Dataset Information

Psychological Intervention Program to Control Stress in Youth Soccer Players.

ABSTRACT: The influence on the psychological well-being of the players and their sports performance seems to be one of the keys to the current sports practice. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a psychological intervention program for stress control in youth soccer players. A total sample of 19 male youth soccer players (age: 16.3 ± 0.99 years; years playing soccer: 10.89 ± 1.56 years) completed the current research. The Psychological Characteristics Questionnaire related to Sports Performance (CPRD) was used to assess stress factors related to sports competition. A program based on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy was implemented during eight sessions of approximately 50 min each. A pre-post design was used and statistical differences between pre- and post-measures were checked through dependent sample t-tests. The results indicated that the post-test scores were higher than the pre-tests in "Influence of the Evaluation of Performance" and "Mental Skills" factors, which supposes a significant improvement of the stress management related to performance evaluation, as well as the use of psychological resources and techniques. In addition, the post-test scores were also higher in the "Stress Control" factor, although in this case the differences were not statistically significant. Practical indications deriving from the findings of this study can help youth soccer players to manage the stress of competition using a psychological training program.

SUBMITTER: Olmedilla A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6805695 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Psychological Intervention Program to Control Stress in Youth Soccer Players.

Olmedilla Aurelio A Moreno-Fernández Isabel Mª IM Gómez-Espejo Verónica V Robles-Palazón Francisco Javier FJ Verdú Isidro I Ortega Enrique E

Frontiers in psychology 20191016

The influence on the psychological well-being of the players and their sports performance seems to be one of the keys to the current sports practice. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a psychological intervention program for stress control in youth soccer players. A total sample of 19 male youth soccer players (age: 16.3 ± 0.99 years; years playing soccer: 10.89 ± 1.56 years) completed the current research. The Psychological Characteristics Questionnaire related to ...[more]

PMID: 31681078

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Project description:Soccer players are required to anticipate and react continuously in a changing, relatively unpredictable situation in the field. Cognitive functions might be important to be successful in soccer. The current study investigated the relationship between cognitive functions and performance level in elite and sub-elite youth soccer players aged 13-17 years. A total of 47 elite youth soccer players (mean age 15.5 years, SD = 0.9) and 41 sub-elite youth soccer players (mean age 15.2 years, SD = 1.2) performed tasks for "higher-level" cognitive functions measuring working memory (i.e., Visual Memory Span), inhibitory control (i.e., Stop-Signal Task), cognitive flexibility (i.e., Trail Making Test), and metacognition (i.e., Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Design Fluency Test). "Lower-level" cognitive processes, i.e., reaction time and visuo-perceptual abilities, were also measured with the previous tasks. ANOVA's showed that elite players outscored sub-elite players at the "higher-level" cognitive tasks only, especially on metacognition (p < .05). Using stepwise discriminant analysis, 62.5% of subjects was correctly assigned to one of the groups based on their metacognition, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility performance. Controlling for training hours and academic level, MANCOVA's showed differences in favor of the elite youth soccer players on inhibitory control (p = .001), and cognitive flexibility (p = .042), but not on metacognition (p = .27). No differences were found concerning working memory nor the "lower-level" cognitive processes (p > .05). In conclusion, elite youth soccer players have better inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and especially metacognition than their sub-elite counterparts. However, when training hours are taken into account, differences between elite and sub-elite youth soccer players remain apparent on inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility in contrast to metacognition. This highlights the need for longitudinal studies to further investigate the importance of "higher-level" cognitive functions for talent identification, talent development and performance in soccer.

Dataset Information

Psychological Intervention Program to Control Stress in Youth Soccer Players.

Publications

Psychological Intervention Program to Control Stress in Youth Soccer Players.

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