Sport Psychology - Journal of Education

Boston University School of Education

Journal of Education Sport Psychology: A Primer for Educators Leonard Zaichkowsky

Journal of Education


Expertise in Sport: A Cognitive-Developmental Approach Seth Allen The Coach’s Dilemma: Balancing Playing to Win and Player Development Adam H. Naylor Mental Skills Training for Coaches to Help Athletes Focus Their Attention, Manage Arousal, and Improve Performance in Sport James M. Howland

Number 1

Book Review: Whose Game Is It, Anyway? A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports, Organized by Age and Stage by Richard D. Ginsburg and Stephen Durant, with Amy Baltzell reviewed by Mark Stonkus

Volume 187

Sport Psychology in an Urban High School: Overview of a Two-Year Collaboration Jenelle N. Gilbert, Wade D. Gilbert, Brittany Loney, Mary-tyler Wahl, and Elizabeth Michel


2006

F ou n d e d i n 1 8 7 5 | Vo l u m e 1 8 7 | N u m b e r 1 | 2 0 0 6

Journal of Education founded in 1875

Volume 187, Number 1 2006

Sport Psychology Issue Leonard Zaichkowsky Guest Editor


Journal of Education Kevin Carleton, Editor Leonard Zaichkowsky, Guest Editor Lynne Larson, Managing Editor

Editorial Policy The Journal of Education seeks to advance informed discussion of educational policy and practice. It is open to the full range of thoughtful opinions, and does not enforce or promote a particular point of view. The editor welcomes submissions; manuscripts may be sent in electronic form to [email protected] or Two Sherborn Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02215. Submissions should be in Times New Roman or similar typeface and double-spaced throughout (including indented quotes and references). Citations should follow APA guidelines. No material from the Journal of Education may be reprinted without the permission of the Trustees of Boston University. Copyright © 2007 by the Trustees of Boston University. All rights reserved. ISSN: 0022-0574 Volume 187, Number 1, 2006 Boston University publishes the Journal of Education three times a year. Requests for subscriptions should be addressed to the Journal of Education, Boston University School of Education, Two Sherborn Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02215. The Journal of Education is printed by Puritan Press, Inc., Hollis, NH.

History of the Journal The Journal of Education was formed in 1875 by the union of the Maine Journal of Education, the Massachusetts Teacher, the Rhode Island Schoolmaster, the Connecticut School Journal, and the College Courant. During 1876, the Kindergarten Messenger was issued as a section of the Journal. Under the guidance of the first editor, Thomas Bicknell, from 1875 to 1878, the publication was called the New England Journal of Education. The Journal absorbed the Educational Weekly of Indianapolis on November 12, 1885. In 1886 it was sold to the Reverend Albert Edward Winship and renamed The Journal of Education: for School People in New England and Beyond. Winship was the editor for 47 years, until his death in 1933. At that point in time Anson Wood Belding became the editor and in 1952 he sold the Journal to the Boston University School of Education. In 1976, the School of Education celebrated the 100th-year publication with a special issue of the Journal, including excerpts from the first issue.

A Message from the Dean For more than half a century, the Boston University School of Education has been the home of the Journal of Education. Like the School of Education itself, the Journal is a bridge between the academy and the world of primary and secondary education. Through the Journal we seek to speak not only to our colleagues at other universities, but to teachers, administrators, public officials, and anyone else concerned with the quality of education. A journal, like a school, must be open to a wide range of views. But it also needs a unifying direction, a guiding principle or set of principles. In the case of the Journal of Education, the salient principle is that our task is to build upon the accumulated wisdom of the ages. This is not to deny the possibility of originality in educational thought or to demand uncritical acceptance of our inherited educational traditions. It is, though, to urge a certain humility before those traditions and a certain caution about forsaking the wisdom born of experience for the latest innovation. In this spirit, the Journal of Education seeks to inquire deeply into questions of educational policy and practice, and to stimulate reflection and discussion among scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.

Contents Sport Psychology Issue Letter from the Guest Editor

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Leonard Zaichkowsky

Sport Psychology: A Primer for Educators

1

Leonard Zaichkowsky

Expertise in Sport: A Cognitive-Developmental Approach

9

Seth Allen

The Coach’s Dilemma: Balancing Playing to Win and Player Development

31

Adam H. Naylor

Mental Skills Training for Coaches to Help Athletes Focus Their Attention, Manage Arousal, and Improve Performance in Sport

49

James M. Howland

Sport Psychology in an Urban High School: Overview of a Two-Year Collaboration

67

Jenelle N. Gilbert, Wade D. Gilbert, Brittany Loney, Mary-tyler Wahl, and Elizabeth Michel

The Journal of Education, Volume 187, Number 1 Leonard Zaichkowsky, Guest Editor

Book Review Whose Game Is It, Anyway? A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports, Organized by Age and Stage

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by Richard D. Ginsburg and Stephen Durant, with Amy Baltzell reviewed by Mark Stonkus

Notes on Contributors

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Letter from the Guest Editor Leonard Zaichkowsky Dear Readers: The articles in this volume have been selected to provide educators with an understanding of the field of sport (and exercise) psychology. Page restriction prevented a more exhaustive presentation of sport psychology—however, I believe these articles, written by faculty members and graduate students who are experts in sport psychology, present a strong sampling of work that is being done in the field. All of these articles have been peer reviewed by outside consultants in sport psychology, counseling, and educational psychology. I would like to thank my colleagues Dr. Lee Indrisano, Dr. John Salmela, Dr. Hap Davis, Dr. Linda Zaichkowsky, and Kevin Carleton for their rigorous review of the content and style of the articles. The series opens with an article I have written in order to provide an overview of the field, including an explanation of just what is sport psychology and how it can be utilized in school settings. It is a specialization that, when properly utilized, can offer benefits not only in terms of improving athletic performance, but also in a full range of areas within the lives of students of all ages. The next article in the series is written by Seth Allen, a doctoral student in counseling psychology at Boston University. In his paper, Seth examines the notion of “expertise,” or what makes a small number of athletes truly outstanding. Specifically he examines what role traditional intelligence and information processing ability plays in high-level performers. He also reviews what is known about training techniques to enhance cognitive strategies and decisionmaking abilities. The third paper is written by Dr. Adam Naylor, a faculty member in the Boston University sport psychology graduate program. Dr. Naylor addresses the coaching dilemma of “playing to win-or playing vii

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to develop the child.” He provides a superb developmental model that will help coaches reflect on how they coach and how to develop the right kind of “decision” balance in the education of student-athletes. The fourth article is written by Jim Howland, a doctoral student in counseling psychology at Boston University. Jim has extensively reviewed the literature on athlete attention and concentration and how this relates to the regulation of arousal. Teachers and coaches will benefit from Jim’s review because it is geared to explaining what mental skills are needed to help student-athletes self-regulate attention and arousal. The fifth paper is authored by Jenelle Gilbert, Wade Gilbert, Brittany Loney, Mary-tyler Wahl, and Elizabeth Michel, all of Fresno State University. The authors provide an overview of a sport psychology program they implemented for high school student-athletes. To my knowledge this is one of the few programs of this kind in North America, and certainly the first to evaluate the effectiveness of sport psychology intervention with high school student-athletes. The final article in this volume is a book review written by Mark Stonkus. The book, entitled “Whose Game Is It, Anyway?” is an excellent example of a sport psychology book that is geared towards educating parents and coaches about sport and the psychology of development.

Sport Psychology: A Primer for Educators Leonard Zaichkowsky tudent participation in sports in schools is an integral part of their educational experience in both private and public school systems in North America. Sports in schools can be justified on educational grounds with respect to educational philosophy and educational outcomes. Most educational leaders believe students who participate in school sports benefit developmentally in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. Developmental benefits include: developing individual and team goals, meeting deadlines, working as a team, learning to perform under pressure, dealing with adversity, handling success and failure, developing self-confidence, developing decision making strategies, learning communication skills, valuing physical fitness, and numerous others. These positive benefits for student-athletes, however, require proper leadership. In the absence of strong educational leadership from administrators, teachers, and coaches, student-athletes may encounter experiences that limit their development. For instance they may experience increased stress and anxiety, ridicule, and develop a negative attitude about the importance of fitness and exercise in their lives. The emerging field of sport psychology has much to offer schools, particularly in providing the necessary expertise to enhance the possibility that sport and exercise will be a positive experience in the lives of school children.

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The Emergence of Sport Psychology and Its Place in Schools Sport psychology is a relatively new field world-wide, and has the potential to provide valuable services to coaches, teachers, and student-athletes in schools, beginning as early as elementary school. Broadly defined, sport psychology is a science-based specialization The Journal of Education 187.1 © 2007 by the Trustees of Boston University. All rights reserved.

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with a body of knowledge that provides professional services to children, adolescents, and adults interested in improving their quality of life through exercise and sport. Since its inception, but particularly during the past decade, sport psychology services have primarily been utilized at the professional, Olympic, and collegiate levels to help athletes and coaches enhance performance and personal development. However, Maher (2005) recently co-published a special edition of the Journal of Applied School Psychology and a book entitled School Sport Psychology: Perspectives, Programs, and Procedures where he argues for bringing sport psychology to the schools, in particular, asking school psychologists to expand their horizons and work with student-athletes, applying the knowledge base from sport psychology. To my knowledge this is the first publication that makes a case for bringing sport psychology to the schools of America. The series of articles in this special edition of the Journal of Education are likewise focused on educating school administrators, counselors, teachers, and coaches about sport psychology, what it is, who can deliver what kind of services, and examples of the type of research and services that are provided. The School of Education at Boston University was one of the first schools in the country to offer courses in sport psychology, and to subsequently develop a graduate training program that has become internationally acclaimed. Space in this edition precludes a detailed description of the history of sport psychology, internationally, nationally, and at Boston University; however, I have described this brief history in several recent publications (Zaichkowsky and Naylor, 2005; Zaichkowsky, Perna, and Baltzell, 2005)

What is sport psychology? Figure 1 provides an illustration of the broad field of sport psychology. Essentially, sport psychology utilizes theory and research to educate and counsel coaches, athletes, and parents with the goal of facilitating optimal sport involvement and performance. In general, there are three often overlapping areas that make up the field of sport psychol-

Zaichkowsky • Sport Psychology 3

Figure 1 Sport Psychology: A Summary of the Focus Areas Sport Psychology

Performance Enhancement

Health/Exercise

Social Psychology

ogy. The largest interest relates to the first focus category called “performance enhancement.” Here, sport psychologists, who are either trained in sport science or are psychologists who have expertise in sport, counsel their clients using empirically validated methods to enhance their client’s performance. Figure 2 is a model that I use in consulting with sport organizations to help enhance individual athlete and team performance. The “skills and techniques” box is a listing of many of the skills sport psychologists could teach student-athletes to enhance their sport performance. Coaches and school psychologists can introduce student-athletes to many concepts that will help them not only with sport performance but transfer as well to general “life skills.” The most useful skills to be learned by student-athletes include: goal-setting, imagery, relaxation, self-talk, attention/concentration, and commitment to rigorous practice. See the excellent article by Gilbert et al. in this volume, which describes how these skills are introduced into a high school curriculum. For thorough descriptions of these skills I refer you to texts such as Dosil (2006) and Weinberg and Gould (2007, forthcoming). The second area of focus is referred to as health and exercise psychology. The issue of health and exercise has become quite prominent in sport psychology, so much so that the title “sport psychology” has become “sport and exercise psychology” in professional organizations (e.g., American Psychological Association, Division 47) and journals (Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology). Our graduate program at


Figure 2 A Model for Integrating Mental Skills into Sport Performance Orientation

Sport Analysis

Clarify purpose Identify objectives

What are the psychological and physical demands of basketball?

Individual/Team Assessment

Profile development and analysis

TAIS 16PF Structured interview Self-questionnaire Observation Coaches input Objective performance analysis

Develop total player profile

Evaluation Compliance and adherence Personal enhancement Personal adjustment

Integrate Psychological Skills into Training/Competition Develop a mental routine Use mental skills at practice Mental practice Monitor progress Identify obstacles Use mental skills in competition

Psychological Skills Training Skills/Attributes Self-awareness Stress management Arousal control Attentional control Thought control Motivation Self-esteem Self confidence Self-efficacy Handling injury Interpersonal skills Leadership Communication Cohesion Lifestyle management

Techniques Physical relaxation Imagery Self-talk Goal setting Reinforcement Simulation Biofeedback Modeling

Boston University recently instituted this name change as well. Not everyone in the field is solely interested in sport benefiting human development; rather their interests are more with general exercise and how exercise contributes to the prevention of disease, coping with stress, and overall health promotion. A major role sport and exercise psychologists could have in schools is helping deal with the problem of childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is one of today’s major public health challenges (Hedley et al., 2004). Consequences of this epidemic include increased risk for chronic diseases, and social and psychological problems among the school-age population. Physical inactivity and poor eating behaviors play a major role in childhood obesity, and while schools cannot solve this problem alone, they could play a major role in addressing childhood obesity. Sport and exercise psychologists can bring a great deal of expertise to help deal with the


problem. A recent issue of the Research Digest (Lee, Wechsler, and Balling, 2006) published by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports provides an excellent summary of the problem as well as ten evidence-based strategies schools can use to improve student health and exercise habits. The third area of focus is referred to as social psychology. Here sport psychologists research and teach about topics such as gender and diversity, moral development, athlete career transition, youth sport, fan behavior, leadership, and motivation, which also overlaps with performance enhancement and health psychology. Graduate students at Boston University have produced a number of outstanding, in fact, award-winning dissertations that cut across all three areas of sport psychology. Frank Perna’s dissertation on “Life satisfaction, psychosocial development and perceived mentoring at career termination of collegiate male athletes” won an award through the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology as did Toshi Tsutsumi’s dissertation entitled, “Effects of strength training on the elderly: Stress reactivity, mood, self-efficacy, and quality of life.” MaryAnn Kane’s study, “The metagonic transition: A study of career transition, marital stress and identity transformation in former professional athletes,” was a runner-up award winner. Marie Dacey’s work entitled “Physical activity motivation across stages of change in older adults” won a dissertation award from the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. An example of a performance enhancement study is the dissertation written by Peter Haberl, now a senior sport psychologist with the United States Olympic Committee, entitled, “Peak performance at the Olympics: An in-depth psycho-social case study of the 1998 U.S. Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team.” Looking at the breadth of the field of sport and exercise psychology that is depicted in Figure 1 and elaborated on in Figure 2, one can begin to appreciate the complicated issue of training necessary to deliver the wide range of services needed by student-athletes. As Figure 3 illustrates, within the field of sport psychology we can have a


Figure 3 Breadth of Applied Sport Psychology Services

Abnormal

Normal

Super-normal

broad range of clients, most being student-athletes that can be called “normal,” or in some cases the exceptional, highly skilled student-athlete we can call “super-normal.” At the other end of the continuum, however, are student-athletes that may be experiencing “abnormal,” emotional and mental health. In the case of normal and super-normal student-athletes many of the sport psychology/life skills listed in Figure 2 can be taught by teachers and coaches, but they should be mindful that they cannot refer to themselves as sport psychologists because there are professional certification standards associated with being a sport psychology consultant. If student-athletes present with clinical issues such as performance anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and substance abuse issues, they need mental health services from credentialed professionals. Most schools have access to licensed mental health counselors and if so, such student-athletes should be referred to these professionals—a point I can not emphasize enough. Martin Seligman, noted psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania and former president of the American Psychological Association, along with social psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, spearheaded a movement in the late 1990s they called “positive psychology,” a concept that intersects well with sport psychology (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). The aim of the positive psychology movement is to promote the positive aspects of human experience rather than pathology, and emphasize human strengths that lead to improved performance, improved quality of life, and the prevention of disease. Positive human strengths include, but are not limited to: hope, wisdom, creativity, courage, spirituality, responsibility, perseverance, laughter, and mental toughness. Student-athletes in schools


would benefit greatly from learning about these positive attributes from their teachers, coaches, and sport psychologists. At Boston University we have developed a graduate training program in sport and exercise psychology that effectively integrates the concepts of positive psychology with sport science, research, counseling, and school counseling, as well as mental health and behavioral medicine. The program is truly interdisciplinary. Our program also includes supervised practicum and internship experiences in applied sport psychology sites such as local area schools, academies, and colleges. In addition we have established a “Sport Psychology Laboratory and Clinic” in the Department of Athletics where graduate students can obtain supervised experience in counseling Division I student-athletes that are experiencing a broad range of issues related to their sport and personal lives. This training clinic is one of the few in North America. Recently we established a unique joint training program with the program in mental health and behavioral medicine, housed in the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences at the Boston University School of Medicine. Master’s students study in the School of Education during their first year and experience what we term a developmental or positive psychology curriculum. During their second year they study more traditional mental health issues based on a medical or pathology model. Students also experience a year-long internship in a mental health center. The result of this collaborative training between the School of Education and the School of Medicine is a student who is license-eligible as a “mental health counselor” and is well-prepared to promote sport and exercise psychology in a broad range of environments.

References Dosil, J. (2006). The sport psychologist’s handbook: A guide for sport-specific performance enhancement. West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Hedley, A. A., Ogden, C. L., Johnson, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Curtin, L. R., and Flegal, K. M. (2004). Prevalence of overweight and obesity among US children, adolescents, and adults, 1999–2002. Journal of the American Medical Association, 291 (23), 2847–2850.

8 Journal of Education Lee, S. M., Wechsler, H., and Balling, A. (2006). The role of schools in preventing childhood obesity. In D. Young, R. Pangrazi, and B. Ainsworth (Eds.), President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Research Digest, 7 (3), pp. 1–8. Maher, C. A. (2005). School sport psychology: Perspectives, programs, and procedures. New York: The Haworth Press, Inc. Seligman, M. E. P., and Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14. Weinberg, R. S., and Gould, D. (2007, forthcoming). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology. Champaign, IL:. Human Kinetics. Zaichkowsky, L., and Naylor, A. (2005). Sport psychology foundations, organizations, and related resources. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 21, (2), 9–24. Zaichkowsky, L., Perna, F. and Baltzell, A. (2005). “Graduate training in sport & exercise psychology: A case of collaboration between the School of Education & School of Medicine at Boston University.” Presented at the ISSP 11th World Congress of Sport Psychology, Sydney, Australia, August 17, 2005.

