This study examined four Canadian Olympic athletes’ attitudes towards mental training and their implementation strategies before, during, and after the 2012 London Olympics. This study interviewed four athletes who competed at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Athletes were represented from rowing, swimming and track and field. Their interviews were written-up as in-depth narratives to provide a rich, insight into these athletes’ perspectives and unique experiences. The narratives were analyzed individually and were then compared and contrasted across all four. Regarding the current attitudes of the athletes, all athletes interviewed expressed a positive attitude towards mental training. However, they differed in their underlying beliefs as to whether this was a fundamental or supplementary component to their preparation and subsequent performance. Themes that emerged as influencing the development of these attitudes include prior experience and maturity of the athlete. In regards to their implementation methods, the athletes all used mental training but their approach ranged from implementing holistically to a narrower approach. Future research should investigate the different factors that may impact an athletes’ attitude towards mental training such as team versus individual sport, gender, and years of experience. Additionally, exploring what a holistic mental training plan would look like compared to a supplementary approach and whether they result in differences in athlete performance. / Graduate / 0515

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The objective of this study was to understand the adaptation challenges and solutions experienced by immigrant coaches relocated to Canada. Ten high performance immigrant coaches were recruited, each completing a demographic questionnaire and partaking in an individual interview, providing insight into their experiences and cultural challenges. Results of the study were presented under two central themes: a) communication (language barriers and coach-athlete negotiations), and b) socialization (Canadian sport backdrop and views of sport in the immigrant coach’s home versus host country). A common adaptation solution was the importance of social support resources, with the immigrant coaches adjusting with less acculturative stress when a reciprocal relationship was developed between themselves and those they worked with. From this preliminary project there is an indication that sport psychology consultants (SPCs) should work with immigrant coaches, and coaches and athletes of the host country to foster this bi-directional learning processes, facilitating the coaches’ transition.

While we know much about the psychology of sport, little gets translated onto the playing field. Typically, there is only consultation when a problem arises or when performance falls short. The purpose of this study was mainly exploratory in order to gather data on three factors of mental health, find any associations between those factors, and to predict any risk factors using demographic variables. Three validated measurement tools were used to measure burnout (Athlete Burnout Questionnaire; Raedeke & Smith, 2004), depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II; Beck et al., 1996), and transition readiness (British Athletes Lifestyle Assessment Needs in Career and Education; Lavallee & Wylleman, 1999). The three measures (ABQ, BDI, and BALANCE) were found to be positively associated based on non-parametric correlation analyses. Medium to large effect sizes were found between each pair, indicating that there are possibly shared factors between depression, burnout, and transition risk. Multiple regression analyses indicated no significant demographic predictors of burnout, depression, or transition readiness. The results of this study show that most student-athletes in this sample are at mild risk for burnout, depression, and transition issues. Mental health screenings, like this one, can provide valuable information to athletic administrations and help avoid larger issues in the future.

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Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The purpose of this study was to investigate expectations of collegiate head coaches about sport psychology consulting. There were two null hypotheses in this study: first, there will be no difference in expectations of sport psychology consulting between male and female collegiate head coaches of NCAA Division I, II, and III athletic programs; second, there will be no difference in expectations of sport psychology consulting between head coaches of male and female athletic programs at Division I, II, and III level. Items from the Expectations About Spmt Psychology Consulting (EASPC) questionnaire (Martinet al, 2001) were revised to reflect a head coaches' perspective. The revised instrument, Coaches' Expectations About Sport Psychology Consulting (CESPC) questionnaire, was administered to 404 collegiate head coaches (244 male coaches and 160 female coaches) of both male and female team sports (248 female teams and 156 male teams) from NCAA Division I, II, and III athletic teams. Results of a 2 (Gender of the Sport) X 3 (NCAA Level of Competition) MANOVA indicated a significant main effect for gender of the sport. Univariate ANOVAs indicated a significant effect for personal commitment. In addition, results of the 2 (Gender of the Coach) X 3 (NCAA Level of Competition) MANOV A indicated a significant main effect for gender of the head coach. Univariate ANOV As indicated a significant effect for personal commitment. Subsequent univariate A VOV As also revealed a significant interaction between the level of sport (e.g. , CAA Division I, Division II, and Division III) and gender with respect to SPC expertise. Results indicated that the CESPC instrument might be a valuable tool for determining head coaches ' expectations about sport psychology consulting. Interpretations of the results for each hypothesis are included and implications for sport psychology consultants are discussed based on these findings. Finally, study limitations are identified and suggestions for future research are made. / 2999-01-01

