Emily Huelskamp

Exploring Introduction Recognition and Popularity Four Mental Skills Additional Areas Christian Application

Introduction: Disclaimer Practicing sport psychology

Introduction: Definition “Concerned with the psychological factors that influence participation and performance in sport and exercise and with the psychological effects derived from participation” (Williams, 2006) Helps athletes overcome mental barriers

Increasing Recognition Examples of application: Madeline Manning m Olympic Gold Medalist Brad Lewis 1984 Double Sculls Olympic Gold Medalist Red Auerbach Legendary Celtics Coach

Increasing Popularity School enrollment Teams Professional National Collegiate Individual consultation practices

Mental Skills Goal Setting Relaxation Self-Talk Imagery

Goal Setting Goals direct action and provide focus (Baltzell, 2009) Influence on performance Three categories: Outcome Performance Process Short and Long-term

Goal Setting: SMARTS Specific Measurable Adjustable Realistic Timely Self-Determined

Goal Setting: Example A student has a presentation due at the end of the month that involves researching a topic, writing a paper, then presenting a power point show. Poorly-Defined: “I will finish the research and writing by a week before the due date then work on the power point portion for the last week.” Well-Defined: “I will spend one hour on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays of the first two weeks researching the topic. The second week I will spend two hours Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday writing the paper. If extra time is needed, I will write for longer on Friday and Saturday. The last week I will complete half of the power point on Tuesday afternoon and the other half on Wednesday morning. This leaves me Thursday to practice and fine tune for the Friday presentation.”

Relaxation Awareness, “Checking-in” “Help[s] athletes harness arousal so that it will not become an uncontrollable anxiety response” (Williams, 2006)

Relaxation Influence on performance Inverted-U Hypothesis Sport- and Athlete-Specific Optimal Levels Sport Athlete

Relaxation: Techniques Breathing Must be diaphragmatic 1:2 Ratio Meditation Progressive Relaxation (PR) Active PR

Self-Talk “Any self-statement or thought about the self” (Baltzell, 2009) Must focus on the desired goal (Williams, 2006)

Self-Talk: Techniques Thought Stopping Identifying the negative thought, stopping the thought, then focusing on the task-relevant thought Changing negative to positive Coupling thoughts to redirect attention Countering Internal dialogue that uses facts and reason to refute the underlying beliefs and assumptions that lead to negative thinking Reframing Process of creating alternative frames of reference or different ways of looking at the world

Imagery “Using all the senses to re-create or create an experience in the mind.” (Williams, 2006) Point of view External Internal Applications Practice without physical exhaustion Increased repetition Injury

Imagery: Example The 2k

Additional Areas Concentration Example: TIC – TOC Motivation Extrinsic Intrinsic

Christian Application Straight-forward application Vulnerability Motivation