Expertise in Sport: A Cognitive-Developmental Approach Seth Allen xpertise in sport can be viewed, albeit in a simplistic manner, as the achievement of superior levels of performance within any given athletic event. Expert sport performers are widely known as “champions,” and within other domains, this concept is analogous, for example, to the “master” chess player, the academic “genius,” or the “grandmaster” in martial arts. Sport expertise is much more than simply having an understanding of how to perform the required motor tasks of a sporting event. Rather, the expert must demonstrate the ability to perform at the highest levels possible with consistency. Sport is unique in a sense because competition serves as a litmus test to differentiate between expert and novice performers, and within these competitions, outcome measures are often standardized and objective (e.g., the race results of a 100-meter dash). As a result, sport can be a very useful template on which to examine the mechanisms that lead to expertise. This review will attempt to use this concept of expertise in sport, and consider some cognitive-developmental mechanisms that can contribute to its development. The attainment of expertise in sport can be attributed to a wide variety of factors. In many cases, the underlying causes of athletic excellence are limited by various constraints, such as the physical demands of the task, the skill-level of the opponent, or the conditions of the playing environment. While these external forces do play a legitimate role in expert performance, they are largely out of the control of the individual athlete and exist primarily as factors that must be overcome in order to achieve success. Because of this, a more fruitful approach to examining the processes necessary for expert achieve-

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ment may be to attempt to identify some developmental mechanisms that can potentially be regulated and enhanced by the athlete so that the external constraints to expert development can become surmountable. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to provide an overview of some of the intrinsic developmental mechanisms that could lead to the enhancement of motor activities, thereby improving performance in sport. The intent is not to be comprehensive but to present examples of theories and supporting research that relate to expertise development in sport-specific situations. A particularly interesting approach to examining expert achievement in sport is to address developmental theories as they apply to the human condition in general. Although the maturation of human anatomy and physiology play an obvious and vital role in the enhancement of motor performance, discussion exclusive to factors such as anaerobic power and aerobic capacity, body morphology and body segment size, muscle fiber type and distribution, and degree of flexibility is beyond the scope of this literature review. While it is true that one should not ignore such factors, it is fortunate (and certainly not coincidental) that many of these principles tend to overlap with various theories that are applicable to expert development. Because of this, the present discussion will address such issues only as they relate to the specific developmental theories found in this analysis. Cognitive development is the central topic of choice for the following review. Within the cognitive developmental framework, related areas of intellectual functioning and information-processing approaches to development will be explored as well. According to Janelle and Hillman (2003), cognitive expertise can be divided into two separate subdomains: tactical skills and decision-making abilities. Tactical and strategic knowledge is a requirement in virtually every achievement domain. Within sport situations, it takes additional significance in the sense that athletes oftentimes are forced to decide upon and implement tactical strategies within unique situational constraints, such as time limitations. In other words, athletes are subject to physiological and technical limitations that work to

Allen • Expertise in Sport 11

restrict the number of strategic options available within sport environments. Within this domain, information-processing frameworks play a significant role since they provide observational tools needed to evaluate levels of tactical expertise. Decision-making abilities, the second subdomain of cognitive expertise according to Janelle and Hillman (2003), utilize perceptual and decision-making processes to help determine the ability of the athlete to excel in context-specific sport situations. Athletes must attend to and extract the most relevant information while minimizing the effects of external distractions that serve as potential inhibitors of successful performance. This area of cognitive expertise has been the most extensively evaluated and researched aspect to date and, consequently, according to Ripoll et al. (1995), conclusions can be drawn with a reasonable degree of confidence that experts are more rapid and accurate in processing information in sport-specific situations than are non-experts. Even with these conclusions, however, the cognitive processes that underlie these responses, and the effect of expertise on these operations, have not adequately been examined. Based on theories of cognitive development pertaining to tactical skills and decision-making abilities, several key questions will be explored in the following review. First, the problem of whether or not some degree of intelligence is required to enhance motor performance and development will be considered. Next, information-processing approaches to expertise in sport will be described in order to show the mechanisms that are used to obtain and utilize the cognitive processes necessary for situation-specific success. Finally, cognitive and metacognitive theories of development will be taken into account, with an additional emphasis on specific strategies that athletes can utilize to enhance their ability to perform at a high level in sport. The questions of what cognitive strategies are preeminent in the enhancement of athletic performance will be specifically addressed, as well as whether or not athletes can be taught to self-correct their performance through metacognitive evaluation. This


review will conclude with a summary and will discuss considerations for the implications of applying the research and theoretical applications discussed into practice.

Intellectual Development and Expert Sport Performance According to Tenenbaum and Bar-Eli (1995), the question of whether skilled motor performance requires some form of intelligence needs further clarification, especially since the nature of intelligence is such a complex construct. For example, if some form of itelligence is compulsory to excel in sport, what are the necessary intellectual traits? Can the intelligence simply be body-kinesthetic intelligence, one of the seven forms of intelligence defined by Gardner (1993)? Since some actions in sport are limited to time pressure and seem to be performed automatically, are they dependent on some cognitive construct, or can they be executed independently of traditional “IQ” intellectual functioning? What are the various forms of intelligence that are most applicable and useful within sport-specific situations? These are the types of questions that merit exploration in order to advance an understanding of the intellectual requirements of elite athletes.

Intelligence in Sport Situations An important point to be addressed is the nature of intelligence and its relationship to sport. Tenenbaum and Bar-Eli (1995) suggest that a classical definition of intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge. Behavior is regarded as intelligent when one displays the capability to deal with both new and old environmental demands. One’s capacity to adapt and solve problems depends in large part on the brain’s potential to encode and access information relevant to the current task. Because tasks vary in their unique characteristics and requirements, and similar tasks may be used in different situations, intelligent behavior seems to depend “on intellectual capacity, the


nature of the task, and the situation in which the task and person interact” (p. 694). This view of intelligent behavior implies a direct connection between sport situations and expertise performance because in sportspecific contexts, athletes are often involved with the “encoding of relevant environmental cues, processing them, and choosing an appropriate response” (Tenenbaum and Bar-Eli, 1995, p. 694). These choices are made in continuously changing environments, making adaptability to new and old environmental demands of central importance to intelligence in sport. Although the classical definition of intelligence fits well into sporting environments, the uniqueness of both the motor demands and of the environment makes generalizing from this type of description difficult. For example, an athlete may have the ability to identify the best possible strategy and response, but without the necessary motor abilities to complement his or her intellectual proficiency, truly skilled performance cannot be achieved. Therefore, in sport contexts, intellectual skills must be complemented by other mechanisms to ensure high levels of performance. Further complicating the issue is that, according to Singer and Janelle (1999), although it would appear that intellectual capacities seem to play an important role in sport aptitude, little research has been done to determine the degree to which such processes are trainable so that athletes, with the proper knowledge and practice, could attain a level of expertise.

Important Sport-specific Domains of Intelligence In their discussion of the intellectual mechanisms required to display proficiency in sport, Tenenbaum and Bar-Eli (1995) identify several areas that seem to play a role in upper-tier performance. Their examination includes areas such as information processing, knowledge structures, experience, and decision-making; recall capability and motor proficiency; memory representations and motor performance; seman-


tic and sensorimotor processing, and skilled performance; attending to external cues and anticipating forthcoming events; and perception of time and space as being essential for controlling motor action. An interesting approach to the examination of motor intelligence within these domains would be to look at a developmental model of intelligence spanning across the lifespan in order to identify some potential mechanisms that could contribute to the ability of the athlete to enhance his or her sport-specific intellectual capacity. This could prove to be especially true if some aspect of intelligence could be identified that allows for improvements in sport-specific tasks over time.

The Theory of Fluid-Crystallized Intelligence One approach that seems to hold some promise in this area can be found in the psychometric theory of fluid-crystallized intelligence. In this view, general intelligence can be divided into two main subcomponents known as fluid and crystallized intelligence. Perceptual speed, memory, and reasoning compose the fluid domain, while knowledge and fluency make up the crystallized field. Fluid intelligence is relatively “knowledge-free” and consists of the “mechanics of cognition,” while crystallized intelligence is “knowledge-saturated” and makes up the “pragmatics” of cognition (Baltes and Lindenberger, 1997, p. 4). This theory, according to Baltes (1987) can be categorized into multidimensional and multidirectional concepts. The theory of fluid-crystallized intelligence is multidimensional because it postulates a system of abilities (both knowledge-free and knowledge-based). It is multidirectional in the sense that the multiple-ability components of the theory differ in the direction of their development. To illustrate, as cited in Baltes (1987), Cattell (1971) and Horn (1970, 1982) have indicated that crystallized intelligence tends to exhibit incremental increases throughout the lifespan whereas fluid intelligence tends to begin to decline in the late twenties of most individuals.


The Theory of Mechanics and Pragmatics of Intelligence As described above, Baltes (1987) has expanded on the theory of fluidcrystallized intelligence by applying the terms mechanics of intelligence and pragmatics of intelligence to the original conceptions of fluid and crystallized intelligence (p. 614). The mechanics of intelligence refers to the basic structure of information processing and problem solving. This concept describes the fundamental cognitive operations and structures required for intelligent behavior to occur. Pragmatics of intelligence, on the other hand, relates to the context- and knowledgerelated areas of the application of intelligence. Under this mechanism, Baltes (1987) hopes to identify and describe the following: 1) fairly general systems of factual and procedural knowledge (e.g., crystallized intelligence), 2) distinct systems of factual and procedural knowledge (e.g., occupational expertise), and 3) knowledge about the skills that are necessary for the activation of intelligence in specific contexts that require intelligent action. Baltes’ (1987) conceptualization that the construct of intelligence possesses the multidimensional and multidirectional factors of mechanics and pragmatics is particularly interesting to sport-specific situations. Specifically, this framework can be used to work towards an understanding of the specific mechanisms of intelligence that can lead to expertise achievement across the lifespan. This view encompasses both physiological processes and cognitive requirements to succeed in context-specific situations. It seems that the mechanics of intelligence indirectly refer to the motor skills and intellectual hardwiring that athletes must possess in order to perform motor tasks. As previously mentioned, research suggests that these innate abilities begin to decline in the late twenties (Baltes, 1987), which is the age in which many athletes have been in and are still in competition within their respective sports. Therefore, it would appear that the enhancement of the mechanics of intelligence would provide some benefit, especially in the early portion of the career of the athlete. It is within the prag-


matic domain of intelligence, however, that the greatest potential lies to utilize intellectual capacities to augment sport performance over the extended life span. This domain appears to focus on the cognitive systems that would permit athletes to bring together the situation-specific information required to synthesize stimuli in order to successfully perform tasks in sport. It stands to reason that if athletes can work to improve their procedural knowledge and their understanding of the skills relevant for the activation of applicable forms of intelligence, their performance could potentially benefit from such a working awareness. This type of process seems related to cognitive and metacognitive strategies that athletes can utilize to enhance their performance, an issue that will be addressed later in this review.

Information-processing and Development of Expertise in Sport One particularly important aspect of cognitive capacity for motor performance appears to be found in information-processing explanations. According to Siegler (1983), from this viewpoint, people are seen as “limited capacity manipulators of symbols” (p. 129) who organize basic information processes into hierarchies of goals and subgoals in order to accomplish cognitive feats. A great number of factors, however, can limit people from attaining their goals. For example, only a certain number of symbols can be manipulated simultaneously, limitations exist on speed of information processing, and the depth that memory can be searched is restricted. Therefore, people must use a variety of strategies to overcome such limitations. Unfortunately, not much is known at present that would indicate how effective information-processing strategies are to expertise development in sport. Singer and Janelle (1999) argue that genetics probably form the basis of superior information-processing proficiency, but admit, “the use of self-regulatory strategies can lead to more efficient acquisition of motor expertise” (p. 141). In a review of the literature, Tenenbaum and Bar-Eli (1995) concluded that experi-


enced athletes utilize available stimuli more efficiently than inexperienced athletes. Thus, it can be argued that the former are better at analyzing only the necessary information required to perform skills in which time constitutes a determining factor.

A Decision-Making Framework An area within the information-processing framework that has been evaluated extensively in recent years by researchers interested in defining mechanisms responsible for expert performance is sport-related decision making. According to Tenenbaum (2003), enough evidence currently exists “to establish a scheme of expertise decision making” (p. 192). Within this scheme, both cognitive and emotional states are used to identify and choose the best possible decision in a given situation. Therefore, the decision-making model draws on diverse research encompassing both domains, and for this reason is understandably complex. For the purpose of this review, however, most of the emphasis will be on describing the cognitive aspects of decision-making as they relate to an information-processing framework. Tenenbaum (2003) indicates that response selection in sport suggests the existence of adaptive behavior that rests upon the ability to solve problems. In order to make effective decisions, he describes a conceptual framework for motor behaviors based on an informationprocessing perspective in the following manner: Motor behaviors in competitive situations consist of encoding the relevant environmental cues through the utilization of attention strategies, processing the information through an ongoing interaction between working memory and long-term memory, making an action-related decision, and executing the action while leaving room for refinements and modifications (p. 194). Through this process, one is able to relate types of decisions to the information-processing stages an athlete goes through in competitive, sport-specific situations.


These types of decisions can be described by using a conceptual model, according to Tenenbaum (2003). First, an athlete must decide where to attend in order to capture the most significant environmental cues. Next, a decision must be made that allows the athlete to eradicate irrelevant information and focus only on the relevant information necessary for anticipation of upcoming events. This anticipation depends on a continuing elaboration between observed environmental information and the intrinsic knowledge structure of long-term memory. It is believed that long-term memory is the mechanism that allows athletes to better process and anticipate information, and then to take an appropriate course of action. The timing of the chosen action and any potential variations are additional choices to be considered when environmental conditions apply. Another way to view this model is summarized by the following eight stages: 1) visual strategies and attention allocation (where to look and to what to attend), 2) selection process (what is and is not relevant), 3) anticipation (what will happen next), 4) processing for making decisions (long-term working memory), 5) decision-making elaboration (which action to choose), 6) action initiation (how and when to execute action), 7) action alteration (keeping alternatives in alert), and 8) action evaluation (feedback). The model described above operates most efficiently in situations in which athletes have a longer duration of time to make decisions. For example, as a point guard in basketball slowly dribbles the ball up court, he or she is allowed time to scan the court and process relevant information. Under conditions such as these, athletes are able to plan and perform alterations based on anticipatory mechanisms, which are enhanced by the knowledge base of the athlete. In fast-paced situations involving more time constraints, slow-paced processing is not a possibility for superior performance to occur. Therefore, the cognitive and motor systems must operate at a faster rate, relying on knowledge structure and motor schema, which are automatically accessed without the use of conscious awareness. (Tenenbaum, 2003).


Cognitive Strategies to Enhance Performance in Sport The relationship between knowledge structure and motor schema within sport is an especially important concept, because, as McPherson and Kernodle (2003) suggest, research has predicted that the cognitive processes necessary for exemplary performance in sport are linked to the athlete’s knowledge base of the task. They caution, however, that previous findings derived from the work of cognitive theorists in other domains (e.g., chess, computer language) may not be fully transferable to sport-specific contexts due to the unique situational demands of sport, such as time constraints for information processing. Furthermore, understanding is limited about the specific cognitive strategies that athletes use in competition. However, cognitive abilities appear to play an important role in the development of sport expertise, and the remainder of this section will focus on specific mental processes and techniques that are believed to play an important role in the enhancement of motor performance.

The Development of Tactics McPherson and Kernodle (2003) suggest that tactics, or knowledge and support processes used during competition, have the potential to play an important role in sport expertise. To clarify the nature of the knowledge base in sport-specific situations, it would appear that the knowledge base in sport includes both the traditional propositional networks for response selections and executions as well as the procedures for such processes. It also includes additional sport-specific memory adaptations and structures, including “action plan profiles, current event profiles, game situation prototypes, scripts for competition, and domain-related strategies that are stored in and accessible from long-term memory” (p. 142). In examining the mechanisms that lead to proper tactic and strategy selection and thereby improved sport performance, it is


important to determine if knowledge bases can be developed in such a way that will enhance athletic performance. According to McPherson and Kernodle (2003), sport-specific knowledge bases can be enhanced through methods such as deliberate practice or competition. As the knowledge bases improve, the following general transformations are theorized to occur as follows: First, plans based on varying levels of goals within a hierarchical goal structure would be replaced by condition-action rule decisions. Second, weak, inappropriate conditions and actions would be replaced by ones that were tactical, refined, and associated. Third, a global approach to sport situations with minimal processing of taskrelevant events would be replaced by a tactical approach to sport situations with continual monitoring of important or relevant information (including past events and the current situation). Fourth, processing events in the environment or surface features of sport situations would be replaced by processing information at deeper, more tactical levels. Fifth, few monitoring and planning processes would be replaced by specialized monitoring and planning processes. Sixth, limited actions without specialized processes would be replaced by tactical actions that include processes to enhance or modify actions. Finally, extensive years of high-level competitive play were predicted to be a necessary requirement to develop highly tactical problem representations (p. 142). Although the process of developing more efficient knowledge bases in sport-situations is long and complex, this framework provides some explanation of how these mechanisms can be achieved in order to enhance performance. The use of tactical representations in sportspecific situations is one example of how the development of cognitive ability can be shown to potentially improve athletic performance.

Cognitive Strategies to Enhance Performance Effective cognitive strategies for the enhancement of athletic abilities are not limited to tactical representations. Research in the area of sport


expertise has shown that athletes can benefit from the use of various cognitive strategies designed to regulate performance. For example, some of these strategies include learned techniques such as visualization, relaxation, goal-setting, and self-talk. A commonality between all of these techniques is that they require some degree of mental effort designed specifically to enhance physiological execution of tasks. Some research outlining the benefits of mental skills training to athletic performance is highlighted below. According to Thelwell and Greenlees (2001), not only do athletes benefit from the use of cognitive strategies, it appears effectiveness increases with the addition of multiple mental skills within a package. In their experiment, a mental skills training package consisting of goal setting, relaxation, imagery, and self-talk was introduced to a group of five gymnasium triathlon performers. Within the goal-setting aspect of the package, both long- and short-term goals were discussed. The relaxation approach consisted of teaching the triathletes what it is like to relax through the use of techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation and breathing exercises. Then, the participants were encouraged to use imagery by visualizing in real time and in slow motion the images of competition mastery, physical stimulation, and successful execution of skills. Finally, the athletes were taught how to maximize positive self-talk (both before and during competition) and to manage negative self-talk by reconstructing negative self-statements in a positive manner. The results of Thelwell and Greenlees’ (2001) experiment suggest that the triathletes used the cognitive performance-enhancement techniques to a greater degree following the initiation of the mental skills training package. In addition, the athletes were shown to demonstrate improved performance as the cognitive techniques were utilized to a greater degree. These findings have significant implications concerning the importance of cognitive strategies on the development of expertise in sport. Not only can athletes be taught to utilize their cognitive abilities to a greater degree, these abilities appear to have the potential to have a positive effect on sport performance.


The preceding study focused on the effects of a mental skills training package on triathlon performers. An important question that must be considered, however, is whether or not cognitive strategies can be found to be effective across additional sport domains. In one study, for example, golfers were shown to lower their handicaps (improve performance) and report higher confidence in cognitive strategies after a mental skills package was implemented (Thomas and Fogarty, 1997). In a study by Ming and Martin (1996) designed to determine if self-talk strategies have a lasting impact on figure skating performance, results indicated that participants continued to utilize self-talk up to one year after its initiation during practice and believed that it enhanced competitive performance. Masciana et al. (2001) conducted an experiment designed to measure the effects of five cognitive strategies (e.g., self-talk, imagery, physical instruction drilling, a Zen-based strategy, and the participants’ own strategy) on a dart-throwing task. Results indicated that self-talk was the most preferred cognitive strategy as well as the technique that yielded the most significant performance improvements. More importantly, however, this study also suggests that, when physical practice is held constant, adding mental strategies is effective in augmenting performance. Finally, Grouios (1992) found that mental practice could significantly affect reaction time due to its direct influence on the memory system, making memory comparison and response selection processes more efficient. In this experiment, 100 top-level sport participants were used from eight different sports, further suggesting that cognitive strategies can be effective to enhance athletic performance across multiple domains.

