The Super Mental Training Book (50 page)

There is little question in my mind that Dr. Nideffer's stories about Louganis and Petranoff are correct. The sports psychologist's book contains pictures of both athletes in action, which further indicates that he worked with and/or talked to the two. However, after reading these types of reports in mental training books, where only the sports psychologist's side of the story is presented, one begins to wonder about the motives of the author, whether some sort of "hidden agenda" exists. The thought often crosses one's mind that perhaps the author wrote the book primarily to drum up business for himself.[28] To discourage these thoughts from ever entering readers' minds, sports psychologists and others writing books and articles on mental training need to include: 1) the athlete's point of view, as expressed in direct quotes, on the effects of mental training; and 2) detailed information on the circumstances surrounding the athlete's use of mental training (who, what, when, where, why). Until this is done, one is justified in entertaining the suspicion that mental training advocates twist, exaggerate, and suppress facts to suit their purposes; should such a suspicion be aroused, the likelihood that mental training will be given a fair trial

diminishes (an understandable, though most unfortunate, outcome).

In 1977 Russ Knipp, we recall, rated as top priority the creation of "a course or book or something" to teach mental training to athletes. Dr. Nideffer eventually came to this realization as well. In his Preface to the Athletes' Guide to Mental Training, he notes that "when working with the (U.S.) men's track and field team, I often found that the coaches and athletes were almost entirely different from one meet to the next." Dr. Nideffer also found that "the number of athletes to be served, the geographical distances to be covered, and the limited resources (e.g., availability of other sport psychologists to provide follow-up services)" severely handicapped his work as a sports psychologist, creating, in short, "a major logistical problem" for him. The whole situation was quite untenable, and he concluded that "some type of training program and resource material were needed. Somehow, both coaches and athletes had to learn how to be their own 'sport psychologists'—a position shared by Dr. Unestahl and Alexi Medvedev, among others.[29] Therefore, to help make athletes and coaches more self-sufficient in carrying out a mental training program, Dr. Nideffer wrote his book.[30] Although the mental rehearsal techniques presented in Athletes' Guide to Mental Training are much the same as those found in similar books, they are highly readable; Dr. Nideffer has done a good job of making his advice on mental training easy to understand.

Scientific Sources of Information on Mental Training

The best source of current scientific/academic research being conducted in sports psychology is the Journal of Sport Psychology, which is published quarterly by Human Kinetics Publishers. Each issue of this journal contains a multi-page section called the Sport Psychologist's Digest. Comprising the Sport Psychologist's Digest are brief descriptions of studies pertaining to sports psychology which have appeared in other periodicals; many of these studies relate the impact of mental training strategies on athletic performance. The balance of the Journal of Sport Psychology is devoted to: 1) scientific papers reporting on experiments involving psychologically-oriented sports questions, and 2) commentary on issues of significance in sports psychology; by far, one encounters more of the former than the latter, although occasionally some controversy arises which warrants a discussion.

The first issue of the Journal of Sport Psychology appeared in 1979, and this periodical has enjoyed steady growth ever since. Basically, the information published in this journal confirms what has already been known for a long time about mental training—that it usually, and often substantially, helps athletes; therefore the main things the Journal of Sport Psychology provides concerning mental rehearsal techniques are the scientific underpinnings and explanations for why mental training works. So, if you are the type of person who will consider using visualization, self-hypnosis, and allied mental disciplines for yourself or the team you coach only if these techniques are scientifically proven, consult the Journal of Sport Psychology .[31]

As we have noted throughout this book, the Soviet Sports Review often publishes scientific studies on mental training. You may wish to investigate this fine publication as well. [32]

Human Kinetics Publishers, which puts out the Journal of Sport Psychology, also specializes in the publication of sports psychology books. Human Kinetics regularly issues a catalog, which describes not only the books they market on mental training and sports psychology, but also the books, videotapes, slides, and films offered in several other sports categories—biomechanics, selected sports (synchronized swimming, hockey, etc.), coaching, and so on.

