Researchers have demonstrated that a wide range of emotions are associated by changes in performance (Jones, 2001). Many athletes report that heightening levels of arousal facilitates their performance (Gould, Eklund and Jackson, 1992). It is reported to increase anaerobic power (Jones, 2001). However, emotions can have a negative effect on some motor skills through increasing muscular tension which ultimately effect co-ordination (Jones, 2001), both detrimental to a sport like gymnastics.
Stress
Stress can be described as both an environmental variable and an emotional response to a specific situation (Horn, 2002). Much like anxiety, the effects of stress on performance is down to how the athlete perceives this stress. Selye (1974) in Horn (2002) highlighted that not all stress is negative, eustress (good stress) and distress (bad stress). Environmental stresses often deemed as distresses are somewhat unavoidable unpredictable, therefore the sports psychologist has very little control over their effects on performance. Emotional stresses however, can be improved, the athlete can be thought how to better 'cope' with stresses where they may perceive an imbalance between the demands of the situation and his or her response capabilities (Horn, 2002).
The Psychological Skill Training Program
The PST program will focus on optimising performance by improving self-efficacy and emotional control. To improve these psychological skills, the athlete will complete sessions using goal setting, imagery and relaxation. The program will follow an educational approach as advised by Gill (2000) and Horn (2002). The program consists of three main phases: Educational Phase - developing the understanding and importance of PST and how it can affect performance. Acquisition Phase - Athletes learn how to use PST methods and how best to implement them. Practice Phase - devote time and effort to PST and complete training in both competition and practice (Horn, 2002). Fournier et al. (2005) reported that four gymnasts out of nine improved on the vault by 10% and seven out of nine on the asymmetrical bars improved by 10%. These findings support the use of PST programs to optimise performance within gymnastics.
Goal Setting Sessions
The first mental skill to be used within the program is goal setting. To fully educate the athlete on how goals should be implemented, both short and long term goals will be discussed (Horn, 2002). The athlete will be informed of the benefits of setting 'smarter' goals, and will be educated on the use of outcome, process and performance goals (Kingston & Hardy, 1997) and a mixture of these will be used to best improve performance. The coach will be fully involved in the goal setting process, especially when process goals are used, the coach will provide the relevant technical information and needs analysis for each piece of apparatus. The athlete will be set goals to; perfect each individual piece of equipment (process goal), win minor practice competitions (outcome goal) and to achieve a point boundary for competitions (performance goals).
Imagery Sessions
The imagery sessions will incorporate internal (imagination) and external (video demonstration) of performances. All sessions will focus solely on optimal performances, participant will be encouraged to use imagery in real time and in slow motion, slow motion imagery will be encouraged especially when there is a certain technique which the athlete is performing incorrectly, this will allow them to imagine performing the skill correctly employing all the teaching points. The athlete will be encouraged to develop a competition-specific session. This session will be practiced intensely prior to and during competition (Horn, 2002).
Relaxation Sessions
The third mental skill to be employed throughout the PST program is relaxation. This will be delivered via a three-stage approach (Thelwell & Greenlees, 2001). The first stage which will focus on the use of Progressive Muscular Relaxation (PMR) this allows the athlete to feel what it is like to be completely relaxed and free from the aforementioned muscular tension (Gill, 2000). The athlete will be asked to practice the Centring technique which helps control breathing. This will be performed while the athlete is warming up for training sessions so that it becomes habitual when they warm-up for a major competition (Thelwell & Greenlees, 2001). Once these skill have been perfected participants will be asked to monitor their own tension levels pre and post relaxation sessions by responding to verbal descriptors, the athlete must scale their feeling from 0 (very tense) to 10 (very relaxed). Such a strategy will allow the athlete to be aware of their tension levels (self-reliant), and subsequently employ PMR or centring to reduce high levels of anxiety (Thelwell & Greenlees, 2001).
Rationale for Goal Setting
According to Bandura (1977) 'performance accomplishment' is the most effective method for improving self-efficacy (See figure 1). The most commonly used tool used by sports psychologists is goal setting. Setting goals provides this focus and directed attention by agreeing a timed end point to their action (Locke, 1991). Researchers and practitioners in both sports and organizational literatures have argued that a combination of both short term and long term goals is most effective for improving performance and changing behaviour, short term goals should be enforced to directly reach the long term goal of the client/performer (Weinberg, Butt, Knight & Perritt, 2001).
Miller and McAuley (1987) tested free throw self-efficacy in 18 undergraduate students. The goal-training condition reported higher free throw efficacy when compared to the no-goal condition. Kingston and Hardy (1997) suggest that in sports which are highly complex (gymnastics) process goals should provide the framework for improving technical aspects of difficult skills. The support for the use of process goals is also evident in Kingston and Hardy (1997) as it is suggested that process goals are more beneficial for increasing self efficacy as they are more controllable and flexible, this allows the coach/psychologist to mould goals so that the athlete constantly achieves their goals. This constant achievement will improve self-efficacy via increasing the performance accomplishments (Horn, 2002). Pierce and Burton (1998) found that goal setting improved performance, state self confidence and perceived satisfaction within 25 female junior high school gymnasts
.Psychological Training in Rhythmic Gymnastics

Psychological Training in Rhythmic Gymnastics
Today psychology is developing not only as an important theoretical discipline, but also as a domain of special practical activity which is required everywhere, especially where human activity needs to be improved. Psychological aid is required in activities performed in unusual, or so to speak, extreme conditions such as information overload, sensory and social isolation, sea depth, rescue and test works, war, firefighting etc. No doubt, important sport competitions are also in this list.