Metacognitive Strategies for Performance Enhancement As shown above, the use of cognitive strategies to enhance sport performance can be an effective tool to facilitate expertise development. Another interesting and related topic to this would be to explore the


role that metacognition serves in enhancing sport performance. By focusing on the metacognitive strategies that athletes use, one can examine specific processes that athletes utilize to self-regulate and refine aspects of their sport. This has important implications because if athletes can be taught to develop a metacognitive understanding of the necessary processes that facilitate improvements in performance, athletes can, in theory, enhance their level of expertise by self-regulating pertinent cognitive strategies to their specific sport situation. In his overview of the impact of metacognition on cognitive control, Cornoldi (1998) indicates that metacognitive reflection, or people’s beliefs and interpretations about their cognitive activity, has a direct impact on people’s cognitive behavior. He defines several components of metacognitive reflection, including metacognitive knowledge, conceptualization, attitude, and specific knowledge, each of which has a slightly different role in enhancing cognitive activities though metacognitive reflection. Furthermore, these mechanisms can have an impact on an individual’s ability and propensity to metacognitively reflect, which in turn may have an impact on the cognitive behavior of that individual. Metacognitive knowledge can be defined, according to Cornoldi (1998), as “people’s beliefs concerning all possible aspects of cognitive activity (nature, functioning, self-evaluation, etc.) preexisting before actual cognitive tasks must be carried out” (p. 140). Metacognitive knowledge is distinguishable from other types of knowledge (e.g., procedural, connotative, autobiographical memory) in the sense that it is knowledge related to a person’s understanding of and feelings toward other, more explicit forms of knowledge. Metacognitive knowledge can generally influence behavior through two components known as strategic, or metacognitive, attitude, and specific metacognitive knowledge. Metacognitive attitude “concerns the general tendency of a person to reflect about the nature of his or her own cognitive activity and to think about the possibility of extending and using this reflection (Cornoldi, 1998, p. 144). This attitude may help people when they do


not have specific knowledge about the cognitive task they are facing in the sense that they may be able to transfer known strategies to new tasks and reduce time and effort in trying to accomplish the task. Individuals with a strong metacognitive attitude may be more inclined to use their metacognitive knowledge, which in turn leads to a high correlation between metacognitive knowledge and cognitive behavior. Also, individuals with a high metacognitive attitude “should develop more resources, information, and strategies, and therefore perform better on cognitive tasks” (p. 145). Effort is one of the main aspects of metacognitive attitude, and, in this respect, as cited in Cornoldi (1998), there is some evidence that suggests that it has a positive effect on performance. This evidence can be explained by assuming that a general metacognitive attitude can increase an individual’s tendency to develop metacognitive reflection, to spend additional effort on a task, and transfer a learned strategy to a new context, all of which contribute to enhanced performance. Specific metacognitive knowledge is differentiated from metacognitive attitude in the sense that it is related to specific aspects of cognitive functioning as opposed to the general emotional-motivational, and behavioral connotations of metacognitive attitude. Cornoldi (1998) asks the following question: “If you can successfully undergo a cognitive task by using Strategy A, will specific knowledge of that strategy increase the probability of using it (and the probability of success in the task)?” (p. 148). The question appears to be answered in the affirmative, and to illustrate, Cornoldi (1998) describes a study that suggests that imagery tasks (incidentally, a cognitive strategy important to sport improvement) “can be influenced by the individual’s metacognitive conceptualization” (p. 152). In short, specific metacognitive knowledge is potentially useful because it may encourage the use of specific strategies when they are required, thereby augmenting abilities in situation-specific tasks.


A Discussion of Implications The preceding text has focused on the importance of three specific aspects of expert development—intelligence, information processing, and cognitive strategies for the regulation of and enhancement of sport performance. Implicit in the discussion is that all three approaches are centered in various roles of cognition in the pursuit of improvements in physiological performance, and ultimately in the execution of athletic tasks. In order to clarify the importance of cognitive functioning in this area, it may be beneficial to examine the specific potential, and therefore the implications, that all three areas have on the development of expertise in sport. Intelligence has a definite impact on the successful execution of athletic tasks. The nature of intelligence indicates that it is an important tool for athletes to utilize in order to adjust to the ever-changing situations that constantly occur during athletic endeavors. By learning to utilize intellectual abilities, athletes could benefit by increasing their ability to process relevant information for the execution of pertinent tasks. Furthermore, general strategies and tactics could be enhanced, thereby augmenting the effectiveness of an athlete’s motor performance in competitive situations. The notion that intelligence could be multidimensional and multidirectional has direct implications on the development and maintenance of expert sport performance. If intelligence does have two separate components, consisting of separate domains for the physiological and the knowledge-based aspects of intelligence, it becomes useful to examine their implications separately. The existence of these multidimensional aspects of intelligence lends further validity to the exploration of both the physiological and the cognitive mechanisms that could aid in expert motor development. Similarly, the multidirectional aspect of intelligence provides some theoretical credence for the possibility that athletes may have some tools at their disposal to maintain higher levels of performance throughout their careers. For exam-


ple, if the physiological aspects of intelligence begin to wane as an athlete approaches thirty, a potentially beneficial approach would be to compensate for this decline by enabling the athlete to enhance his or her knowledge-based intellectual capacity. By enhancing one form of intelligence as the other diminishes, an athlete could enhance his or her longevity in sport, providing important benefits. Information-processing abilities are fundamental in virtually every sport situation. By enhancing an athlete’s ability to process information, expertise is enhanced by equipping him or her with the necessary skills to excel in each new situation as it occurs. Whereas much attention is deservedly given to the reaction time of athletes, it seems that by focusing on the mechanisms that athletes must use to process relevant contextual cues, much insight could be gained that could lead to the enhancement of information-processing capacities. The ultimate goal, especially in fast-paced sport situations, would be to enable athletes to automatically access their knowledge structure and motor schema without the use of conscious awareness so that no time delays exist that could hinder the execution of time-sensitive tasks. The development of tactics and strategies play a significant role in the attainment of sport expertise as well. Because these cognitive processes depend on an athlete’s knowledge base of the task, it is important to deepen his or her understanding of the ways in which they can be utilized to ensure a high level of performance. This knowledge can be fostered through deliberate practice and repeated exposure to relevant competitive situations so that the athlete can apply the necessary tactics to competitive situations. Cognitive strategies designed to regulate performance, such as goal-setting, self-talk, and visualization, have perhaps the most obvious direct implications for expert development in sport. As was indicated previously, once all methods of physical practice are held constant, such techniques have been shown to enhance performance across multiple sport domains. Once an athlete learns how to apply these techniques in an effective manner, performance improvements


generally occur. Interestingly, the ability of an athlete to effectively develop such cognitive strategies may be related to his or her knowledge-based intellectual capacity, which appears to be a relationship that may be worthy of further exploration. The notion that an athlete is able to augment performance through the use of cognitive techniques is encouraging because he or she is allowed to have some degree of conscious control over the body’s response to external stimuli. If this notion is true, then metacognitive understanding of self-regulation is an exciting area that could cultivate an athlete’s ability to effectively utilize cognitive techniques for performance enhancement. In theory, by teaching an athlete to understand how and why a cognitive strategy is effective, he or she may be encouraged to make use of this strategy to a greater extent, but perhaps most importantly, will be able to transfer this strategy to other situations. In other words, athletes will learn to analyze their own performance with some degree of understanding and then apply this knowledge for improvements to occur in new situations. Metacognition in sport could lead to informed decision-making, thereby leading to improved choices of self-regulation techniques and ultimately better performance under competitive conditions. Ideally, a metacognitive approach to athletic development could encompass all of the previously mentioned cognitive domains, leading to increased understanding and utilization of the necessary cognitive mechanisms required for the achievement of expertise in sport.

References Baltes, P. B. (1987). Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology: On the dynamics between growth and decline. Developmental Psychology, 23(5), 611–626. Baltes, P. B., and Lindenberger, U. (1997). Emergence of a powerful connection between sensory and cognitive functions across the adult life span: A new window to the study of cognitive aging? Psychology and Aging, 12(1), 12–21. Retrieved February 22, 2004 from the APA PsychNET for Institutions. Cattell, R. B. (1971). Abilities: Their structure, growth, and action. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

28 Journal of Education Cornoldi, C. (1998). The impact of metacognitive reflection on cognitive control. In G. Mazzoni and T. O. Nelson (Eds.), Metacognition and cognitive neuropsychology (pp. 139–159). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books. Grouios, G. (1992). On the reduction of reaction time with mental practice. Journal of Sport Behavior, 15(2), 141–157. Horn, J. L. (1970). Organization of data on life-span development of human abilities. In L. R. Goulet & P. B. Baltes (Eds.), Life-span developmental psychology: Research and theory (pp. 423–466). New York: Academic Press. Horn, J. L. (1982). The theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence in relation to concepts of cognitive psychology and aging in adulthood. In F. I. M. Craik and S. E. Trehub (Eds.), Aging and cognitive processes (pp. 847–870). New York: Plenum Press. Janelle, C. M., and Hillman, C. H. (2003). Expert performance in sport: Current perspectives and critical issues. In J. L. Starkes and K. A. Ericsson (Eds.), Expert Performance In Sports: Advances in Research on Sport Expertise (pp. 19–49). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Masciana, R. C., Van Raalte, J. L., Brewer, B. W., Branton, M. G., and Coughlin, M. A. (2001). Effects of cognitive strategies on dart throwing performance. International Sports Journal, 5(2), 31–39. McPherson, S. L., and Kernodle, M. W. (2003). Tactics, the neglected attribute of expertise: Problem representations and performance skills in tennis. In J. L. Starkes and K. A. Ericsson (Eds.), Expert performance in sports: Advances in research on sport expertise (pp. 137–167). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Ming, S., and Martin, G. L. (1996). Single-subject evaluation of a self-talk package for improving figure skating performance. The Sport Psychologist, 10(3), 227–238. Ripoll, H., Kerlirzin, Y., Stein, J., and Reine, B. (1995). Analysis of information processing, decision making, and visual strategies in complex problem solving sport situations. Human Movement Science, 14, 325–349. Siegler, R. S. (1983). Information processing approaches to development. In W. Kessen (Ed.), History, theory, and methods: 4th Edition (pp. 129–211). New York: Wiley. Singer, R. N., and Janelle, C. M. (1999). Determining sport expertise: From genes to supremes. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 30(2), 117–150. Tenenbaum, G. (2003). Expert athletes: An integrated approach to decision making. In J. L. Starkes and K. A. Ericsson (Eds.), Expert performance in sports: Advances in research on sport expertise (pp. 191–218). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Allen • Expertise in Sport 29 Tenenbaum, G., and Bar-Eli, M. (1995). Personality and intellectual capabilities in sport psychology. In D. H. Saklofske and M. Zeidner (Eds.), International handbook of personality and intelligence (pp. 687–710). New York: Plenum Press. Thelwell, R. C., and Greenlees, I. A. (2001). The effects of a mental skills training package on gymnasium triathlon performance. The Sport Psychologist, 15(2), 127–141. Thomas, P. R., and Fogarty, G. J. (1997). Psychological skills training in golf: The role of individual differences in cognitive preferences. The Sport Psychologist, 11(1), 86–106.

The Coach’s Dilemma: Balancing Playing to Win and Player Development A d a m H . N ay l o r

Introduction Coaches are both teachers and game-time managers striving for victories. These two roles can at times appear at odds with one another and challenge the coach’s ability to make wise game-time decisions. Striving passionately toward the explicit goal of winning games and championships can prove to inhibit a player’s development. Likewise, the coach that fails to appreciate the value of “playing to win” at certain levels of competition does not best serve athletes. During competition it is important that a coach wisely manages the tension between “coaching to win” and “coaching for learning.” In order to successfully balance these decisions, one must reflect on the developmental needs of young and older athletes, understanding what leads to athletic excellence. The following article presents a developmental model for understanding coaches’ competitive decision-making when working with athletes from childhood through adulthood. Player development and game-time coaching is an imperfect process; however, this model should assist coaches in making well-informed choices and allow the coach to trust that short-term sacrifices lead to long-term successes, and that there is a substantial benefit to the athletes when outcomebased decisions are made. It would be nice if coaches were only teachers. The playing field is certainly a classroom and coaches are the pedagogues who walk the sidelines. Coaches are teachers—and they are also managers. While these two roles are not necessarily in conflict, managing athletic teams to victory can appear to be in discord with intrinsic teaching motives.


31


The role of teacher is to educate, nurture, and empower athletes providing opportunities for personal growth and development. These are objectives that are easily accomplished in practices, yet decisions and behaviors of coaches during competitive situations are often at odds with educational ideals. The cacophony of coaching philosophy and strategic decisions created by competitive situations do arise because winning matters. Unlike in the classroom where teaching new skills is the task at hand, time on the playing field has at least two overt objectives: 1) develop athletes and 2) win games and championships. The level to which each of these is pursued is determined by three factors: first, the coaches’ philosophy and personality; next, the sports organization’s objectives; and last, and most importantly, the players’ desires and developmental needs (Chelladurai, 1990; Gardner, 1990). When these three factors are weighed and considered in unison, a balance between teaching and winning may be struck. While it might not be politically correct to confess, the outcome of sporting events does matter. It matters to coaches, players, sports organizations, and fans. This reality puts the intrinsic ideals of development and equal opportunities at odds with extrinsic passions and pressures. Scoreboards and standings make winning an explicit goal for any coach that paces the sideline and any athlete that steps onto the field (Balague, 1999). Furthermore, not only is victory an explicit objective of most competitors, but it is human nature to strive for success. Successful outcomes of games are one way in which players and coaches validate their efforts and see themselves in a positive light. The desire for positive self perceptions is both human and healthy (Brown and Rogers, 1991; Greenberg, Pyszczynski, and Solomon, 1982). For these reasons, the quest for desirable sporting outcomes shapes coaching behaviors and decision-making. Nonetheless, this does not suggest that it is wise or necessary for coaches to make solely “results-based decisions” at game time. The journey to excellence spans approximately one decade (Ericsson, 1996). As important resources during this period, coaches must be adept at developing their athletes during routine practices

Naylor • The Coach’s Dilemma 33

and during competitive situations. Sport science and pedagogical research have shown us that it is critical to focus on intrinsic motivators such as skill development and self-referenced goals if optimal athletic development is to be achieved (Deci and Ryan, 1985). In essence, although the outcome of games matter, an athlete focusing only on winning games rarely benefits performance or skill development. Additionally an approach that has a sole focus on winning risks creating an environment of alienation (Hyland, 1990). Alienating competitiveness is a threat to team cohesion and furthermore opposes the goal of sport: two competitors lifting one another toward athletic excellence. Balancing “coaching to win” and “coaching for learning” is a developmental issue. Decisions focusing on “coaching to win” are behaviors that are focused primarily on assuring that a team or athlete achieves successful outcomes in the athletic arena (i.e., winning). Examples of such forms of coaching are a soccer coach only giving playing time to his eleven most talented players or a tennis coach that encourages the youth tennis player to put the ball in the court by any means necessary even if it means neglecting proper technique. Alternatively, “coaching for learning” is focused on opportunities for all players and views competitions as venues for learning sport, competitive, and life skills. Such coaching actions strive for equal playing time for all players and reinforce the use of sound techniques and strategies, before applauding goals or assists. While it is appealing to think that a coach can either “coach to win” or “coach for learning,” the reality of player development during competitive situations is significantly more complex. It is necessary for coaches to understand that age and skill level are two key factors in balancing their gametime decisions. It is clear that with younger and more novice athletes the majority of coaching decisions should focus on participation, competitive opportunity for all, fun, and learning. Contrary to this, adult highly skilled professional athletes do not require excessive nurturing during game-time situations, but rather should expect coaches to make game-time decisions that focus on achieving victories and


championships. While these extreme ends of the developmental spectrum make competitive decision-making relatively straightforward, coaches’ choices become much more unclear as the years progress from the socialization into sport to the highest levels of professional competition. The ultimate challenge lies in the reality that this developmental period that balances development with athletic results spans from early adolescence into early adulthood (see Figure 1). As early as age ten, athletes begin to firmly understand the concept of winning and losing and self-identify with their competitive outcomes (Balyi and Hamilton, 2000, 2001). Furthermore we are seeing an ever increasing professionalization of youth sports (Coakley, 2001). Young athletes have opportunities to travel the world for competitive experiences and more entrepreneurial coaches and leagues are putting their mark on the youth sport landscape. With this influx of competitive opportunities and, perhaps more tellingly, financial investments,

Figure 1 A Model for Understanding Coaches’ Competitive Decision-Making

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Coaching for Development Ages in Years

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performance outcomes become a measure of success that parents and entrepreneurs look to for validation of programs and investments. Coaches, parents, sports organizations, and ultimately the athletes themselves benefit greatly when a firm grasp is held on appropriate competitive decision-making during athletes’ developmental years. This coaching conundrum lies in the imperfect reality of human and athletic development. Experts have often highlighted the reality that chronological age and biological age do not develop together in neat linear fashion (Wolfenden and Holt, 2005; Hamilton and Balyi, 2001). An athlete might be physically mature enough to compete at certain levels, but not ready cognitively. Similarly, it is important to note that normal life development does not always correspond neatly with the demands of athletic development. Paradoxically, excellent athletes are often asked to perform at adult levels prior to becoming an adult, yet when an adult, expected to compete with childlike enthusiasm and creativity (Naylor, 2001). Balancing these developmental conflicts are factors that differentiate average coaches from excellent coaches. Jowett and Timson-Katchis (2005) highlight this reality in their study of national-level swimming programs where it was clear that good coaches are responsive and flexible to both social and competitive situations and the unique needs of each athlete. The “mental flexibility” necessary of good coaches is well summed up by the philosopher Christopher Philips (2004) when discussing the thoughtfulness required in making virtuous decisions: “There’s just no way to skirt the hard work of determining what to say, and how to say what one needs to say, in every unique situation” (p. 50). In order to develop players in a timely manner, coaches must do the “hard work” of providing thoughtful feedback and leadership in the many unique competitive situations that arise throughout a season. Coaches are further challenged in this decision-making process by the increasingly cluttered world of sporting opportunities. Between socialization and elite competition the sporting landscape has taken on many forms (Coakley, 2001). In particular, the ever increasing organization of the youth sport landscape has taken three


distinct forms: 1) recreational, 2) sport and life skill development, and 3) professional model. While these subdivisions might be clear to an outside observer, these breakdowns are much less clear to those coaching and playing within them. Certainly all will cite fun and learning to be at the core of any program or league, but the execution of these ideals is often questionable. In theory they make sense, but the means of fulfilling them while keeping all stakeholders (organization, parents, players, fans, etc.) satisfied is a great challenge.