Besides offering sports-oriented materials, Human Kinetics has established the American Coaching Effectiveness Program (ACEP). This program is designed to help coaches work with and develop athletes. Seminars are frequently offered, with program participants following a

specialized curriculum. Two levels of curriculum currently exist—called Level 1 and Level 2. In Level 1 the topics covered are: Coaching Philosophy; Sport Psychology; Sport Pedagogy (teaching principles); Sport Philosophy; Sports Medicine. For coaches unable to attend ACEP seminars, Level 1 is available as a self-study course, a main point of which, explains Human Kinetics, is to help coaches develop "an Athletes First, Winning Second coaching philosophy." With the Level 1 course comes several videotapes, one being "Sport Psychology for Youth Coaches." Six self-study courses comprise the Level 2 curriculum: Sport Law; Time Management; Sport Physiology; Sport Injury; Sport Psychology; and, Teaching Sport Skills.

The Sport Psychology section in Level 2 appears promising because it tells the coach, relates Human Kinetics in their catalog, how to "teach athletes essential psychological skills for successful participation in sport. The skills presented are stress management, attention control, goal setting, interpersonal relations, and imagery." Other topics include: 1) Motivation; 2) Performance and Arousal; and 3) Communication Skills. A textbook, which can be purchased separately, comes with this course: Coaches Guide to Sport Psychology, by Rainer Martens, Ph.D. Upon completion of each curriculum level—Level 1 or Level 2—the participant receives a certificate (a good thing to possess if one is a coach seeking career advancement) and is eligible for Continuing Education credit.

Dr. Nideffer, we recall, said that "coaches. . . had to learn how to be their own 'sport psychologists,'" and for this to occur, he continued, there needed to be appropriate resource material and training programs. The American Coaching Effectiveness Program addresses well this need; and many other people, including Dr. Nideffer, with their books and tapes on mental training, have ably filled the void, too.

Given everything we have witnessed so far, it can be said that plenty of "software" (sports psychology programs, mental training books and tapes, etc.) now exists for the "hardware" (athletes and coaches) to run. It is now just a matter of getting the "software" into the hands of the users, and inspiring the users to try out the various mental training strategies.

One of the most consequential works Human Kinetics has published is Psychological Foundations of Sport (1984), a massive overview of the scientific/academic research and progress made in sports psychology. One chapter in Psychological Foundations of Sport we should especially note: "Mental Preparation Studies," by Robert S. Weinberg of North Texas State University. What Dr. Weinberg does is review many of the most important scientific studies supporting a certain insight about mental training. For instance, he discusses what sports psychology has determined about confidence:

Researchers have provided experimental, correlational, and anecdotal evidence that patterns of thought can influence athletic performance (e.g., Corbin, 1972; Richardson, 1967a, 1967b; Shelton & Mahoney, 1978; Silva, 1982b; Suinn, 1976; Weinberg, Gould, & Jackson, 1979, 1980). For example, Mahoney and Avener (1977) found that gymnasts who reported experiencing occasional doubt about their own ability just prior to performance (e.g., "I hope I don't mess up") tended to perform more poorly than gymnasts exhibiting higher levels of confidence (e.g., "I can do it"). The idea that thoughts can influence behavior is also supported in the psychological literature. [33]

Obviously, the cautious athlete or coach who insists on seeing what the scientific literature says about confidence, before incorporating anything having to do with that state of mind into his training regimen, can look up and read the studies of Richardson, Shelton & Mahoney, Corbin, etc. So, for those people demanding scientific "proof that mental training really works, Dr. Weinberg points the way.

