The Benefits of Psychological Skills Training for Young Athletes
Sport Psychology is generally marketed to elite level athletes that are looking to improve their mental game after they have already mastered the physical aspects of their sport. The top level of most sportsmen is often separated by the mental skills and resilience of the athletes, rather than there being a visible physical difference. But these top level athletes do not just develop these psychological skills when they reach the top. Rather, it is part of their development throughout their lives.
“Young athletes are also developing psychologically and are more ripe for psychological skills training (PST) than older athletes who have already internalised dysfunctional responses to competition.” (Vealy, 1998).
PST is invaluable in the development of young athletes in academia, sports and in their characters. Sport is part of education for more than physical development, sport helps children develop life skills. PST is vital in the effectiveness of sport within education, and can be brought in from ages as young as 8 years old, depending on the individual. It is in the best interests of parents, teachers, coaches and most importantly children, that young athletes are given the opportunity to develop necessary mental skills that will ensure they enjoy and excel in competitive environments.
The four reasons young athletes should incorporate PST into their education given in the book, ‘Sport Psychology for Young Athletes’ (Knight, Harwood & Gould, 2018) emphasise its benefits to children as they develop.
Reason 1: Pressure is part of organised youth sport
Pressure is evident from a young age in students’ lives, whether it is in sport, academia or artistic performance. This pressure, when handled correctly, can lead to growth and learning. However, if the correcting strategies aren’t utilised, then the child can develop a negative relationship with competitive environments. PST is thus used to ensure that children grow and learn from competition, whether it is competition between students or competition with oneself seeking personal improvement.
Reason 2: Young athletes are capable of using Psychological skills
Studies have shown that children as young as 8 years old have benefitted from learning psychological skills such as imagery, relaxation techniques, focusing and goal setting in a range of educational environments (Orlick & MMcCaffrey, 1991; Burton, 1991). These skills are best learned at a young age, as they can be developed by the child as he/she grows older, allowing for further individualisation of these skills. On the sporting performance side, children have experienced improved performances in table tennis, as well as seeing improvements in basketball free-throws, amongst others, when using PST (Zhang, Ma, Orlick, & Zitzelberger, 1992).
Reason 3: PST can aid in building a foundation for long term benefits, as well as showing immediate results
Psychologically skills can be introduced to young athletes through developing a foundation of skills, just as they learn the physical skills related to their sports. Creating a program for PST for young athletes should be developmentally driven, allowing the athlete to develop coping strategies that apply to their ever changing situations in sport and life. Focusing on building an understanding of these skills will create an accessibility for the athlete, allowing him/her to build on these strategies and ensure long-term development and performance enhancement.
Reason 4: PST can help promote the development of life skills and character development
Although sports performance enhancement is a major focus of PST, these skills have applications outside of sport and transfer into the workplace later in life. Engaging children in PST will teach them how to cope with adversity, embrace competition, develop a good relationship with effort and setting goals across multiple facets of their lives. Life skills are reflected in much of the educational processes built into a PST program, including leadership skills, teamwork and communication skills and developing critical thinking.
Some observations of PST with children:
1) Children have incredible imaginations and can use their imaginations very effectively when practicing skills, learning new skills and dealing with stressful scenarios. Imagery is a powerful tool in a child’s arsenal of psychological skills.
2) The effects of a child’s self-talk are often immediately obvious. A child that speaks positively to him/herself is often more confident, adapts more efficiently and is happier than his/her peers. Parents should take care that the way they praise their children is in alignment with their child’s self-talk strategies.
3) Children with strong coping strategies are less likely to experience burnout, particularly when school work and sporting workloads are high.
4) ‘Better People Make Better Athletes.’ Life skills truly do transfer across from sport into the social identity of young athletes, allowing them to prosper in various scenarios in their lives.
5) Although children are often categorised into certain stages of development, just as they are placed into age groups in their sports, there are individual differences that may see a child excel or struggle with certain psychological skills. Programs should be tailored to the individual, taking into account his/her developmental stage and cognitive capabilities.
All children can benefit from learning the psychological skills that are present in sport. Schools provide a fantastic educational setting, often allowing children to experience the highs and lows of competition in both academics and sport. However, there is so much more to be learned and so much more that children can get out of sport with proper guidance and a well rounded psychological skills training program.