Teaching, Supporting, Managing Athletes to Excel The first step in wrapping one’s mind around wise decisions during each game or match is to take a long-term perspective toward athlete development. Present moment competitions are emotional and easily seen; however, athletic development is a process of many years of intensive training, competing, and learning. Although sports and ages differ slightly in their developmental needs, long-term vision about an athlete’s training and eventual specialization is essential to ensure success (Balyi and Hamilton, 2000; Bompa, 2000; Kraemer and Fleck, 1993). Long-term perspective forces coaches, athletes, and parents to be patient and often sacrifice short-term results. Regardless of the opportunities available to young athletes and their apparent physical readiness, Bompa (2000) reminds us that one important goal of athlete development from childhood to middle adolescence is to avoid the negative stresses associated with overtraining. The achievement of athletic excellence requires approximately ten years of purposeful training and resting of the body and the mind (Ericsson, 1996). This is important for coaches and organizations to keep in mind when approaching decisions during competition. Figure 1 highlights that there is no psychological, developmental, or technical need for coaches to make extrinsically oriented decisions when coaching athletes younger than ten years. In his analysis of Olympians, Cote (1999) found that it was not necessary for ath-


letes to even begin formal competitions until ten years of age or older. While suggesting that athletes do not begin to compete until the age of ten is likely unrealistic in this day and age of proliferating sporting opportunities, this research further highlights the unimportance of wins and losses during youth sporting events. In fact, it is imperative to not only be cautious rushing young athletes into competition, but also in encouraging them to specialize in a sport too early. While it would seem to make sense that the earlier an athlete takes a sport seriously, the more likely he or she is to succeed long term, there is much evidence to contradict this thinking. After studying chess champions it was found that the starting age for participation, practice, and competition is not a factor in achieving excellence (Elo, 1986; Krogius; 1976; Ross, 2006). Yes, athletics is different than chess because of the physical demands and windows of opportunity for motor development, but there is evidence that excessive participation at early ages leads to overuse injuries (Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness, 2000). In light of these realities, it does not make sense for coaches of young athletes to make game-time decisions based on the desire to win games. Giving gifted athletes extra shifts in ice hockey or asking young tennis players to compete in tournaments every weekend each month does not benefit the athlete from a developmental perspective; in fact such decisions could be detrimental to long-term success as an athlete. Furthermore, it is important to remember how enthusiastically distracted children are during their lives. Young athletes have a very short attention span (Bompa, 2000), leading to a short memory for the outcomes of game and competitions. Basic skills, tactics, and fun need to be the competitive foci of coaches of young athletes; they are the necessary foundations for development. Around the age of ten, it is a fair to say that competitive opportunities “matter” in the development of an athlete. Still there is no developmental evidence that suggests that a regular diet of winning benefits the striving athlete. At the time of pubescence (around 1012) both boys and girls begin to gain a great understanding of themselves in relationship to others as well as significantly increasing their


abilities to think conceptually (Carter and McGoldrick, 1999; Erikson, 1980). It is this cognitive growth paired with the passion for sport that makes these years an important time to embrace competition. In both retrospective and longitudinal examinations of Olympians, youth tennis players, and Soviet national team athletes, this age range for beginning to embrace competition is well supported (Cote, 1999; Nagorni, 1978; Wolfden and Holt 2005). Bompa (2000) suggests that this is a time where “challenges” on the playing field are important for player development. He uses the word “challenge” deliberately. While it might sound idealistic, the outcomes of winning and losing during these years have minimal influence on predicting and producing athletic success in later years. This is a stage in athletic development where one’s physical skills might lead a coach to believe athletes are capable of sporting accomplishments beyond their years. Anatomical age and cognitive age are rarely in perfect harmony at this stage in development. This is a time when athletes truly begin to grasp the concepts of competition and strategy (i.e., youth soccer games have evolved from looking like a rugby scrum to a genuine soccer game with teamwork and strategy). With this in mind it is important that coaches take advantage of this teaching window by encouraging athletes to learn how to employ the strategies necessary for success on the field. Yes, it might be possible for one or two “gifted” athletes on a team to score goals, make saves, or put points on the board by using their athleticism and forgoing proper strategy, but coaches enthusiastically rewarding and reinforcing such behaviors can be costly to player development. “Challenge” is essential during this stage of athletic development, coaches striving to develop athletes must allow it to happen and allow athletes to learn from all competitive opportunities regardless of what the scoreboard says. The lack of a need for a “rush to victory” by coaches is further illustrated when one considers optimal times for specialization in sports. With the exception of the sports of figure skating, gymnastics, and women’s diving (these are sports where flexibility, artistry, and a small figure benefit performance—all things associated with youth),


there are very few instances when an athlete should begin to focus on only one or two sports and take on an intense competition schedule prior to adolescence at approximately age thirteen (Bompa, 2000). The consequences of early specialization are best illustrated in a longitudinal study of Soviet athletes conducted by Nagorni (1978). This study suggested that specialized sports programs should begin at the ages of fifteen to seventeen. The analysis found that athletes that specialized at younger ages did achieve many accolades and peak performances at the junior level of competition (under eighteen), but never duplicated such achievements in senior level competition. Although this study was conducted in 1978, it is fair to say that it still applies when considering athletes in the twenty-first century. While opportunities for intense competition at the youth levels have proliferated over the past twenty-five years, humans have not evolved either genetically or cognitively. A coach or athletic program that increases the intensity or the importance of athletic competitions prior to adolescence does little to benefit the athletes’ long-term development. Once an athlete has chosen to specialize in a particular sport, winning does matter and personnel decisions that will lead to this outcome must be considered by coaches. It is essential that athletes continue skill and strategy development, but it becomes more important with age that athletes become cognizant of and capable of attaining successful outcomes (i.e., wins) on the playing field. Competitive stresses become reality during high school and elite junior competition. The collegiate selection process is moving forward and athletes are striving to make regional and national teams. Furthermore, while it is a continual lesson in competition, the intensity of junior competition provides opportunities for athletes to learn the values of winning and losing alike. This reality that both learning goals and competitive outcomes are important when working with adolescent athletes exemplifies the art of coaching. It would be easy to make the majority of one’s coaching decisions based on how to win games, but it would sacrifice both individual athlete and team development. High school athletic competition is not the end point of an elite ath-


lete’s career, therefore a coach’s teaching during competitions must continue. Upon examining the model presented it is clear that much more than fifty percent of a coach’s decisions should be made with player development in mind rather than the outcome of a competition. Perhaps this important balance between winning and learning is best highlighted when examining collegiate sports. Vallee and Bloom (2005) in their examination of collegiate athletic programs found that a primary coaching objective was to develop the whole athlete. Even in the high pressure world of intercollegiate athletics, successful collegiate coaches are found to make a significant amount of decisions by considering both the athlete’s long-term athletic and personal development. Joe Paterno, the legendary Penn State football coach, is a perfect example of this philosophy, believing that a coach is first and foremost a teacher, responsible for teaching skills, tactics, and character (O’Brien, 1999). It is his belief that it is these things that will carry a team through both victories and struggles successfully. Even in this era of high-profile collegiate athletic competition, it is reasonable to expect a coach’s game-time decisions to be evenly balanced between development and a win-oriented mentality. It would be naïve to think that outcomes of games are not important and a consistent balance of win-orientation and developmental focus persists throughout every season however. In this day and age, there is a tension between collegiate sports and educational values (Shulman and Bowen, 2001). Sports programs at all levels of collegiate competition consume significant portions of collegiate budgets and coaches and athletic administrators are responsible for “showing” that this money is well spent. Shulman and Bowen (2001) in their research have shown that it is difficult for any school to be free of the pressures to win on the playing field and win in the battles of recruiting student-athletes. Major conference Division I athletics as well as small Division III colleges take their sports very seriously. Pressures to win are great, yet it is important to remember that the college athlete is an unfinished product with much need of nurturing and opportunity to fulfill athletic potential.


It is fair to suggest that the collegiate coach that enthusiastically “coaches for learning” during the regular season and preseason games, while employing more win-oriented tactics during conference and post-season play, has successful teams and athletes more often than not (Gwozdecky, 2006). High levels and higher stakes of competition challenge a leader to have a strong coaching vision and to thoughtfully navigate the competitive season. In post-collegiate competition it is clear that “coaching to win” becomes a priority. Nonetheless, one would be remiss if the developmental needs of young professional or Olympic athletes were neglected. Few major league organizations worry terribly about the win/loss record of the minor league affiliates. They are greatly concerned with the development of players in their system and their readiness for future successes at the major league level. This is illuminated by Gendron (2003) in his explanation of the goals of American Hockey League (the National Hockey League’s minor league system) teams: • to have players ready to join the [NHL franchise] on a “just-intime” basis • to develop players who will be useful to the [NHL franchise] in future seasons, and • to win, developing winning attitudes and the expectation of winning performance among players.

This highlights the reality that even coaching at the highest levels of sport requires a balance between “coaching to win” and “coaching for learning.” Elite athletes are measured by their ability to score goals, play strong defense, and ultimately win games, but these concepts must be balanced with the ultimate goals of teams and the organizations of which they are a part. In minor league sports, success is not only having a winning team, but teaching players to be ready to help their major league franchises win championships. At the highest levels of sport and as athletes near the end of early adulthood the model of coaches’ competitive decision-making suggests that the role of coaches as teachers is minimal. Athletes have


reached the stage of performance excellence and coaches are ultimately measured by their wins and losses. This does not however suggest that athletes’ learning has come to a halt. Maintaining current levels of performance is important, but Ericsson and Lehmann (1996) note, “continued successful learning is necessary for experts to achieve a level of performance higher than their current level.” This idea suggests that a coach’s “coaching for learning” behaviors should not diminish as greatly as suggested by the model. Rather than this being the case, teaching of new sport skills and strategies to highly experienced athletes rarely comes from coaches at this point in an athlete’s career. At this stage, continued learning and athletic longevity is often driven by an athlete watching and modeling their peers (Bandura, 1997; Naylor, 2001). Social learning is powerful throughout a competitor’s life, but after having achieved expertise and upon entering middle adulthood, it becomes particularly powerful. At this stage of an athlete’s development a coach should certainly provide opportunities for athletes to observe and interact with one another, but should focus game-time decisions on putting the personnel necessary for assuring victories onto the playing field appropriately. It is clear that through an athlete’s early adolescence to adulthood, coaches must wisely balance “coaching to win” with “coaching for learning.” Ideally, coaches are teachers first and foremost, putting efforts, focus, and good strategy before the outcomes of games. From a developmental perspective this is always the best side to err; however, the competitive nature of sport and growth of athletes makes “playing to win” a necessity at certain levels, during certain times of the season, and at certain periods of player development. A wise coach balances these factors to ensure long-term athletic success and team successes. An unbalanced approach to competitive decisions has consequences in the development of champions.

Risks of Focusing Solely on Outcomes Patience matters in the development of an elite athlete. It has been illustrated that prior to adolescence the focus of coaches ought to be


the development of new skills and learning of athletes. Making the outcomes of athletic events the primary focus of sporting events can significantly inhibit an athlete’s development and potential. Mallet (2005) cautions that “high performance sport that focuses on winning and monetary rewards associated with winning has the potential to undermine self-determined forms of motivation and shift the locus of causality from the internal to the external.” Athletes who believe that successes and failures on the playing field are due to reasons outside of themselves feel little autonomy in their abilities to improve and succeed on the playing field. A coach who leads by focusing on extrinsic rewards decreases athletes’ feelings of competence, ultimately leading to a reduction in efforts, confidence, and enjoyment (Pelletier et al., 1995; Salguero et al., 2004). The coach who develops an environment that focuses on skill development, defines success by efforts rather than outcomes, and respects each athlete’s thoughts and feelings will create athletes that are autonomous, intrinsically motivated, and feel competent (Mageau and Vallerand, 2003; Mallett, 2005).

Risks of Focusing Solely on Development/Process While it is generally accepted that focusing on the development of athletes on and off of the playing field has only positive benefits, neglecting to pay attention to the outcomes of sporting events does have drawbacks. Process-oriented feedback alone is not the most effective teaching strategy (Schmidt and Young, 1991)—attention to outcomes also enhances the learning process (McCullagh, 2001; Weir and Leavitt, 1990). In competitive situations, the overt goal of sport is to defeat opponents—particularly opponents of similar skill levels. It is important in the learning process to hold athletes accountable for being able to put the ball in the hoop, make defensive stops in big games, and win tournaments. Outcomes are one valuable form of feedback during the learning process (Naylor and DelMastro, 2001; Horn and Amorose, 1998). In fact, coaches who rely too heavily on providing training and


instruction can impact an athlete’s sense of autonomy (Hollembeak and Amorose, 2005). Historically, only process-oriented feedback has been highlighted as being beneficial to an athlete’s perceptions of competence. While such information is critical for persistence, enjoyment, and long-term success, it is important not to overlook the breadth of cues that determine an athlete’s perceptions of competence.

Developmental Decisions are Performance Enhancers While it is appealing to look at all game-time coaching decisions as either learning-based or winning-oriented, the issue is not that clearcut. Coaching for learning certainly influences the outcome of games and seasons in the relative short-term and can benefit an athlete or team’s development over many years. Forgoing the impulse to only play the best athletes on one’s team during a competition can lead to more victories and more championships. Decisions that on the surface appear to hurt a team’s ability to win ultimately may make individual players and teams stronger. Playing “second string” players regularly early in a season certainly makes them better prepared for the playing time they are likely to receive during the post-season because of injuries to “star” players or due to their own skill development over the course of a season. This thought process highlights the “inevitable tension between short term and long term goals” that faces leaders (Gardner, 1990). Sacrificing short-term victories for preparation of an entire team for post-season and championship play is important at all levels athletic competition. Throughout the competitive decision-making process it is important for coaches to recognize the importance of experiential learning in all players’ athletic development. At the root of the development of expertise is challenge (Csikszentmihalyi and Csikszentmihalyi, 1993). Regardless of the outcome of a competition, the athlete that feels challenged learns the most, develops in a timely manner, and enjoys the process. Giving a gifted young athlete extra playing time in order to assure a team victory does little for the athlete’s development—it is not


challenging for this athlete to excel over her peers. Conversely, the gifted athlete who has to support lesser-skilled teammates from the bench, lift them up through cooperative means during play, and perhaps even lose a competition is challenged and taught the most. Out of such instances, teamwork, leadership, and winning and losing alike are learned. Differently, sparing lesser skilled athletes the stresses of competition in order to preserve a victory does little to prepare these players for future competitions. A coach can instruct and drill athletes immeasurable amounts, but none of it is a substitute for just letting athletes “play.” Hollembeak and Amorose’s (2005) finding that a coach’s training and instruction behaviors can be negatively related to an athlete’s sense of autonomy highlight this reality. Great leaders in society understand that stepping out of the way and taking on a permissive form of leadership helps followers develop initiative that will lead to future successes (Gardner, 1990). Great coaches understand that allowing athletes to struggle with healthy challenges makes champions. Successfully developing athletes, nurturing the developmental needs of youth, and winning games is an artful process. Coaches must be patient, coaches must be good teachers, coaches must have a sound coaching philosophy, and coaches must be reflective. Player development and game-time coaching is an imperfect process. The model of competitive decision-making presented here is a useful guide, but certainly one that does not exempt a coach from the hard work of considering what to say and do in each situation on the playing field. It is a model, however, that should assist a coach in making wellinformed choices and allow him or her to trust that either short-term sacrifices lead to long-term successes or that there is a substantial benefit to the athletes when outcome-based decisions are made. Coaches have the wonderful opportunity to be teachers who will be remembered for a lifetime by athletes, yet they also face both perceived and real pressures to be victorious on the playing field. Successful coaches are athlete-centered with a passion for player development and an artful balance of the thirst for victory and need to provide all athletes with competitive opportunities at game time.


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48 Journal of Education Ross, P.E. (2006). The expert mind. Scientific American, 295 (2), 64–71. Salguero, A., Gonzalez-Boto, R., Tuero, C., and Marquez, S. (2004). Relationship between perceived physical ability and sport participation motives in young competitive swimmers. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 44, 294–299. Schmidt, R.A., and Young, D.E. (1991). Methodology for motor learning: A paradigm for kinematic feedback. Journal of Motor Behavior, 23, 13–24. Shulman, J.L., and Bowen, W.G. (2001). College sports and educational values: The game of life. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Vallee, C.N., and Bloom, G.A. (2005). Building a successful university program: Key and common elements of expert coaches. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 17, 179–196. Weir, P.L., and Leavitt, J.L. (1990). Effects of model’s skill level and model’s knowledge of results on the performance of a dart throwing task. Human Movement Science, 9, 369–383. Wolfenden, L.E., and Holt, N.L. (2005). Talent development in elite junior tennis: Perceptions of players, parents, and coaches. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 17, 108–126.

Mental Skills Training for Coaches to Help Athletes Focus Their Attention, Manage Arousal, and Improve Performance in Sport James M. Howland

Introduction It is not uncommon for a coach to tell an athlete to pay attention, focus, or concentrate. Athletes almost always answer with “Okay,” or “I am trying to,” as if they know exactly what the coach is asking them to do. Is this an automatic understanding between the parties? Do the participants really know what the other wants them to do? This example refers to the process of attention or attention control. There are a considerable number of factors that cause an athlete to move attention to optimal performance. Abernethy (2001) states that “attention is clearly a broad and multifaceted psychological construct that impacts on sports performance and learning in a large number of quite diverse ways” (p. 76). Abernethy (2001) and Zaichkowsky and Naylor (2004) believe that the increase in an athletes’ awareness of his or her arousal level as it relates to the construct of attention is the foundation to psychological skills training relative to performance. Interventions, such as relaxation, visualization, goal setting, positive self-talk, focusing, and re-focusing, are collectively called mental skills, and they have proven to be instrumental in helping athletes achieve their best. According to the research, there has been considerable development in mental skills training in applied sport psychology practice in the field of attention and performance.


49


Sport psychology research has shown that attention can be improved by evaluation, assessment of specific settings, and treatment of the maladaptive coping which impacts attention. From youth to late adulthood, there is a whole host of athletes from novice to master who can benefit from this research on attention, arousal, and performance. This manuscript presents a model to teach mental skills training to coaches in order to help athletes focus their attention, manage their arousal, and improve performance in sport. The seminar for coaches lays the foundation for further research with athletes on the subject.

Review of Literature The study of attention is apparent in the works of many sport psychologists. Abernethy (2001), Nideffer (1976), Singer (1999), Janelle, Singer, and Williams (1999), Zaichkowsky and Baltzell (2001), Zaichkowsky and Naylor (2004), and others have looked at the constructs of attention and arousal in the relationship that each construct has on the performance of athletes.

Attention The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary reports that “attention” was originally used by Chaucer in translation from Latin. Attention is defined as: • The action, fact, or state of attending or giving heed; earnest direction of the mind, consideration or regard. The mental power or faculty of attending. • Practical consideration, observant care, notice. • The action of attending to the comfort and pleasure of others; ceremonious politeness, courtesy. • A matter of attention, consideration. • A cautionary word used as a preparative to any particular exercise or maneuver. (p. 138)

Howland • Mental Skills Training for Coaches 51

Throughout the history of psychology, there has been significant review, discussion and analysis on the topic of attention. The field of sport psychology has been interested in attention and how it relates to performance in sport for many years. Posner and Boise (as cited in Abernethy, 2001) and Robert Nideffer (1976) have each provided complete definitions of attention. Posner and Boise identified three major definitions of attention in contemporary psychology: • Attention as alertness, including concerns with the development and both short- and long-term maintenance of optimal sensitivity and readiness (or preparedness) for responding. • Attention as a limited capacity or resource, as examined in studies of divided attention aimed at isolating capacity and/or resource limitations in information processing. • Attention as selectivity, as examined in studies of selective attention requiring the reporting of information from a particular modality, spatial location, or context in the face of competition from other items and sources of distraction (p. 54).

Attention as alertness is best explained in the upcoming section on the construct of arousal and the impact on attention. The second categorization, attention as a limited capacity or resource, is best examined by focusing on the dual-task paradigm. In these studies, the subject performs two tasks simultaneously. Researchers are beginning to perform more studies in the dualtask paradigm. Janelle, Singer, and Williams (1999) studied distraction and attentional narrowing tasks in a dual-task auto racing simulation. Forty-eight female university subjects with normal or corrected normal vision were assigned to random groups and tested using a simulated Indy Car driving task that required the subject to navigate a race course by controlling steering, acceleration and braking. The researchers confirmed the notion that distraction and attentional narrowing occurred concurrently, leading to inefficient visual search patterns and decrements in performance on central and peripheral tasks (p. 85).