The North Texas State University professor relates studies about the influence expectation levels have on an athlete's performance, one interesting passage on this topic being:

It appears that if an individual expects to win, it is likely that he or she will perform at a higher level. The reverse also seems to be true for people who expect to lose! Ness and Patton (1979), for example, examined whether weight lifting was influenced by how much an individual thought he was lifting. Subjects were either unaware of the amount of weight they were asked to lift, believed the weight to be less than the actual value, or believed the weight to be of greater than ge actual value. The results indicated that the subjects bench pressed more weight when they believed it to be less than its actual value. In essence, a subject's belief concerning his ability to lift a certain weight was an important determinant of his actual performance. [34]

What Ness and Patton's study suggests is that you have to do more than just set as your goal "to win." You also have to inculcate the expectation that you will win. Most importantly, coaches need to convey this expectation to their players. Underscoring the importance of conveying positive expectations, Dr. Weinberg tells about a study by Nelson and Furst (1972), where "subjects were paired so that one was clearly stronger than the other, but both believed the stronger subject to be weaker. The results revealed that the objectively weaker subject won arm wrestling competition 83% of the time."[35] Again, it is the old "mind over matter" principle at work; so, raise your expectations and your performance should rise, too.

Raising one's level of arousal (heart rate, body temperature, etc.) before competition is another subject Dr. Weinberg reports on. He observes that a higher arousal level "would be expected to benefit performance on tasks predominantly requiring strength and endurance. This notion received empirical support in a series of investigations by Weinberg, Gould, and Jackson (1980) and Gould, Weinberg, and Jackson (1980)."[36] The subjects in the above experiments consistently demonstrated superior performance on leg-strength tasks whenever they raised their arousal level beforehand. This finding led Dr. Weinberg to conclude:

It appears that for strength tasks, preparatory arousal is indeed effective in enhancing performance and might be appropriate for athletes such as weight lifters. When using this technique for a football team, however, it should be noted that not all football positions (e.g., quarterback, receivers) employ predominantly strength moves. Thus, the use of preparatory arousal might not be advisable for athletes in the "skill" positions. [37]

The "red flag" Dr. Weinberg waves about preparatory arousal possibly proving counterproductive for quarterbacks and receivers echoes the disclaimers I have made throughout this book—notably, that mental rehearsal techniques do not guarantee victory, and their administration must not be done cavalierly, for to do so breeds discontent and declining performance.

Professor Weinberg also reviewed the scientific literature on imagery, and found another instance where some deliberation is called for. He remarks that "although over 50 studies have investigated the effectiveness of imagery on physical performance, there is a lack of consistent results."[38] The consensus among sports psychologists, however, appears to be that imagery is effective when it is practiced correctly. Imagery, though, may work best for elite athletes, who generally possess a clear idea of the proper physical movements to picture in their minds (external imagery, when the picture taken is from an "outside" camera) or feel (internal imagery). States Dr. Weinberg: "There is some evidence (Corbin, 1967; Noel, 1980) that highly skilled athletes may benefit more from imagery than athletes of less skill, although more research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn."[39] He goes on to say that imagery, when combined with various relaxation techniques, "may offer great potential for enhancing athletic performance," and cites studies by Dr. Suinn (1972 and 1976), Meichenbaum (1977), and Smith (1980). Taking into account all the research that has been conducted on imagery, Dr. Weinberg offers several tips on how the athlete should go about employing the technique. Some of his advice, which I paraphrase in part, follows:

1. Choose a quiet place where there are no distractions so you can concentrate. . . Use one of the relaxation methods before initiating imagery.

2. Try to use all sense modalities when imagining. If you imagine hitting a tennis serve, try to see yourself, feel the movement, and hear the ball hitting the racket.

3. Try to image as vividly as possible and practice getting a clear image.

4. Make sure imagery is included systematically into your workout regimen.[40]

You may refer to Dr. Weinberg's chapter as well as the rest of Psychological Foundations of Sport for further details on scientific studies of mental training. Also, another source of studies on mental training you may wish to check out is the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology. The AAASP promotes through its numerous activities psychological "intervention strategies" in athletics.[41]