Research has consistently found that the type of feedback coaches provide their players with has a substantial impact on both the motivation and the performance of these athletes. Further, several studies have found that athletes’ motivation predicts sport performance. In order to optimize the performance of their athletes, coaches need to understand how various feedback strategies impact motivation and performance. The present study examined the relationship between coaching feedback, athletes’ motivation, and athletic performance from the perspective of self-determination theory. Feedback style was conceptualized in four categories: behavior-based corrective feedback, behavior-based supportive feedback, person-based corrective feedback, and person-based supportive feedback. Athlete motivation was conceptualized as intrinsic and extrinsic. Participants included 169 NCAA athletes (56.2% male) from Division I and III colleges and universities in the United States. This sample includes 35 golfers, 50 basketball players, and 84 baseball/softball players. All participants completed a survey reporting their perception of their coaches’ feedback style and their motivation. The commonly recorded individual performance statistics were used as the outcome measure. A factor analysis confirmed the four-factor structure of the perceived feedback scale and structural equation modeling was used to test the relationship between feedback, motivation, and performance. The results revealed that athletes perceive a) more supportive than corrective feedback, b) that corrective feedback was more behavior-based than person-based, and c) that supportive feedback was more person-based than behavior-based. Additionally, Supportive person-based (β = -.22) and corrective person-based feedback (β = .18) were linked with intrinsic motivation. Both intrinsic (β = .13) and extrinsic motivation (β = .82) were related to athletic performance. Corrective person-based feedback had a significant indirect effect on performance through the mediation of intrinsic motivation (β = -.10). The findings from this study can inform coaches to use more supportive and less corrective person-based feedback to increase motivation and performance. / Research has consistently found that the type of feedback coaches provide their players with has a substantial impact on both the motivation and the performance of these athletes. Further, several studies have found that athletes’ motivation predicts sport performance. In order to optimize the performance of their athletes, coaches need to understand how various feedback strategies impact motivation and performance. This study examined the relationship between coaching feedback, athletes’ motivation, and athletic performance. Feedback style was conceptualized in four categories: behavior-based corrective feedback which is delivered after a negative performance and focuses on behavior, behavior-based supportive feedback which is delivered after a positive performance and focuses on specific behavior, person-based corrective feedback which is delivered after an undesirable performance and targets the individual, and person-based supportive feedback which is delivered after a negative performance and focuses on the individual. Participants included 169 NCAA athletes (56.2% male) from Division I and III colleges and universities in the United States. This sample includes 35 golfers, 50 basketball players, and 84 baseball/softball players. All participants completed a survey reporting their perception of their coaches’ feedback style and their motivation. The commonly recorded individual performance statistics were used as the outcome measure. The results revealed that athletes perceive a) more supportive than corrective feedback, b) that corrective feedback was more behavior-based than person-based, and c) that supportive feedback was more person-based than behavior-based. Additionally, Supportive person-based and corrective person-based feedback were linked with intrinsic motivation. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were related to athletic performance. Corrective person-based feedback had a significant indirect effect on performance through the mediation of intrinsic. The findings from this study can inform coaches to use more supportive and less corrective person-based feedback to increase motivation and performance.

Virtual reality (VR) has been successfully applied to a broad range of training domains; however, to date there is little research investigating its benefits for sport training. In this work we investigated the feasibility and usefulness of using VR for two sport subdomains: sport psychology and sport biomechanics. In terms of sport psychology training, high-fidelity VR systems could be used to display realistic 3D environments to induce anxiety, allowing resilience-training systems to prepare athletes for real-world, high-pressure situations. For sport biomechanical training, we could take advantage of the 3D tracking available in VR systems to capture and display full-body movements in real-time, and could design flexible 3D environments to foster a valuable and engaging training experience. To address using VR for sport psychology training, in this work we present a case study and a controlled experiment. Our work addresses whether a VR system can induce anxiety in participants, and if so, how this anxiety impacts performance, and what the implications are for VR system design. sing VR for sport biomechanical training, in this work we present a case study describing the development of a VR-based jump training application. Our work addresses whether an effective VR biomechanical training system can be achieved using standard computer equipment and commodity tracking devices, and how we should design the user experience of a VR sport training system to effectively deliver biomechanical principles. / Master of Science