Attention in the context of selectivity is the third category in the study of attention in sport. Selective attention problems in sport appear to be more visual according to many of the researchers and their writings on the topic. In the previously mentioned study by Janelle, Singer, and Williams (1999), the researchers recorded visual search patterns as an index of potential attentional changes that might occur when the forty-eight female university subjects were presented with relevant and distracting cues while driving a simulated race course. They stated that: By not studying the interaction of emotions, attention, and performance, the generalizability [sic] of research on attention has been somewhat limited. Much still needs to be understood about dynamic sport settings in which attentional flexibility is crucial under conditions of severe time constraints and performance pressures (p. 71). The research points to an examination of the differences between novice and experts as a way to further explore the anticipatory effects in selective attention. Abernethy (2001) states: While there appears to be little evidence to indicate that the visual hardware of highly skilled players is systematically superior to that of the general population, there are increasing clear demonstrations of expert-novice differences in the ability to perform selective attention tasks in which the opportunity for using acquired situation specific strategies (or software) is present. The strongest, systematic evidence for a perceptual basis for sport expertise exists with respect to expert advantage on anticipation tasks and on pattern recognition tasks (p. 74). A study that exemplifies this concept is Abernethy and Russell’s (1987) research comparing expert (n=25) and novice (n=35) racket sport players. The expert group was made up of participants in the 1982 Commonwealth Games badminton competition held in Brisbane, Australia. They consisted of 13 male and 12 female subjects ranging in age between 18 and 29 years old. The novice group, consisting of 22 males and 13 females, was drawn from a population of undergraduate students in physical education. All members of the


novice group were familiar with the game of badminton. The subjects were to predict the landing position of the stroke they viewed in a perceptual film of badminton. The authors found that the experts were better able to predict the landing position than the novices because of their ability to pick up earlier display cues that only could come from experience and prior knowledge. The evidence does show that as an athlete experiences something, the increased ability to use the information to improve follows suit. The examination of attentional direction and breadth has been studied by using self-report measures. The Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style (TAIS) was developed by Nideffer in 1976. The TAIS is a 144-item paper and pencil test structured on two basic theoretical beliefs. The first is that attention follows a continuum from broad to narrow. The second belief is that the subject’s attention can be located on the continuum of internal to external. Collectively, this scale allows an athlete to be positioned in one of the four possible quadrants (broad-internal, broad-external, narrow-internal, narrowexternal). Although this test is widely used in research and in practice, the TAIS has fallen under scrutiny in regards to the predictability and its construct validity (Ford and Summers, 1992). Albrecht and Feltz (1987) used the TAIS in their study of 29 intercollegiate baseball and softball players. The study had three purposes, to construct a baseball/softball batting version of the TAIS (B-TAIS), to compare the TAIS and the B-TAIS reliability, and to compare the TAIS and B-TAIS validity. The researchers gave both the TAIS and the modified B-TAIS to the subjects and concluded that they could not demonstrate a significantly greater stability of the modified tool. Robert Nideffer (1976) argues that his theory of attentional and personal style is a well-developed theoretical framework for examining the relationship among cognitive processes, emotional arousal, and performance. The theory was developed to provide a framework for understanding and predicting the conditions under which individuals would, and would not, be able to perform up to their potential. The


theory has relevance to both physical (execution of a motor skill) and mental (decision making, problem solving) performance in virtually any performance area. The seven theoretical constructs of Nideffer’s Theory of Attentional and Personal Style are: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Focus of attention, or focus of concentration shifts along two dimensions, a dimension of width (broad to narrow), and a directional dimension (internal or external). Conceptually, you can think of these two intersecting dimensions that result in four different attentional styles of foci (Nideffer, 1976). Individuals have preferred attentional styles, though the average person can develop all four attentional styles, and under most conditions can shift his or her focus along both attentional dimensions in response to the changing demands of performance situations (Nideffer, 1976). Different performance situations place different demands on the four attentional styles, and require different amounts of shifting between the four styles (Nideffer, 1976). As arousal increases, shifting breaks down; attention begins to narrow involuntarily and becomes more internally focused (Nideffer, 1976). The perception of the passage of time is dependent upon the amount of shifting that occurs between external and internal focus (Nideffer, n.d., 1). Both the flow state and the zone are dependent on an individual’s ability to move smoothly between physiological and cognitive transition points (Nideffer, 1997). Performance-relevant characteristics, both intrapersonal and interpersonal, are important predictors of both the particular situations a given individual will experience as emotionally stressful, and of the types of behaviors on which they will rely most heavily when emotionally stressed (Nideffer, 2004).

Posner and Boise (as cited in Abernethy, 2001) and Nideffer (1976) highlight the fact that attention can be developed and optimized


to improve performance. This reinforces the notion that sport psychologists and coaches can assist athletes in the development of attention control to improve performance.

Arousal It is important to define the construct of arousal and how it relates to attention. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (1967) defines arouse (verb) as: • To put in motion; stir to action; awaken; to arouse from sleep. • To provoke; excite; to arouse a response. • To awake or become aroused.

Synonyms: animate, inspirit, inspire, incite, excite, provoke, instigate, stimulate, kindle, and fire (p. 83). In sport psychology research, arousal has been used synonymously with anxiety, activation, emotion, and psyched-up. Zaichkowsky and Baltzell (2001) state that “the interchange between arousal and anxiety has created conceptual confusion. Because anxiety often results in increased central and autonomic nervous system activity (arousal), it (unfortunately) has been used synonymously with arousal” (p. 319). Arousal level influences an athlete’s cognitive functioning. “It is suggested that an athlete beyond his or her optimal arousal level is likely to suffer from poor decision making, impaired memory and rushed thinking (Zaichkowsky and Naylor, p. 159). Nideffer and Sagal (2001) state that “if individuals are able to have control over their own level of arousal (so it is neither too high not too low), they are capable of effective attention” (p. 314). Therefore the right level of arousal has a strong impact on attention and emphasizes the need to train coaches and other professionals to understand both arousal and attention. Zaichkowsky and Naylor (2004) identify arousal in sport and exercise as “a human condition that ranges along a continuum from sleep to high expectation and is expressed physiologically, cognitively and behaviorally” (p. 155). A swimmer focusing on getting off the


blocks quickly is an example of short-term maintenance of optimal sensitivity. The same swimmer keeping his focus on maintaining his optimal stroke count for the entire distance of the race is an example of long-term maintenance of optimal sensitivity. Arousal can be measured by behavioral measures, by cognitive measures and by physiological measures according to Abernethy (1993). Behavioral measures are used to determine the level of arousal and anxiety that an athlete experiences. This is best determined by an observer categorizing these overt behaviors on a checklist. The observer’s goal is to link behaviors to the underlying activation constructs observed. Cognitive measures seem to be the more favored in determining an athlete’s level of arousal and how it impacts attention. This is best measured by a subject’s self-report of their levels of activation, usually within the context of anxiety and level of attention. Liao and Masters (2002) studied self-focused attention, stress, and the competitive anxiety of twenty-one university hockey players (ten male, eleven female) in performance situations. They examined the level of self-focused attention in situations with varying degrees of stress. The authors used the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2), which was developed by Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, and Smith in 1990, to map the levels of anxiety before and after an important game. They also used the Private Self-Conscious (PSC) subscale of the Self-Consciousness Scale, which was developed by Fenigstein, Scheier, and Buss in 1975, to measure the participants’ self-focused attention. The results of the study concluded that stress does induce self-focused attention. Liao and Masters (2002) report: It is possible, therefore, that an impending stressful event induces a process in which the demand of the event is compared to one’s own response capabilities, which requires a high level of self-focused attention. However, when the stress is perceived as too demanding (cognitive anxiety is getting too high), the selfregulation process will be avoided and the self focused attention will consequently abate (p. 295).


Physiological measures are used to monitor and evaluate the level of arousal in athletes. The autonomic nervous system is responsible for activating and controlling sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, the hypothalamus, all neural activity, and the peripheral organs in the body. Changes in the body, such as pupil dilation, increased heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory elevation and increased sweating are measurements to determine activation, heightened attention, and arousal. EEG recordings and heart rate changes are being used by sport scientists to describe attention changes in discrete skills such as rifle shooting and archery. Analysis has been restricted to these sports because the athlete is essentially steady allowing good baseline recordings without contamination of physical exertion and movement artifacts (Abernethy, 1993). The relationship between arousal and performance is wellknown in the sport psychology field. Performance follows an inverted-U function as arousal increases and reaching moderate levels of arousal are ideal for the optimal athletic performance (Abernethy, 1993, 2001; Zaichkowsky and Naylor, 2004). This concept is seen in most sport psychology textbooks and is officially called the inverted-U hypothesis or as the Yerkes-Dodson Law, after the original discoverers, Yerkes and Dodson in 1908. The study of attention as alertness has been fruitful in developing techniques with the goal of optimizing and maintaining optimal arousal at the behavioral level (behavioral interventions), cognitive level (cognitive therapy and mental exercises), and the physiological level (biofeedback). Nideffer and Sagal (2001) state that when optimal arousal is achieved and maintained effective attention is also achieved. They also emphasize that optimal arousal is individualized to the athlete and also to the task or sport at hand.

Implications for Practice An understanding of attention and arousal and how both impact athletes is critical in order for a coach to have a positive impact on the athletes that he or she coaches. The research previously referenced shows


that attention can be focused and arousal can be controlled so that athletes improve performance. Sport psychology has focused on the practical application of mental skills to help athletes improve attention and control arousal. The use of cognitive techniques such as self-talk, relaxation, visualization, and goal setting have been studied to see if there is improvement in performance when using these techniques. The following studies provide a strong basis in which to support the framework of a seminar for coaches and the future research on the subject. It has been found that self-talk seems to serve two functions for athletes, a cognitive function and a motivational function (Hardy, Hall, and Hardy 2004). The authors studied 291 athletes with a mean age of 21.82 (52% male and 48% female). The athletes competed in a variety of individual and team sports. These subjects also represented a range of skill levels from recreational (36%), club (10%), provincial (7%), varsity (39%), national (5%), through to international (2%) standards. The main purpose of the study was to find out how athletes use self-talk and if it varied throughout the sporting calendar. Hardy et al. (2004) discovered that 75% confirmed that the level of self-talk increased as the season progressed and that in general, individual sport and skilled athletes used this technique more frequently than team sport and less skilled athletes. Thiese and Huddleston (1999) studied the use of psychological skills by female collegiate swimmers (n=147). The authors also wanted to investigate if swimmers specializing in different swim events utilized different mental skills. The study showed that swimmers in the study indicated that goal setting, positive self-talk, and music were the skills to be utilized “almost always” on a Likert scale. The results also indicated that there was no significant difference in psychological skills used by the swimmers and the distances that they swam. Rogerson and Hrycaiko (2002) studied five male junior hockey goaltenders (ages 16–18 years old). The purpose was to examine the effectiveness of using relaxation in the form of centering and self-talk to produce improvements in goal save percentage. The authors con-


cluded that the results demonstrated that the mental skills training were effective in producing improvements in goal save percentage. The participants reported that they enjoyed using the mental skills and were satisfied with the results obtained. In addition, the coaches reportedly were very satisfied with the results and felt that mental skills’ training was an important ingredient for improving performance. The role of optimism has also received attention from sport psychology. Manzo, Ilhe-Helledy, and Blake (2004) studied 21 university swimmers (fourteen female, seven male) to see if optimistic thinking improved swimming performance. The study included giving the swimmers a workbook entitled “The Optimistic Swimmer,” which is designed to teach youth swimmers how to think positively. The results were significant in finding that the swimmers who received the workbook increased their level of optimism as measured by pre- and post-tests. Although there was a small number of participants in the study, the goal of designing a mental skills training workbook for youth highlights the necessity for the purpose of this manuscript. There is an absence of research on the impact of mental skills training for youth. The studies mentioned demonstrate that mental skills training has a positive impact on performance. Positive performance has been shown to improve a person’s self-esteem, self-confidence, and general sense of well being. Because of the positive impact of mental skills on a person, it is curious as to why this has not received more attention by professionals in not only sport psychology, but in psychology as well. An effective implementation of a plan must be comprehensive, focus on a target population, include resources for integration of the concepts, have clear methods for training, and incorporate a discussion around the desired and expected outcomes. Therefore, the remainder of this manuscript will present a plan specific to swim team coaches and their swimmers.


Mental Skills Seminar This seminar is designed for coaches, and in particular for swim coaches of all levels in competitive swimming. The seminar is designed to inform coaches on how to focus attention, manage arousal, and teach mental skills to their swimmers to improve their performance. Although the seminar is for coaches, a second benefit of the seminar is to receive support from coaches to complete further research with youth swimmers on this topic. Because of this, swimmers should also be considered the subjects since the coaches who attend will be teaching mental skills training for their swimmers and hopefully be supporting further research. This seminar emphasizes the role of coaches as leaders, followers, teachers, role models, limit setters, counselors, mentors, substitute parents, and family members (Anshel, 2003).

Setting The ideal setting for this seminar is a room with moveable chairs and a board for writing. The room ideally is in a place where there the surrounding noises are not too distracting and the temperature is comfortable. Pens, paper, and markers will be available in the room. The seminar shall be limited to a maximum of twenty coaches. The seminar will run for three hours with two fifteen-minute breaks included. Beverages and food will be available and appropriate to the time of the seminar (breakfast or lunch).

Resources A flyer with course description, date, and length of the seminar; objectives of the seminar; goals to accomplish; and contact information will be mailed to youth swim coaches in the area. The seminar will only be effective if knowledge about the participating coaches is obtained. A pre-seminar questionnaire will be completed by each coach and returned to the trainer five business days before the seminar. The


questionnaire includes questions about years of experience coaching, ages of swimmers, level of success, coaching style (multiple choice with definitions), knowledge of mental skills training, other employment, and openness to learning the mental aspects of sport. Space for coaches to write any comments or questions that they would like to have answered will be available on the questionnaire. When they arrive at the seminar, all participants will receive their own copies of the materials and tests that their swimmers will use for the research study. There are several materials needed for this seminar that are related to the continued research. First, copies of the handbook, The Mentally Tough Swimmer: Improving Performance in the Pool (Howland, 2004), are needed. This handbook provides a comprehensive education and training program of mental skills for swimmers. The major sections provide definitions and exercises for implementation and practice of self-awareness, relaxation, self-talk, visualization, and attention control in swimming. In addition, The Sport Psychology Questionnaire for Swimmers, by Lines et al. (1999) and the TAIS by Nideffer (1976) will also be available for coaches to view as these tools will be used for further research with the swimmers. The Sport Psychology Questionnaire (Lines et. al., 1999) is an evaluation tool to assess the importance of mental skills used at practice and in competition. The tool was selected for further research because it is designed specifically for swimmers and has shown high test-retest reliability and high face validity. In addition, the tool was used with swimmers grouped by age (13 to 16 years old) in a study by Lines et al. (1999). The test of attention and interpersonal style inventory (TAIS) by Nideffer (1976) was previously mentioned in this manuscript. The TAIS is a 144-item paper and pencil test structured on two basic theoretical beliefs. The first is that attention follows a continuum from broad to narrow. The second belief is that the subject’s attention is on the continuum of internal to external. Collectively, this scale allows an athlete to be positioned in one of the four possible quadrants (broad-


internal, broad-external, narrow-internal, narrow-external). Nideffer has completed extensive work in determining which sport is more likely to be dominant in each quadrant as a way to identify the skill sets that are likely with that style. The premise is that individuals, like tasks, can be classified with respect to their dominant attentional style to match the situational demands (Abernethy, 2001). There are three main scales measuring effective attention and three additional scales that measure ineffective attention that gives way to the athletes’ present style. This scale will also be used with swimmers and be modified to measure only the three measurements of attention and three measurements of inattention. A post-test self-assessment questionnaire will be given to swimmers for the purpose of evaluating their impression on the impact of mental skills on their performance. Included in this self-evaluation are questions on each of the mental skills learned and how they rate it to helping them in their swimming. This self-assessment also provides a link to the dominant attentional style of the swimmer as identified by the TAIS. The relationship of attentional style and preferred mental skill could be further evaluated by the existence of this data. Coaches who would like to further evaluate the use of mental skills for their swimmers will need to have copies of the explanation of the research study for swimmers and parents, consent forms for parents to authorize consent for their children to participate in the study, and copies of the evaluation tools in order to receive approval from their organization in the event that they are not the decision makers.

Implementation of the Plan This seminar is designed to help youth swimming coaches identify their coaching style, understand the role of attention and arousal and how it impacts their swimmers, and teach and experience the mental skills present in The Mentally Tough Swimmer: Improving Performance in the Pool. The format of the seminar is a combination of lecture, group discussion, and participation in activities designed to reinforce learn-


ing, and to allow participants to experience several mental skills exercises. In addition, videos of testimonials on the importance of mental skills from elite athletes will also be a part of the workshop. The pre-seminar questionnaire will determine which part of the seminar needs the most time. For example, if the majority of coaches have no experience with mental skills training, more time will be devoted to the training of mental skills. Enhancing the coaches’ knowledge on the importance of selfawareness, relaxation, self-talk, visualization, and attention-control is vital to the success of the seminar. Coaches’ perception of the efficacy of these skills and how they can help swimmers is critical to the success of further research. Coaches have an incredible amount of influence over the youths whom they lead. Youth look up to their coaches and a coach has to be aware of this influence.

Desired Outcomes and Conclusions The first goal of the seminar is to provide coaches with the opportunity to understand and evaluate how attention and arousal impact swimmers’ ability to perform to the best of their potential. This knowledge, coupled with the understanding of the important roles that coaches have with their teams, launches the plan of mental skills training for swimmers. The post-seminar evaluation is designed to evaluate if the seminar met the goals and objectives outlined in the training outline and if it met the expectations of the coaches who participated. The desired outcome is that the goals matched the presentation and that it was enlightening and informative. In addition, the coaches’ participation in the exercises found in The Mentally Tough Swimmer workbook will hopefully provide a greater understanding of the uses of self-awareness, relaxation, selftalk, visualization, and attention control in swimming. Along with this, the comfort level of coaches in teaching these skills to their swimmers is strongly desired.


A key component in this seminar is for a coach to recognize that mental skills are important and that they should be incorporated into the practices and routines of training. The inclusion of mental skills training into a coach’s season plan is a way to formalize this idea. As mentioned earlier, the swimmers are also the subjects of this seminar. If the coaches concur that mental skills training techniques are valuable for a swimmer to possess for performance improvement, support for a season-long study is the goal to further the research in this subject. This season-long study would utilize the evaluation tools at the beginning of the season and launch a detailed training in the mental skills by using The Mentally Tough Swimmer: Improving Performance in the Pool workbook. With coaches’ support and increased knowledge in the training of mental skills, a common language and reinforcement of the methods with their swimmers at practice and in competition will greatly enhance the validity of further research on the subject. If the study of the impact of mental skills training on attention and performance in the swimmers is implemented at the beginning of the season before any competitions occur, coaches can also evaluate performance improvement of their swimmers by reviewing their results throughout the season to see if there is improvement. Although it may be difficult to attribute the improvements or lack thereof on mental skills training, a well-designed self-evaluation tool will determine if such an impact exists. Because so little research has been done with coaches’ perceptions of attention, arousal and mental skills in the youth that they lead, this study can begin to bridge the gap. For coaches to recognize the power that they have over their athletes is a critical determination in the success of a study like this. This is the rationale for providing the seminar to coaches. The study as a result of the coaches’ support and acknowledgement of the importance of mental skills training for their athletes can set the stage for continued work in the subject of improving mental skills and performance with swimmers and other youth athletes.


References Abernethy, B. (1993). Attention. In Singer, R.N., Murphey, M., and Tennent, L. K. (Eds.), Handbook of research on sport psychology (pp. 127–170). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Abernethy, B. (2001). Attention. In Singer, R. N., Hausenblaus, H. A., and Janelle, C. M. (Eds.), Handbook of sport psychology (pp. 53–85). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Abernethy, B., and Russell, D. (1987). Expert-novice differences in an applied selective attention task. Journal of Sport Psychology, 9, 326–345. Albrecht, R.R., and Feltz, D. L. (1987). Generality and specificity of attention related to competitive anxiety and sport performance. Journal of Sport Psychology, 9, 231–247. Anshel, M. H. (2003). Sport psychology, from theory to practice. Pearson Education, Inc. San Francisco, CA. Ford, S.K., and Summers, J.J. (1992). The factorial validity of the TAIS attentional-style subscales. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 14, 283–297. Hardy, J., Hall, C., and Hardy, L. (2004). A note on athletes’ use of self-talk. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 16, 251–257. Howland, J.M. (2004). The mentally tough swimmer: Improving performance in the pool. Unpublished workbook.. Janelle, C.M., Singer, R.N., and Williams, A. M. (1999). External distractions and attentional narrowing: Visual search evidence. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 21, 70–91. Liao, C-M., and Masters, R.S.W., (2002). Self-focused attention and performance failure under psychological stress. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 24, 289–305. Lines, J., Schwartzman, L., Tkachuk, G., Leslie-Toogood, S., and Martin, G. (1999). Behavioral assessment in sport psychology consulting: Applications to swimming and basketball. Journal of Sport Behavior, 22, 558–569. Manzo, L.G., Ilhe-Helledy, K., and Blake, E.M. (2004). The optimistic swimmer: A self-guided intervention designed to teach swimmers how to think like optimists. Coaches Quarterly, USA Swimming, 10, No. 1, 1–5. Nideffer, R.M. (1976). The test of attentional and interpersonal style. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 394–404. Nideffer, R.M. (1993). Attention control training. In Singer, R.N., Murphey, M., and Tennent, L. K. (Eds.), Handbook of research on sport psychology (pp. 522–556). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Nideffer, R.M. (1997). Trading an eye for an I. Retrieved November 20, 2004 from http://www.enhanced-performance.com/nideffer/article9.html. Nideffer, R., and Sagal, M.S. (2001). Concentration and attention control training. Jean Williams, editor. Applied Sport Psychology, Mayfield Publishing Company.