It’s hard to imagine sport in general and sport of setting efforts, in particular, without cruel competitive battle. Competitions require the mobilization of the whole gymnast’s strength – physical and psychological, moreover, psychological strength is even more important.
Such responsible thing like competition makes the gymnast to feel the whole variety of emotions - from the absolute confidence in her strength to panic fear and unwillingness to go to the start, and it doesn’t depend on gymnast’s experience.
Even a professional rhythmic gymnast sometimes can’t calm her nerves at the right moment, relax and ease unnecessary tension. In such situation there’s a risk of “psychological breakdown”.
However, not only anxiety and negative emotions can interfere in championship. Very often gymnast can lose because of yielding to the joy of victory.
Let’s study what happens to the gymnast at the moment when she steps on the carpet and it’ll be clear why competitions are in the list of the activities in extreme conditions. Contemporary rhythmic gymnastics, especially gymnastics of setting efforts, is impossible without load of maximal intensity and volume, the hottest sport contest, close competition, constant feelings of success or fail, which cause stress or anxiety.
Issues of psychological stress and anxiety in sport were actively developed after the Concepts of biological stress were spread (Walter Cannon, Hans Selye, Ivan Pavlov). Since then stress is supposed to be a feeling which appears in the human organism under the influence of various psychological and emotionally important for a human irritants.
According to Stockfelt, the situations of waiting evaluation on person’s activity by the others are stressful. It’s necessary to mention that stress also causes anxiety which gymnast feel stepping on the carpet.
We should always remember about the connection between emotional tension and activation of sympathoadrenal system. L. Modian first (1957), then A. Viru (1969) and S.Razumov (1970) proved that physical exercises, especially in the conditions of competitions, leads to increase of endocrine excretion, adrenal cortex in particular, which defines the adrenalin, noradrenaline and catecholamine raise.
It was also proved that gymnast in active aggressive state has a raise of noradrenaline being in active aggressive state, and adrenalin in passive state.
Walter Cannon proved that adrenalin is the anxiety hormone. It gives signals to the working body parts about necessary change in their activity, influencing on biochemical processes in cells. But if adrenalin raises to the noradrenaline, the state of starting apathy. The amount of adrenalin in the blood is smaller, that the amount of noradrenaline when the gymnast feels battle readiness. Adrenergic influence contact with all the functional systems - central nervous system, breathing system, blood system, eliminative system, digestion, sensory and muscular systems. Stressful, isn’t it?
Being a specialist at the Moscow Institute of Physical Training V.Silin did a research on 10 rhythmic gymnasts of Team Russia. The results were the following: heart rate of the gymnast preparing to step on the carpet can increase till 144 beat per minute (depends on competition status); shivering (results of 3 tests) can be 10.5 at rest and 22.0 at the start; coordination (mistakes quantity) 2.6 at rest and till 4.6 at the start; temporal pressure after one and a half minute performance increases from 60 till 120 millimeters of mercury.
It is pertinent to note that all the gymnast’s above mentioned scores become normal again in 10-15 minutes after the competitions, however, less skillful gymnasts can’t “recover”. That only proves how important and necessary the psychological training is in rhythmic gymnastics, especially for young gymnasts at the age of 10-13.
At the competitions rhythmic gymnasts usually perform in 6 different programs, and they have to start many times. Technique and difficulty of the exercise has been lately increased. The only criterion of gymnast’s skill is the judges’ grade. Atmosphere is always new at the competitions, though it’s familiar (judge, audience, carpet, competitor, favourite and unpopular apparatus). Physical load at the competitions is not great, however, estimating competition activity it’s necessary to take into consideration both physical and psychological load, mental tension which is regularly felt by the gymnasts and that can lead to the bad mistakes in compositions.
Besides insufficient skills in physical training and rhythmic gymnastics technique, lack of confidence, caused by unlucky drawing, inability to concentrate, inattention, noise in the gym, shouting audience, unbalanced judging can also get in the way of successful performance. Faults can be caused by mental instability, maladjustment to extreme conditions, inability to overcome obstacles, which gymnasts can come across during the preparation for competitions or in the competition process.
Sudden hindrance can be bad feeling, fear to get injured, long judges discussion about the grades, imaginary judges’ favor, audience stormy reaction, etc. gymnast should be ready exactly to these situations.
Many methods for calming or preventing gymnasts’ apathy are used today: special warm-up, suggestion and self-suggestion, auto-training, breathing and relaxation exercises.
References
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2. CALLOW, N., HARDY, L., & HALL, C. (1998) The effects of a motivational-mastery imagery intervention on the sports performance of three elite badminton players. Journal of Applied Sports Psychology, 10, S135.
3. CALMELS, C. et al. (2003) Competitive strategies among elite female gymnasts: An exploration of the relative influence of psychological skills training and natural learning experiences. International Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 1, p. 327-352.
4. COX, R.H., MARTNS, M.P. & WILLIAMS, D.R. (2003) Measuring anxiety in athletics: The revised competitive state anxiety inventory-2. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 25, p. 519-533.
5. CRAFT, L.L et al. (2003). The relationship between the competitive state anxiety inventory-2 and sports performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sports and Exercise Psychology, 25, p. 44-65.
6. GARZA, D. L., & FELTZ, D.L. (1998) Effects of selected mental practice on performance, self-efficacy, and competition confidence of figure skaters. The Sports Psychologist, 12, p. 1-15.
7. GIBSON, R. (2006) Commonwealth games selection criteria. British Gymnastics.