Psychological Skills Training (PST), also known as mental training, means practicing specific mental skills to improve performance, have more fun, and feel satisfied in sports and physical activities (Weinberg, 2019) These skills include things like relaxing, imagining success, staying focused, using positive self-talk, setting goals, following routines, and building confidence.
PST is important because coaches and athletes believe that mental factors play a big role in how well athletes perform, especially at the elite level. However, many coaches don’t include mental training in regular practice because they don’t know much about it, have misconceptions, or think they don’t have enough time. Some people also believe myths about mental training, like it’s only for problem athletes or elite athletes, or that it’s a quick fix that doesn’t actually work. However, research (e.g., Weinberg & Gould 2016) and the experiences of successful athletes show that mental skills like imagining success, setting goals, controlling emotions, following routines, and managing thoughts do help.
A review by Krane and Williams (2014) found that teaching athletes about mental skills and helping them practice those skills improves their performance in sports. It’s important to personalize the training, do it consistently over time, and use different techniques to make it effective.
Before starting mental training, it’s important to assess athletes’ mental skills through interviews or surveys (Weinberg, 2019). This helps figure out which skills to focus on. There are different ways to do mental training, but usually it involves three phases: learning about the skills, practicing and acquiring the skills, and then using them in real sports situations. The goal is to help athletes become independent in using these skills to manage their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, which is called self-regulation (Weinberg, 2019).
Krane, V., & Williams, J. (2014). Psychological characteristics of peak performance. In J. Williamns, & V. Krane (Eds.), Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak perfor- mance (pp. 159 175). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Weinberg, R. (2019). In D. Hackfort, R. J. Schinke, & B. Strauss (Eds.), Dictionary of sport psychology: Sport, exercise, and performing arts. Academic Press.
Weinberg, R., & Gould, D. (2016). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.