66 Journal of Education Nideffer, R., (n.d.) (1). Theory of attentional and personal style vs. test of attentional and interpersonal style (TAIS). Enhanced Performance Systems 1–34. Retrieved November 20, 2004 from http://www.enhanced-performance.com/nideffer/articles/html. Nideffer, R., (n.d.) (2). Preventing “choking” and downward performance cycles. Enhanced Performance Systems. Retrieved November 20, 2004 from http://www.enhanced-performance.com/nideffer/articles/html. Nideffer, R., and Bond, J. (n.d.). A cross cultural examination of the concentration skills of elite level athletes. Enhanced Performance Systems. Retrieved November 20, 2004 from http://www.enhancedperformance.com/nideffer/articles/ais2.html. The Oxford English Dictionary, Compact Edition (1971). London: The Oxford University Press. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition (1967). New York: Random House. Rogerson, L., and Hrycaiko, D. (2002). Enhancing competitive performance of ice hockey goaltenders using centering and self-talk. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14, 14–26. (as cited in Abernethy, 2001) Thiese, K.E., and Huddleson, S. (1999). The use of psychological skills by female collegiate swimmers. Journal of Sport Behavior, 22, 602–610. Zaichkowsky, L.D., and Baltzell, A.L. (2001). Arousal and performance. In Singer, R. N., Hausenblaus, H. A., and Janelle, C. M. (Eds.), Handbook of sport psychology (pp. 319–339). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Zaichkowsky, L.D., and Naylor, A.H. (2004). Arousal in sport. Encyclopedia of applied psychology, 1, (pp. 155–161). Elsevier, Inc.

Sport Psychology in an Urban High School: Overview of a Two-Year Collaboration J e n e l l e N . G i l b e r t, Wa d e D . G i l b e r t, B r i t ta n y L o n e y, M a r y - t y l e r Wa h l , and Elizabeth Michel

Abstract The purpose of the article is to provide an overview of an applied sport psychology intervention designed for high school student-athletes. To illustrate the process, as well as the product, each year of the two-year project is presented separately. Problems encountered with this type of intervention, such as working in the high school environment, as well as the lessons learned, are discussed so that others interested in working with high school student-athletes can benefit. Finally, the authors provide suggestions for future directions related to sport psychology in the high school setting.

O

ver seven million adolescents participated in high school athletics in 2004/05 (National Federation of State High School Athletics, 2005). Organized competitive sport clearly is an integral part of the educational system, and coaches assume the role of teacher in this setting. As former athletes, high school coaches accumulate many thousands of hours learning the technical and tactical aspects of sport. Few coaches, however, receive any type of formal exposure to or training in the mental aspects of sport, referred to as sport psychology. A significant body of research has accrued in the past 20 years demonstrating the positive relationship between sport psychology interventions and improvement on athletic performance and psychosocial variables (Singer, Hausenblas, and Janelle, 2001). Yet,


67


there are very few published accounts of how sport psychology interventions may be integrated into the high school curriculum for student-athletes. Weismann (2005) recognized this paucity and responded by developing a yearlong sport psychology program specifically for implementation in high school. Given the uniqueness of this endeavor and the limited exposure of his participants to sport psychology, Weismann spent a significant amount of time introducing coaches, student-athletes, and their parents to the field of sport psychology. He emphasized a collaborative process between himself as the consultant and the coaches, student-athletes, and the administrators. Due to time constraints, Weismann (2005) worked with only one team per season (n=3). To facilitate engaged learning, his consulting approach included numerous and consistent brief sessions (i.e., 10 minutes) rather than fewer, longer sessions. Working with large groups of high school student-athletes was challenging because of discipline and attention issues. Overall, the coaches felt that the program design was clear and effective and expressed an interest in learning more about sport psychology themselves. Furthermore, Weismann noted that more success was attained when he worked with student-athletes in small groups. Though Weismann (2005) appears to be the only published account of an intervention designed specifically for athletes in the high school setting, others have also recognized the need to work on sport psychology skills with younger athletes. For example, Danish and colleagues at the Life Skills Center have developed extensive programs to deliver sport psychology to young athletes and students (Danish et al., 2004; Danish, Forneris, and Wallace, 2005; Danish and Nellen, 1997). The Going for the Goal (GOAL) Program is one example in which sport is used as a metaphor to teach life skills (Danish, 2002). High school students are trained to teach the program to middle school or junior high school students. GOAL consists of 10 onehour sport psychology sessions, with an emphasis on goal setting strategies. The use of the GOAL program in sport specific clinics

Gilbert et al. • Sport Psychology in an Urban High School 69

became the precursor to the development of the SUPER Program (Danish, Nellen, and Owens, 1996). SUPER (Sports United to Promote Education and Recreation) is a sport-based program taught like sports clinics (Danish et al., 2002). Participants learn the physical skills of a sport, the life skills related to sports in general, and play the sport as part of the SUPER program (Danish et al., 2004). The curriculum varies according to the sport and environmental context, but some of the basic skills taught include effective goal setting, managing emotions, and developing a support network. After having gone through extensive training, college students who are athletes and/or physical education majors deliver the program to middle and high school–aged students. SUPER is community-based, but has also been taught in school settings (Danish, 2002). During the last two academic years (2004/05 and 2005/06), an intervention grounded in applied sport psychology was developed and implemented at an inner city high school in central California. Similar to Weismann (2005), a collaborative approach was used. The purpose of the present article is to provide an overview of the design and delivery of this intervention. To illustrate the process, as well as the product, each year of the project is presented separately. The authors will also share information related to problems encountered with this type of intervention and the lessons learned in the hopes that others interested in working with high school student-athletes can benefit. Finally, the authors provide suggestions for future directions related to sport psychology in the high school setting. To begin, a description of the intervention context is provided.

Intervention Context Brookfield High School (pseudonym) is a large, ethnically diverse, inner-city school in central California. The school’s population is approximately 2,600 students and almost 80% of them participate in the free/reduced lunch program. As with many schools in the nation, sports play a predominant role in the school and its identity. Brookfield


has over 150 student-athletes participating on various teams and in individual sports, spread across different seasons, training and competition schedules. Unfortunately, though, the teachers and coaches reported that the athletes “had accepted a culture of losing.” The administration at Brookfield sought to make some changes in this mindset by offering a sport psychology program to its student-athletes. Could a sport psychology program be designed to meet the needs of these various athletes? If so, how could it be delivered effectively so that the athletes would buy into the concepts and apply the messages? A partnership between California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) and Brookfield was discussed, but the logistics were challenging. After much discussion, the university–high school partnership flourished and a creative solution was achieved. Graduate sport psychology students, under the supervision of faculty members with expertise in applied sport psychology, designed a 12-week curriculum that addressed the key points with which the Brookfield athletes struggled. This curriculum was then offered in 50-minute lessons, twice per week during three sixth-period Athletic Physical Education (Athletic PE) classes. In California, high school students are required to complete two years of physical education, but participation in athletics can count toward this requirement. Athletes participate in their sport outside of regular school hours, but must still be in school for the mandated number of hours. For this reason, all student-athletes take Athletic PE. Their involvement in this class keeps them in school for the required number of school hours. Although athletes from various sports can be enrolled in any one class, teachers use this time to condition athletes or work on academic tutoring. Given the enhancement focus of the Athletic PE class, the sport psychology intervention program was a logical addition to the course content. Furthermore, most coaches are unwilling to give up workout time during practice to sport psychology activities (Weismann, 2005) so the Athletic PE classes were an appropriate curriculum delivery choice.


Year 1 Intervention Design The first year of the Brookfield–Fresno State sport psychology collaboration occurred during the 2004/05 academic year. The teachers and coaches were solicited for potential curriculum topics. A team of graduate students and faculty members then worked to develop two 12week intervention programs (i.e., fall and spring semesters) that covered these areas. Graduate students were split into three teams consisting of a senior graduate student with previous consulting experience and one or more novice graduate students. Each team was assigned a separate Athletic PE class. All graduate student teams taught the entire curriculum, but each team was responsible for developing one 4-week unit consisting of two lessons per week. The units included: 1. 2. 3.

Confidence, Belief, and Positive Attitude; Desire, Visualization, and Commitment; and Competitive Greatness / Character Development.

Each unit comprised four weeks; three weeks of instruction and one week for reflection and review. The curriculum was designed for the graduate students to deliver the first lesson (Lesson A), and for the teachers to implement the second lesson (Lesson B). The graduate teams understood the importance of capturing the student-athletes’ attention to facilitate their learning. As such, they developed a unique approach to deliver the material.

Intervention Delivery: The Game Plan Format The Game Plan Format was used in two lessons each week (Lessons A and B), and comprised seven components (teams, conditioning, practice, games, statistics, films, and journals). To start, the student-athletes were divided into teams of eight. Teams were then given an


opportunity to develop a team name and slogan that represented their identity. Team members were seated close to each other throughout the 12-week curriculum so that they could participate in the in-class activities together. The graduate students taught Lesson A which started with conditioning. Conditioning consisted of an introduction to each week’s sport psychology concept. The graduate students led a brief discussion and then got the student-athletes involved in practical worksheet-type activities as a way for them to grasp the material. At the end of Lesson A, the graduate students assigned practice, which was a homework assignment related to the sport psychology concept introduced in Lesson A. Student-athletes were strongly encouraged to complete this assignment because it would help them learn the material and prepare for the next lesson’s game. Before the graduate students left the Brookfield campus, they gave Lesson B to the Athletic PE teachers along with any accompanying handouts and/or videos. Lesson B was implemented later in the week by the Athletic PE teacher. It started with a quick review (5–10 minutes) of the sport psychology concept introduced in Lesson A. Oftentimes, the Athletic PE teacher reviewed the practice assignment (i.e., homework) as a way to help the students further understand the concepts. The teacher then administered the game (i.e., quiz), which was based on the material taught in Lesson A and reviewed in Lesson B. Each Game consisted of approximately 10 questions (true/false, multiple choice, fill in the blank). Statistics were the next important component of the Game Plan Format and comprised the game scores. Student-athletes received individual scores on their games. Each team also received a team score, which was the sum of the individual members’ game scores (the statistics were announced during the next Lesson A). The next activity in the Game Plan Format was films. Short movie clips no longer than 10 minutes were used in Lesson B as another medium to engage the students and demonstrate an application of the sport psychology concepts. A variety of movies were used


including dramas, comedies, and animated films. Each teacher was given a copy of the movie (cued up to the start of the clip) and a clip summary. To further enhance the educational value of the movie clip, the students were given a guiding questions worksheet so that they watched with a purpose. Students responded to the guiding questions on their worksheets or in their journals. Though not an explicit part of the Game Plan Format, journals were also used throughout the 12-week programs. The journal entries required the Brookfield student-athletes to discuss the ways in which they could apply (or the ways in which they have applied) the sport psychology concepts to their sport or some other aspect of their life. To facilitate their writing, the student-athletes were given starter-sentences and class time to accomplish this task. At the conclusion of Lesson B, each teacher brought the games, journals, worksheets, and movies to the main office for pick-up by the graduate students. The graduate students used the weekend to grade the games, read the journals, and provide feedback to each studentathlete.

Lessons Learned The team teaching approach used in the fall semester was very successful. Initially, the graduate student with previous consulting experience took a lead role when teaching while the novice students assisted with distribution and collection of materials and grading the games. As the fall 12-week curriculum progressed, the novice graduate students assumed more responsibility for the actual teaching of the lesson. These novice students gained confidence in their ability to deliver the sport psychology information; furthermore, the more they became engaged with the student-athletes, the more they themselves enjoyed the process. The Brookfield student-athletes also really enjoyed the program, specifically the Game Plan Format; they grasped the connection between the format (i.e., conditioning, practice, etc.) and their sport-


specific training. They especially liked the movie clips as a way to see sport psychology in action. While the authors concede that the movies provided a “Hollywood” view of sport psychology, the guiding questions and subsequent discussion provided an engaging way to reinforce application of the material. The journals were also a very successful part of the intervention. Oftentimes the graduate students were unsure about the student-athletes’ interest in the program and whether they were learning anything. It seems that the student-athletes had to be coaxed to participate in discussion and did not appear to fully engage with the in-class activities. However, when the graduate students read the journals it became quite clear that the student-athletes were benefiting from the program. The journals became a venue for one-on-one dialogue as the Brookfield student-athletes routinely asked questions to the graduate students that they presumably felt uncomfortable asking in class. The Athletic PE teachers were enthusiastic about the sport psychology intervention and were committed to delivering Lesson B. However, the teachers had coaching responsibilities, which meant they were sometimes absent when Lesson B was scheduled. The substitute teacher, unfamiliar with the Sport Psychology Program, oftentimes elected not to complete Lesson B. Another important point regarding Lesson B was that some of the teachers expressed concern that they had too much material to cover. As such, they often broke Lesson B into smaller components and taught them, for example, on a Friday and the following Monday. These types of schedule changes were difficult because it meant that the graduate students didn’t receive the games, journals, etc., at the end of the week which impacted the amount of time available to grade the games, and read and provide feedback in the journals. A final concern in the initial fall 12-week curriculum was communication. On a few occasions the regularly scheduled Athletic PE class was moved to another location on campus or had an earlier start time due to a minimum day or block scheduling. Unfortunately, these


changes were not communicated to the graduate students and when they arrived on campus, they were unable to locate the class or had missed the class in its entirety. Another miscommunication occurred with the drop-off and pick-up of the games, journals, and movies. As previously discussed, sometimes the teachers took extra time to deliver Lesson B. When this occurred they didn’t bring the materials to the main office at the regularly scheduled time and when the graduate students arrived to get these items, they could not locate them or the teachers to inquire about their whereabouts. After the end of the fall 12-week program, but before the spring 12-week program, the graduate students, Fresno State faculty, and Brookfield Athletic PE teachers met to discuss the first program. The goal of the meeting was to discuss what worked and how to improve upon some of the challenges encountered. All of the key participants felt that the curriculum was relevant and the delivery format (i.e., the Game Plan Format) was appropriate. At this meeting, the group decided to follow the same content for the spring 12-week program. The overall perspective was that exposing the student-athletes to the same concepts again would facilitate even greater understanding and lead to an increased likelihood of adopting and using the concepts. In an effort to stay innovative, however, it was decided to use different conditioning activities, films, and games. One concern expressed by the teachers related to their teaching role. Even though Lesson B was explicitly outlined for them and they were given all of the accompanying information to help ensure success, some teachers felt that they did not have the expertise in sport psychology to effectively deliver the information. Further, one of the teachers elected to opt out of the spring 12-week curriculum due to academic eligibility issues facing many student-athletes in his class. This withdrawal resulted in two remaining Athletic PE classes and a team of graduate students without an assigned class. The graduate student teams were then redistributed and the entire group agreed


that the graduate students would teach both lessons each week (i.e., Lessons A and B) in the new 12-week spring curriculum. The final concern discussed was the lack of communication regarding class schedule changes, and other related issues such as the pick-up/drop-off of program materials. Late fees incurred because movies were kept longer than allowed, and the graduate students made many unnecessary trips to the high school campus because they were not kept informed. The Brookfield group was apologetic and vowed to be more communicative in the spring 12-week program. The graduate students decided to institute a weekly contact procedure to help facilitate the communication. Each week they would either phone or e-mail their assigned teacher to inquire as to whether there were any scheduling or other changes during the week of which they needed to be aware. Cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses were exchanged and all parties committed to improving communication. Those graduate students who had been the junior team member in the fall program, now assumed an even greater role as they individually taught lessons to the Brookfield student-athletes in the spring semester. This situation provided an opportunity for an even closer relationship between the graduate students and the Brookfield student-athletes. As a testament to this, several student-athletes invited the graduate students to their competitions. Though they were unable to be present at every event, the student-athletes expressed their gratitude to them verbally after games and in their journals. Communication between the graduate students and Brookfield teachers was also better during the spring 12-week program. The graduate students took the initiative and contacted the teachers on a regular basis. When they were unable to communicate directly, the teachers returned voicemail and email messages promptly. The Game Plan Format, movie clips, and journals continued to be a positive component of the curriculum. However, attendance became an increasing problem. The teachers were absent more regularly throughout the spring 12-week curriculum because the sports that they coached were in-season and when the student-athletes real-


ized that their teacher was going to be absent, many of them were truant. On several occasions, the graduate students reported that they had less than half of the class members in attendance. The decreased attendance also affected the pace of the lessons and the individual and team statistics. Not surprisingly, the Brookfield student-athletes also struggled with the application of the sport psychology concepts. They practiced the skills in class, but for the most part were unable to transfer this learning outside of the classroom to their sport or education consistently. These assumptions were based on questions asked during the in-class lessons and in the journals as well as graduate student and teacher observations of the student-athletes participating in competition. The graduate student teams perceived that the Brookfield student-athletes needed to hear about other athletes that had used sport psychology to help them achieve success in their sport. A panel was organized with Fresno State athletes who competed in different sports and used sport psychology. The Brookfield student-athletes prepared questions and were very engaged with the panel members. This experience solidified the importance of using sport psychology for many of the Brookfield student-athletes and may have provided the impetus to try harder to transfer these skills outside of the classroom setting. After the end of the spring 12-week program another group meeting was held. Again, the overall feeling was that the program was positive. The Brookfield faculty wanted to continue the following fall semester, but attendance continued to be a key issue. The fall program started with over 150 student-athletes in three Athletic PE classes. By the end of the spring program there were only two Athletic PE classes of approximately 40 student-athletes each, but only about 12 in each class regularly attended the sport psychology program. Attendance impacted the pace of lesson delivery, the statistics, and the overall learning of the student-athletes. Given these circumstances, there was an overall sense that the program had started larger than it should have and that it should be scaled back if it were to be offered again.


Year 2 Intervention Design The second year of the Brookfield–Fresno State sport psychology collaboration occurred during the 2005/06 academic year. The group met prior to the start of any intervention and made some modifications. First, it was decided that only one Athletic PE class would receive the intervention. However, this class membership would have specific selection criteria. Approximately 30 student-athletes chosen as leaders by their coaches would comprise this special class. They would participate in the sport psychology intervention and then act as peer tutors for their teammates, assisting them with learning and employing sport psychology skills whenever appropriate. Furthermore, the teacher assigned to this class would be more involved in the design and delivery of the program. This teacher, Elaine (a pseudonym) agreed to record her reflections about the program in a journal. Her entries focused on the student-athletes’ responses to the curriculum, their likes/dislikes, the extent to which she observed them using the sport psychology skills, and the like. Elaine agreed to share this information with the Fresno State group, which made the collaboration more of a partnership than it had been in the past. To that end, Elaine, the Fresno State faculty member, and a new team of graduate students (the graduate students involved in Year 1 had either graduated or were pursuing other consulting opportunities) held a meeting to discuss program objectives, intervention topics, and delivery style. Because of its popularity with everyone involved, the Game Plan Format would continue to be used with one small change. In keeping with the sport-specific-theme, journals would now be called playbooks. The 12-week curriculum was an appropriate intervention length. However, it was decided that more time would be spent in the initial planning stages and that only one 12-week program would be offered in Year 2. This gave the entire team more organizing time and led to more communication about the feasibility of the lessons.


The Fresno State group suggested a new approach to the curriculum, known as the UNIFORM approach (Johnson and Gilbert, 2004). The UNIFORM incorporated many of the same sport psychology concepts from Year 1, but did so in a neat, easy to remember manner. Each letter of the UNIFORM represented a sport psychology skill: U – use goal setting; N – no mistakes, only learning opportunities; I – imagery; F – fully focused; O – overtly positive; R – relaxation and stress control; and M – make routines. Sample Lessons A and B and all accompanying handouts/worksheets for “use goal setting” have been included as Appendixes A and B. Please note that these documents included the use of color, word art, and pictures to make them more aesthetically pleasing to the student-athletes. This formatting has been removed for this manuscript submission. Elaine agreed to this new approach and stated that she would also like lessons on steroid use/abuse and commitment. Though steroids are not directly related to sport psychology, it was decided to honor this request and include this topic in the new curriculum. The full 12week curriculum for Year 2 can be found in Figure 1.

Figure 1 12-Week Curriculum Used in Year 2 Week #1

Introduction to Mental Skills Training

Week #2

Commitment

Week #3

Use Goal Setting

Week #4

No Mistakes, Only Learning Opportunities

Week #5

Imagery

Week #6

Review Week

Week #7

Fully Focused

Week #7

Overtly Positive

Week #8

Relaxation and Stress Control

Week #9 Week #10

Make Routines Steroid Use/Abuse

Week #11

Review Week

Week #12

Review/Wrap up and Fresno State Athlete Panel


Intervention Delivery Elaine shared that the student-athletes were enthusiastic about the upcoming sport psychology intervention, but that they had heard the intervention was “too much like school.” They asked for more active lessons. Given that the class was a part of physical education, their request made sense. It was decided that a physical activity component would be included in Lesson A, but that Lesson B would continue to include a review, the game, films, and playbook (i.e., journal) entries. Furthermore, to try to increase attendance and highlight the importance of learning the material, the games would now be a central part of the student-athletes’ physical education grades. Another important discussion point related to the student-athletes’ acceptance of and enthusiasm for the concepts being taught in the intervention. Many of them were very naïve about sport psychology and couldn’t appreciate how much the concepts could potentially help them in their sport, education and in their outside lives. A bigger hook was needed to persuade them about the intervention’s relevance. The team approached this situation in three main ways. First, prior to the start of the intervention, an entire week was devoted to explaining sport psychology. The student-athletes were shown how sport psychology was spoofed in movies and on TV via the use of comedic sketches, and then many myths about sport psychology were discussed (e.g., Myth #1: Sport Psychology is only for professional athletes. Fact: Sport Psychology is for everyone!). A second addition was the “proof it works” information sheets that were distributed and discussed as part of each week. These sheets relayed information about a professional athlete who had used the particular sport psychology skill being discussed. It was hoped that these sheets would motivate the student-athletes to also adopt and use these skills. Finally, an athlete panel was conducted. Similar to Year 1, Fresno State athletes came to the class and answered the student-athletes’ questions about their use of sport psychology.


A final technique incorporated was related to the dress code for Athletic PE. Like many high schools, Brookfield required its studentathletes to wear a specific uniform during Athletic PE. As a means to get them involved and generate program interest and enthusiasm, the student-athletes were charged with creating a sport psychology logo. Student-athletes were encouraged to develop a design that captured the ongoing collaboration between the Fresno State and Brookfield participants. This logo would be put on new T-shirts that would be used by the student-athletes as part of their Athletic PE uniform. As a way to create interest throughout the rest of the Brookfield campus, the sale of these new T-shirts would be restricted to the student-athlete participants of Year 2 as well as the Fresno State group.

Lessons Learned At the time of this writing, only two intervention weeks remain. Overall, the program has been successful. Elaine has participated alongside the student-athletes, and as such has been an excellent role model for the class. She has reviewed the sport psychology concepts outside of the intervention program and kept documentation (i.e., a journal) regarding the student-athletes’ responses, likes/dislikes, and any questions they asked. These comments have been shared with the Fresno State team and used to make modifications throughout the 12-week curriculum to better meet the needs of the student-athletes. For example, Elaine shared that the student-athletes understood the importance of being overtly positive but had difficulty using positive self-talk. As such, this information has been reviewed several times since the overtly positive lessons and the graduate students have provided strategies to help the student-athletes improve their use of this skill (e.g., index cards with positive statements posted in their lockers, continual review of how to change negative self-talk to a more positive focus, etc.). As previously discussed, the intervention participants in Year 2 were supposed to have been selected by their coaches based on their


leadership qualities. These student-athletes would then serve as peer mentors for their teammates and teach/model the use of sport psychology skills. However, scheduling problems at the beginning of the academic year prohibited this leadership enrollment criterion from being used. Furthermore, the Fresno State group did not have any evidence that peer mentoring occurred. While the student-athletes did complete playbook entries about using the intervention skills in their sport, very few discussed sharing skill information with teammates. These enrollment issues could have led to more of the same challenges found in Year 1. However, when compared to the Year 1 participants, the Year 2 student-athletes seemed to be more engaged with the program overall. They completed their practice assignments more consistently and had longer and more comprehensive playbook entries. Attendance did wane at times throughout the program, especially when Elaine’s coaching duties kept her away, but by and large the student-athletes attended class and participated in the activities on a more regular basis. In Year 1, the learning activities almost exclusively used a pen and paper format. However, the Fresno State group was challenged in Year 2 to incorporate physical activity throughout the program and rely less on worksheet activities for instruction. This was a very difficult task to accomplish, as it required creativity and expertise in physical education as well as sport psychology. The group developed several physical-activity based learning experiences (e.g., SMART relay in “use goal setting”: see Appendix A; a grueling abdominal/leg strength workout for ”commitment,” and mini hacky sack games in the “overtly positive” lesson that required the student-athletes to use only encouraging words for themselves and their teammates). These activities were probably the most well-received component of the 12week curriculum. The graduate students used debriefing sessions during and after these activities to make sure the student-athletes understood the specific sport psychology skills each activity addressed. Interestingly, these physical activity learning experiences created their own challenges. Each lesson was 50 minutes in length.


However, because of the physical activity component, the studentathletes dressed out for Lesson A, and approximately 15 minutes was used for their attire change leaving less instructional class time. The T-shirts designed for the program also became problematic. Initially the student-athletes were very excited about creating a logo. The logo chosen for the front of the shirt pictures the Brookfield school mascot holding a psychology trident. This image is bordered by the two participating school names and the words “Sport Psychology.” The back of the T-shirt says, “Have you got on your UNIFORM?” and includes the Fresno State Sport Psychology web address. The student-athletes were willing to spend $5 for these new T-shirts, the same amount of money they would have spent on a different Tshirt for PE. Unfortunately, the new design and the small order amount increased the cost of the T-shirts to roughly $8 each. Brookfield did not have any funds within its PE budget to offset this cost for the student-athletes. Elaine tried to find some other funding, but was unsuccessful in these attempts. The T-shirt was going to be abandoned altogether because $8 was too much money for the Brookfield student-athletes. The Fresno State group then did some fundraising and obtained enough money to offset the cost of these shirts. Nevertheless, the T-shirts will not be received until the end of the 12-week program due to the difficulties associated with this situation. Thus, the T-shirts will be given to the student-athletes at the end of the program as a reward for completing the 12-week intervention rather than at the beginning to generate further interest. However, because the Fresno State group plans on continuing the UNIFORM curriculum in the next academic year, it is possible that the T-shirts could still serve a motivational role. Another component of the curriculum with which there were problems initially was the films. As in Year 1, movie clips were used in Lesson B to demonstrate application of the sport psychology skills. Guiding question worksheets helped the student-athletes to observe these films with a purpose. However, the student-athletes didn’t take to the first couple of movie clips. They made it clear that they wanted


to see athletes and other performers more like themselves. The population of Brookfield is very ethnically diverse (approximately 54% Hispanic, 18% white, 16% Asian, and 11% African American), thus the student-athletes wanted to see movies about athletes with multicultural backgrounds and ethnicities. Once this opinion was voiced, the Fresno State team used movies that were more appealing to the student-athletes and the value of the movie clips as an educational tool was enhanced. Examples of movies used include: Coach Carter, Love and Basketball, Remember the Titans, and Save the Last Dance.

Discussion As illustrated throughout this article, the Brookfield High School–Fresno State sport psychology collaboration has had its share of successes. The Brookfield student-athletes are learning the skills and with repeated exposure have started to use the skills on their own outside of the intervention program. Thus, it seems that high school student-athletes can benefit from the UNIFORM approach (see Figure 1) to sport psychology using the Game Plan Format as the method of delivery. Though the partnership between Brookfield High School and Fresno State flourished, and communication was much improved in Year 2, there were still several challenges. Some student-athletes were truant at irregular intervals throughout the intervention program. However, using physical activity learning experiences, making the game scores a part of the student-athletes’ Athletic PE grade, and showing ethnically diverse athletes and other performers in the films seemed to help most of the student-athletes attend class on a regular basis. Dress out time taking away from class instruction and funding for the T-shirts were two other main challenges faced by the group in Year 2. In future interventions, the Fresno State group will work with Elaine to assign bonus points for those student-athletes who change in a timely manner and/or may include a fun, physical sport psychology activity that would only be played in the first few minutes of class. With respect to the T-shirts, the set-up fees have already been paid


and there is a small reserve in the funds raised for this venture. Therefore, the T-shirts should be offered at the beginning of the program as was originally planned. An important point regarding the partnership between Brookfield and Fresno State is feasibility. Currently the intervention programs are designed and taught by graduate students under the supervision of faculty with expertise in applied sport psychology (and physical education). The graduate students (and faculty) invest a significant amount of resources into this program. Though they are not paid for this work, the graduate students accumulate several hours of field experience and receive university credit toward their master’s degrees. Thus far, this procedure has worked well. Nevertheless, sustainability is an issue that the Brookfield–Fresno State collaboration needs to consider as graduate students turn over and consulting interests among them fluctuate each year.

Conclusions and Future Directions In summary, there has been minimal attention in the literature about the use of sport psychology in the high school setting. However the relevance of sport psychology to the high school setting and the overwhelming number of participants makes these adolescent athletes an appropriate group to receive sport psychology consulting services. The purpose of this paper is to present a unique sport psychology program for high school student-athletes. To review, the UNIFORM approach provided a comprehensive overview of various sport psychology skills (i.e., use goal setting; no mistakes, only learning opportunities; imagery; etc.). Furthermore, the program was delivered using a unique delivery termed the Game Plan Format (i.e., teams, conditioning, practice, games, films, statistics, and playbooks). Though our interventions have met with much success, we have discussed the challenges we encountered and the lessons we learned so that others wishing to work within the high school setting can benefit from our experiences.


The next step for the Brookfield–Fresno State collaboration is to conduct systematic research on the effectiveness of the intervention. For her master’s thesis, one of the authors will investigate the UNIFORM approach to sport psychology using the Game Plan Format as a delivery method. Two Athletic PE classes of sophomore (and possibly junior) student-athletes who have not yet been exposed to the sport psychology interventions will serve as the experimental and control classes. The graduate student will update the 12-week curriculum based on the lessons learned from Years 1 and 2 so that the best practices associated with the intervention can be followed. Her research questions will address the effectiveness of the intervention in helping the student-athletes learn and use the sport psychology skills. Currently we are exploring ways to measure this effectiveness including attendance records, game scores, observations of the student-athletes in competition, and playbook entry data. The pre-test and post-test data will also include the Test of Performance Strategies (Thomas, Murphy, and Hardy, 1999) and may include student-athlete interview data.

Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Tim Hamel, Sharon Kerr, Luke Lichtenwaldt, Diana Martinez, Kristen Mattox, Amy McRae, Stephanie Reeves, and Costas Tsouloupas for their role in developing and implementing the sport psychology interventions. The authors would also like to express gratitude to all the teacher and student-athlete participants at “Brookfield High School” for their willingness to collaborate in this ongoing project, and to the administration for their support.

References Danish, S. J. (2002). Teaching life skills through sport. In M. Gatz, M. Messmer, and S. Ball-Rokeach (Eds.), Paradoxes of youth and sport (pp. 49–60). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Danish, S. J., and Nellen, V. C. (1997). New roles for sport psychologists: Teaching life skills through sport to at-risk youth. Quest, 49, 100–113.

Gilbert et al. • Sport Psychology in an Urban High School 87 Danish, S. J., Fazio, R., Nellen, V. C., and Owens, S. (2002). Community-based life skills programs: Using sport to teach life skills to adolescents. In J. Van Raalte and B. Brewer (Eds.), Exploring sport and exercise psychology (2nd ed., pp. 269–288). Washington, DC: APA Books. Danish, S., Forneris, T., Hodge, K., and Heke, I. (2004). Enhancing youth development through sport. World Leisure, 46(3), 38–49. Danish, S. J., Forneris, T., and Wallace, I. (2005). Sport-based life skills programming in the schools. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 21(2), 41–62. Danish, S., Nellen, V., and Owens, S. (1996). Community-based life skills programs: Using sport to teach life skills to adolescents. In J. Van Raalte and B. Brewer (Eds.), Exploring sport and exercise psychology (2nd ed., pp. 205–225). Washington, DC: APA Books. Johnson, C. A., and Gilbert, J. N. (2004). The psychological uniform: Using mental skills in youth sport. Strategies, 18, 5–9. National Federation of State High School Associations (2005). High school athletics participation breaks 7 million mark. Retrieved September 7, 2005 from http://www.nfhs.org/scriptcontent/va_Custom/vimdisplays/newspage.cf m?content_ID=683&category_ID=3 Singer, R. N., Hausenblas, H. A., and Janelle, C. M. (Eds.) (2001). Handbook of sport psychology (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley and Sons. Thomas, P.R., Murphy, S.M., and Hardy, L. (1999). Test of performance strategies: Development and preliminary validation of a comprehensive measure of athletes’ psychological skills. Journal of Sport Sciences, 17, 697–711. Weismann, M. (2005). Development and implementation of a sport psychology program in an urban high school. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 21(2), 89–113.


Appendix A: Use Goal Setting (Lesson A) Week 3:

Why should you use goals? How do you set effective goals?

Opponent:

Goals

Conditioning: The objective this week is for the student-athletes to be able to clearly understand the components of effective goals and how to set them. Short- and long-term goals will be defined and discussed. Practice:

Newspaper article

Lesson A:

What is goal setting? How do we set effective goals?

Equipment:

6 poster boards, 6 sets of index cards for SMART relay race, class set of each of the following documents: (a) Proof it Works handout, (b) Conditioning – Goal Setting Fact Sheet, (c) Conditioning – Goal Setting Worksheet, and (d) Practice assignment

00-05:

Distribution of Proof it Works handout and brief introduction of the importance of goal setting.

05-20:

Class Activity – Relay Race Set up 6 poster boards with one set of index cards each. The index cards have words written on them. (See table below.) Student-athletes must pick from each list and guess what the letters of the SMART principle represent. Student-athletes will participate in relay teams (with their assigned TEAMS of 5 studentathletes each). Student-athletes will be given different activities (e.g., crab walk, run with linked arms, leap frog, etc.) to do in order to reach their poster board. Once there they choose a card and run it back to their supervisor at the other end. If they have chosen the correct card, they can continue with the next letter. If they have chosen an incorrect card, they must repeat the same procedure and try another word with the same letter.

Sample Poster Board with Index Cards Soothing

Mesmerizing

Athletic

Rough

Terrible

Specific

Marketable

Awesome

Radical

Tiny

Sensible

Motivating

Adjustable

Record

Tough

Silly

Measurable

Awful

Risky

Testable

Synthesizing

Masculine

Allowable

Realistic

Time-based

Gilbert et al. • Sport Psychology in an Urban High School 89 20-30:

Class Activity – Relay Race Debriefing Session (SMART Principle Review) Distribute Conditioning – Goal Setting Fact Sheet Discuss content of Fact Sheet and make sure that student-athletes clearly understand importance of goals and using the SMART principle.

30-45:

Distribute Conditioning – Goal Setting Worksheet Have student-athletes get into their Teams and practice setting goals by completing the Worksheet. Instructors will walk around and check in with each group and provide small group assistance as needed.

45-50:

Distribute Practice Assignment – Use Goal Setting Student-athletes will be told to pretend that they are being interviewed for a newspaper article in the year 2016. They are to complete the Practice assignment as homework and bring it to Lesson B’s class later in the week.

Proof it Works! – Use Goal Setting Bethany Hamilton is a young 14-year old girl from Hawaii. She is a world class surfer, having won some national competitions. Two years ago she was attacked by a shark that bit off all but four inches of her arm. She survived the shark attack and she has committed herself to getting back in the water and getting in shape for the next National Scholastic Surfing Association competition. She did not place in her first competition back, but she continues to work at her goal of being a ranked surfer again.


Conditioning – Use Goal Setting Goal Setting Fact Sheet Use the SMART Principle to set goals. Example of a SMART goal: I want to take 5 seconds off of my 200yd. freestyle time during the 3-month pre-season period. S: M:

A:

R:

T:

set SPECIFIC goals because they are the most motivating. The above example outlines exactly what the student-athlete wants to accomplish. set MEASURABLE goals so you can see how you are improving. The above example includes performance seconds which can be measured and recorded while working on the goal. set ADJUSTABLE goals so you can change them if you need to. The above example can be modified (e.g., can increase or decrease number of seconds) to meet current reality of student-athlete. set REALISTIC goals so that you stay positive and don’t become frustrated. Upon consultation with the swimming coach, and a review of past swimming accomplishments, the above example has been determined to be realistic yet challenging. Check your goals with your coaches to see if they are realistic for you. set TIME-BASED goals so that you can work within a specific time-frame. The above example frames the goal for a 3-month period. Keep in mind that goals that go beyond 6 months may have too long of a time frame.

Things to think about when you are setting goals: •

Think of a long-term goal that you would like to meet. Long-term means about 6 months to a year from now.

•

Next, think of the different things you need to do in order to meet that goal. – Ask yourself, “What am I going to do this month to get myself one step closer to my goal? What am I going to do this week? What am I going to do today?”


Conditioning – Use Goal Setting Goal Setting Worksheet 1. My long term goal is . . . (set a goal you would like to accomplish 6 months from now). Does it meet the SMART principle?

2. My short term goal is . . . (set a goal that you would like to accomplish 3 months from now that will help you meet your long term goal). Does it meet the SMART principle?

3. What am I going to do this month to reach my short term and long term goal?

4. What am I going to do this week to reach my short term and long term goal?

5. What am I going to do today to reach my short term and long term goal?


Practice – Use Goal Setting Pretend that a reporter is interviewing you for a newspaper article in the year 2016. What will the reporter write about you? Fill in the questions below. Reporter: Hi, my name is Joe (or Josephine) from the Brookfield Beat. What is your name? Athlete: My name is

.

Reporter: Wow. It’s a real honor to finally meet you. So, what is your main sport? Athlete: My main sport is

.

Reporter: That’s a tough sport. I could never do that, I’m not coordinated enough! Well, I want to write an article for young people to read on goal setting. So tell me, how did you make it this far in your sport? What kinds of goals did you set for yourself when you were growing up? Athlete: Well, I started playing (sport) when I was years old. I knew to be good, I was going to have to set some goals for myself. So the goals I set were

. Reporter: Jeez-la-weez! So, how exactly did you accomplish those goals? Athlete: Well, first I

. Reporter: Ok, Thanks for sharing. I am sure this information will help other young people excel in their sport too.


Appendix B: Use Goal Setting (Lesson B) Week 3:

Why should you use goals? How do you set effective goals?

Oppenent:

Goals

Conditioning: The objective this week is for the student-athletes to be able to clearly understand the components of effective goals and how to set them. Short and long-term goals will be defined and discussed. Lesson B:

Game Day

Equipment:

Games, Films guiding questions worksheets (one for each student-athlete in class)

00-10:

Review goal setting activity worksheet (conditioning) from last session. Discuss this in Teams.

10-20:

Game Student-athletes clear their desks and individually take the Game. Once completed, Games are collected and the questions are briefly reviewed again.

20-35:

Films Guiding questions worksheet on movie clip distributed. Student-athletes then watch the movie clip from “Sister Act.” Student-athletes will take notes while watching the movie clip and respond to the guiding questions.

35-50:

Playbook Student-athletes are given the following probe for their Playbook entry: Have you ever set a goal and not met it? If so, what did you do about it? How did you handle or cope with not meeting the standard you or your coach set? Do you think that goal-setting is useful? Please explain why or why not.

Game – Use Goal Setting

94 Journal of Education Name: Team Name: Individual Score: / 10

Team Score: / 50

Write down what each of the letters stands for in the S.M.A.R.T. principle. You must write it exactly as it was discussed in class to receive a point. (5 points total) S: M: A: R: T: Answer the questions by circling True or False. Setting goals does not motivate people at all.

True False

It is good to set goals that are really broad and not specific.

True False

I should re-evaluate my goals once in awhile to see how I’m doing. True False I should set goals that are challenging and achievable.

True False

“To do the best I can” is a great goal for me to set.

True False


Films – Use Goal Setting Guiding Questions Worksheet – Sister Act Sister Mary Clarence (Whoopi Goldberg) has been placed in a convent by the witness protection program. Answer the following questions based on what you see in the movie clip. 1. What does the head nun ask Sister Mary Clarence to join in order to stay in the convent?

2. What kinds of changes do you see Sister Mary Clarence making when she gets elected to be the choir leader? Is the rest of the choir excited about these changes?

3. When they sing in church for the first time, does the rest of the choir seem excited that they performed well? How do you know?

4. Have you used goal setting like Sister Mary Clarence and the rest of the choir did? Please explain.

Book Review

Whose Game Is It, Anyway? A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports, Organized by Age and Stage By Richard D. Ginsburg, Ph.D., Stephen Durant, Ed.D., with Amy Baltzell, Ed.D., Houghton Mifflin Company

Reviewed by Mark Stonkus

I

n Whose Game Is It Anyway?, Richard Ginsburg, Stephen Durant, and Amy Baltzell provide parents with a comprehensive guide to a better understanding of their child’s involvement in sports. Ginsburg and Durant are faculty members at Harvard Medical School and directors of the Massachusetts General Hospital Sport Psychology Program and the Performance and Character Excellence in Sports (PACES) Institute. Baltzell, a former Olympic-level athlete, is a sport psychologist, professor, and coordinator of the counseling psychology doctoral program at Boston University. This book provides a unique collaboration of their many years of experience working with athletes and parents, and offers the reader structured analysis and assistance in optimizing a child’s involvement in organized competitive sports. Ginsburg et al. introduce the book by providing a working definition of “character” in sport. They cite the common question on the topic of “do sports build character?” and after a thoughtful analysis of both character building and examples from sport, they conclude that “sports don’t build character—people do” (p. 6). Simple yet eloquent, this phrase sets the foundation for the entire book, placing the primary emphasis of a child’s development in sport on personal supports, not the sport itself. The authors then cite the basic developmental task of children, play, and set the stage for the exploThe Journal of Education 187.1 © 2007 by the Trustees of Boston University. All rights reserved.

97


ration of the struggle that most parents face in determining how to interpret and control a child’s play and participation in sport. When to push and when to pull back, when to be rigid and when to be flexible, and how to manage one’s own emotions when responding to a child’s performance; these issues are noted as challenges that parents face when raising a child in today’s sports culture, and are offered as the introductory themes for the book. The book is divided into two parts. Part one is titled “Knowing Your Child Athlete.” In the first chapter, “Your Child’s Development and the Three-Step Approach,” the authors detail their three-step approach to understanding a child’s specific needs at different ages and stages in their sporting lives. The three basic steps are 1) know your child, 2) know yourself, and 3) know your child’s sports environment. In their first step, know your child, confidence, judgment, interests, relationships, emotional control, and sports-related skills are enlisted to help parents gain a better understanding of their child. The authors provide a brief description of each category in step one, but explore them in more depth in the later chapters. The second step, know yourself, provides an opportunity for parents to become more aware of their own emotional histories, especially in relation to sport. In their third step, know your child’s sports environment, the authors cite the importance of learning about the community in which families live, and its approach to sports. They emphasize the importance of making the effort to find programs where the values of coaches and parents are similar. In addition to the well defined and explained “Three-Step Plan,” there are very helpful lists of questions that parents can ask themselves regarding each step of the plan as further means of learning about their child, themselves, and their sports environment. They end the chapter with an example of the Three-Step Approach in action. Chapters 2 through 5 provide a very easy to follow progression through the developmental stages of sports involvement. The authors also use the same pattern in structuring each chapter, which allows for very clear analysis of the information. Each begins with a very

Stonkus • Book Review 99

detailed description of a specific stage of childhood and the developmental tasks associated with that age group. Chapter 2 focuses on “The Early Years” (ages 1–5), chapter 3 “The Elementary School Years” (ages 6–12), chapter 4 “The Teen Years” (ages 13–18), and chapter 5 “Higher Learning and Higher Stakes” (age 19 and up). Following the developmental content, each chapter consists of an “Essential Skills” segment, where the authors elaborate on the aforementioned developmental categories of each stage, namely: confidence, interests, relationships, judgment, emotional control, and sports-related skills. Case studies and examples of children struggling in such stages follow, and the “three-step approach” assists the reader in both gaining a better understanding of the situation and formulating a plan for intervention (if necessary). At the end of each chapter, the reader receives further assistance via a “Useful Tips” section, in which the authors share clear and concise hints of the norms and needs of child athletes. Part two of the book, “Pitfalls and Possibilities in Sports,” addresses specific issues and challenges that both children and parents may face in sports. After learning more about a child’s development and age-related skills and values in part one, the reader is provided with a detailed analysis of some of the potential obstacles that may be encountered in a child’s home and sports environment. There is a very smooth transition from the first part of the book to the second, as chapter 6, “Should We Push Our Children? How Much?” addresses similar issues from some of the case studies in the previous chapters. The authors do an excellent job of articulating the dilemma that most parents experience in regard to pushing their children. In identifying the need for parents to find that line between too much and too little, Ginsburg et al. provide helpful examples and anecdotal stories from their professional experiences, which allow for enhanced practical reflection on each case, while also normalizing a parent’s experience in managing such a dilemma. The authors offer further assistance by providing an easy to use “Parental Pressure Gauge,” as a guide to helping parents understand the effects of their


behavior and pressure on their child’s performance. The guide is composed of four categories of pressure: 5, 25, 50, and 80 RPMs (revolutions of pressure per minute), and illustrates the range of pressure that parents may place upon a child. Simple in nature, the guide provides parents with a useful tool for measuring pressure, along with a clear identification of healthy pressure, and the subsequent dangers of pressure being too high and too low. The authors close the chapter with “The Parental Pressure Gauge Survey,” an 18-question multiplechoice non-scoring survey designed to offer parents a structured source of self-reflection and discussion on the levels of pressure that they may place on their child. Several questions on the survey focus on the parents’ own history in sports, and even the pressure that was placed upon them by their parents (the child’s grandparents). In trying to elicit the parent’s reflection on his/her own experiences with sport, the authors hint at the generational tendencies and patterns that exist within families, thus setting the stage for the next chapter,“When the Apple Falls Far from the Tree.” Chapter 7 addresses the fact that children and parents may not match in their athletic abilities, and that parents sometimes have a difficult time differentiating their child’s performance from how they view themselves. The goal of this chapter is clearly to assist parents in valuing their child’s identity and expectations, not their own. Chapter 8 continues the analysis of differences, but shifts the focus from parent-child to boy-girl. In citing the gender similarities and differences in athletics, the book cautions against the generalization of attributes. Instead, the authors propose that the differences lie more in the way boys and girls approach sports. The authors use the categories of confidence, sports-related skills, body attitudes, social interactions, and judgment to provide an in-depth analysis of gender roles and expectations in sport. They also provide the reader with insight into the differences between girl’s and boy’s teams, as well as a discussion on the dynamics of coeducational teams. In learning more about gender similarities and differences, parents will hopefully gain a higher level of understanding of their child within a given sports environment.


A major component to all sports environments is emotion. In chapter 9, the authors discuss the surge of emotions that parents and children may feel in sports, especially during the actual competition. They cite the apparent rise in violence and impulsivity in sports, coupled with an increase in media coverage of such events. Such exposure can be very harmful to a child’s perception of, and behavior in, sport. This chapter assists parents in managing their child’s exposure to unsportsmanlike behaviors, while also promoting a healthy awareness of the positive and negative aspects of emotion. This is done by providing a four-step guide to help parents maintain control in emotional situations, and then applying it to case examples of an impulsive boy soccer player and a girl diver with a bad temper. The authors also reveal their clinical expertise in this chapter, by addressing the possibility of ADHD as a contributor to such emotion and impulsivity. Chapter 10, entitled “Quitting, Burning Out, and Moving On,” focuses on the child’s possible decision to stop playing a sport. The authors note that this can be a positive decision, as the child realizes that s/he may be limited in one sport and discovers a genuine passion for another, or if a three-sport athlete decides to focus on two of those sports. However, they explain that situations are not always this positive, and cite the unfortunate reasons for a child wanting to quit: exhaustion and burn out. At times “when the demands of the sport are too much for them physically and psychologically” (p. 187), children may become torn between their own expectations of performance and the expectations of those around them, especially parents. Thus, parents are provided with a helpful chart on signs of burn-out in athletes, as well as case examples of children struggling with the notion of quitting at various athletic levels. The chapter concludes with helpful reminders for parents to use in assisting their child with making decisions on participation, while also preserving their child’s love for sport. Another important figure in determining a child’s enjoyment and achievement in sports is their coach. Chapter 11 provides the reader with examples of both appropriate and inappropriate coaching


styles, as well as suggestions for parents in distinguishing between the two. The authors explain the difficulty in such assessment, due to the nature of the coach’s role. The coach has an obligation to both recognize and enhance talent in an athlete, and like parents is often walking a fine line between too much and too little pressure. Examples of coaching failures and successes are cited, and there are helpful suggestions for facilitating parents’ communication with a coach. They close the chapter by reminding parents to learn about their child’s sports program before enrolling (Step 3 of the Three-Step Approach) and by recommending that parents encourage their children to make the most of their participation by playing to his/her best ability, and by finding joy in being in the game or on the team. Chapter 12 expands on the child’s experience on a sports team by discriminating between good and bad teams. The authors note that a “good team” does not necessarily equate with a winning record, and provide an example of a youth soccer team that only won two games over the course of two seasons. Despite the losing record, the players found joy in playing, made positive friendships among their fellow teammates, and experienced wonderful support from parents and the coach. The authors then contrast the story by offering an example of a very talented collegiate women’s hockey team which had very high expectations entering one season. However, the new coach’s style and intensity resulted in a loss of teamwork, motivation, and enjoyment. The team finished the year with a winning record and a playoff berth; yet it was not a good team. The chapter closes with refreshing thoughts on what makes a good team, and parents are offered more suggestions on how to seek a positive team experience for their child. In chapter 13, the authors address a major issue that may prohibit a child from having a good experience on a team and in sports: obesity. They provide three detailed examples of children struggling with their weight, along with an in-depth analysis of the challenges that overweight children face in sports. By citing current statistics and trends on obesity, the authors assist the reader in gaining a better


understanding of the benefits of healthy exercise and eating patterns. This chapter also reminds parents of the painful harassment that overweight children may face, and the devastating emotional toll that it takes on children. For those children who lose self-confidence from such teasing, parents are encouraged to look beyond traditional organized sports in finding physical activities that their child truly enjoys, even if these fall outside of traditional organized sports, as such activities “yield significant health benefits and take place in an environment that is more accepting and less competitive than popular team sports” (p. 228). After citing the health and socio-emotional risks of obesity in children, the authors devote chapter 14 to another realm of health concerns that may stem from sports: “Eating Disorders, Body Image, Steroids, and Supplements.” Both steroids and eating disorders are gaining increasing media exposure these days; however, the focus is generally on professional athletes and movie stars. The authors of this book deserve great praise for adding this chapter, and highlighting the fact that children do indeed battle with these issues, though often these struggles go undetected. The chapter discusses the unhealthy messages that are constantly conveyed to children in our culture regarding body type and shape. The combination of media ideals of body image and the intensity of competitive sports may lead children to take drastic efforts to both conform and compete. The authors’ clinical experience re-emerges in this chapter, as they provide examples and analyses of eating disorders and steroid/supplement use in teenagers. They close the chapter by offering parents hints and suggestions on identifying the warning signs of such behavior. In chapter 15, the authors share a series of tips to help children improve in their sporting endeavors. They begin by using an acronym originally developed for a little league baseball team in Boston. The SHARPP approach can be used by parents and coaches in encouraging children to: play with Spirit, always Hustle, pay Attention, be Respectful, be Positive, and Practice, practice, practice. After addressing the positive effects of the SHARPP principle on a


child’s performance and character development, the authors cite the types of distractions that athletes may face in a sports setting—physical, emotional, social, and mental—and then address them with the use of 10 “Tips for Handling Distractions.” Each “tip” is followed by a descriptive explanation and related examples. The final chapter in the book is structured as a “question and answer” format, in which the authors present questions that parents have raised to them at various talks and workshops. The questions address many themes of the book, thus providing a helpful review of the topics, as well as examples of the practical application of such information. Ginsburg, Durant, and Baltzell ought to be applauded for producing such an insightful and practical book on the challenges and opportunities that exist in today’s youth sports culture. With such a heavy emphasis on sports and competition, children (and parents) are facing more and more pressure to not only participate in sports, but to excel. Clearly, the book’s goal is to assist parents in providing the best possible sports experience for their child. The authors accomplish this objective by presenting their expertise in a very structured and easy to follow format, while also using many examples and anecdotes to further illustrate the content. The book also reads as very non-threatening, as it validates the struggles that parents face without placing blame or being overtly critical of parenting styles. I strongly recommend this book to all parents raising a child athlete, and also to coaches, teachers, school administrators, youth sports program directors, and community leaders. It is a wonderful source of valuable and practical information that is otherwise difficult to acquire. In my work with parents trying to best support their child through difficult school sports situations, I am frequently met with the following plea: “I wish there was some type of manual for handling this stuff.” For those parents, and all others like them, Whose Game Is It Anyway? is that wish come true.

Notes on Contributors Seth Allen is a doctoral candidate at Boston University pursuing a degree in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Sport Psychology. He has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Business Administration from Drury University, and a master’s degree in Counseling and Sport Psychology from Boston University. Since 2003, he has worked in the field as a master’s-level therapist and as an instructor in psychology, and is currently working toward licensure as a psychologist. Jenelle N. Gilbert is an assistant professor and the Graduate Program Coordinator in the Kinesiology Department at California State University, Fresno. Her ongoing lines of research include stress and coping in athletics, performance enhancement intervention, and the influence of role-modeling on physical activity behaviors of children and adolescents. She co-developed the UNIFORM approach that is used as a framework to teach mental skills strategies aimed at enhancing academic and sport performance. She has provided sport psychology services to performers of all ages and competitive levels including youth, collegiate, Olympic, and masters athletes. Wade Gilbert is an associate professor and sport psychology coordinator in the Department of Kinesiology at California State University, Fresno. Dr. Gilbert’s areas of expertise include sport and exercise psychology, coaching science, physical education, talent development, and youth sport. He has received over 40 grants and honors including the Dorothy V. Harris Memorial Award from the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. Dr. Gilbert sits on numerous editorial boards including The Sport Psychologist, the International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, and the International Journal of Coaching Science. His current focus is school-based physical activity promotion. He serves as project director for the Schoolbased Healthy Activity Program for Exercise (SHAPE). SHAPE is a collaborative with local schools, private industry, and a health management organization to create physically active school cultures. Dr. The Journal of Education 187.1 © 2007 by the Trustees of Boston University. All rights reserved.

105


Gilbert has also contributed to the design and provision of sport psychology consulting services for elite amateur athletes in a wide range of sports including fencing, football, soccer, track and field, and triathlon.

James M. Howland is a doctoral candidate at Boston University pursuing a degree in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Sport Psychology. He has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Saint Michael’s College and a Master of Social Work degree from Boston University. He is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Since 2004, he has worked with student-athletes in the Sport Psychology Lab and Clinic at Boston University. Brittany Loney is currently enrolled in the Master of Arts in Kinesiology: Sport Psychology Option at California State University, Fresno. She has been a key contributor to the UNIFORM sport psychology intervention and is investigating this program with another group of student-athletes for her master’s thesis. She is an assistant women’s basketball coach at Fresno Pacific University, and intends to continue coaching while pursuing a doctorate in Counseling or Clinical Psychology.

Elizabeth Michel obtained her bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and her certification in athletic training through the National Athletic Training Association (NATA) in 2005. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Kinesiology: Sport Psychology Option at California State University, Fresno. She is working as a teaching associate in the undergraduate athletic training program at CSU, Fresno. She is also the head athletic trainer at a local high school where she integrates the teaching of sport psychology skills into the athletes’ rehabilitation programs.

Adam Naylor oversees and is the lead sport psychology coach at the Boston University Athletic Enhancement Center, a multi-disciplinary facility focused on developing the whole athlete toward high performance. Dr. Naylor has spent the last ten years working with athletes, coaches, sports associations, and parents on mental, emotional,

Notes on Contributors 107

and developmental needs of athletes. Furthermore, he serves as a consultant to USA Hockey, the International Tennis Academy USA, and SPORT-Rx Athletic Performance Systems. He received his doctoral and master’s degrees in counseling from Boston University and bachelor degree in psychology at Trinity College, Connecticut. He is an Association for Applied Sport Psychology Certified Consultant.

Mark Stonkus is a doctoral candidate at Boston University pursuing a degree in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Sport Psychology. He has a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University, a master’s degree in Education from Fitchburg State College, and a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Boston College. He is currently license-eligible as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Massachusetts, and is employed as a licensed adjustment counselor at Boston College High School. He also practices as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Mary-tyler Wahl was a key contributor to the UNIFORM sport psychology intervention with high school student-athletes. She graduated with a Master of Arts in Kinesiology: Sport Psychology Option from California State University, Fresno in fall of 2006. Her master’s thesis investigated spirituality and sport commitment. Upon graduation, she intends to pursue a career involving spirituality and sport.

Leonard Zaichkowsky is a licensed psychologist who specializes in sport and exercise psychology. He has a joint appointment in the Boston University School of Education and School of Medicine, Division of Psychiatry, and Division of Graduate Medical Sciences. He is a past-president of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (1997–99), a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, and currently section editor on psychology for the International Journal of Health & Sport Science. He has authored or edited six books with the most recent being “Medical and Psychological Aspects of Sport & Exercise,” FIT Publishing (2002). He has published over 90 papers on sport psychology, research design, and related topics in scholarly journals or books as well as numerous magazine and newspaper


columns. Dr. Zaichkowsky has made more than 300 professional presentations worldwide. His current research interests are in psycho-physiological self-regulation of performance stress, and the development of “expert” performance. He has consulted with the U.S., Canadian, and Australian Olympic Organizations, the NBA (Boston Celtics), Major League Baseball Players Association, NFL, NHL Players Association and Calgary Flames, and most recently with the Spanish World Cup Soccer Team.

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Journal of Education Sport Psychology: A Primer for Educators Leonard Zaichkowsky



Expertise in Sport: A Cognitive-Developmental Approach Seth Allen The Coach’s Dilemma: Balancing Playing to Win and Player Development Adam H. Naylor Mental Skills Training for Coaches to Help Athletes Focus Their Attention, Manage Arousal, and Improve Performance in Sport James M. Howland

Number 1

Book Review: Whose Game Is It, Anyway? A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports, Organized by Age and Stage by Richard D. Ginsburg and Stephen Durant, with Amy Baltzell reviewed by Mark Stonkus

Volume 187

Sport Psychology in an Urban High School: Overview of a Two-Year Collaboration Jenelle N. Gilbert, Wade D. Gilbert, Brittany Loney, Mary-tyler Wahl, and Elizabeth Michel


2006

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