The effect of mental training intervention on psychological factors of U17 professional football players

Poster Presentation
Paper ID : 2163-SSRC
Authors
1دانشجو دانشگاه شهید بهشتی
2دانشجو دانشگاه تهران
3دانشگاه کردستان
Abstract
Football is a highly demanding sport and these kinds of factors can be improved very well during a season. To success in football in professional level, players should learn different Psychological factors. These Factors, beside physical and technical conditions is one of the most important predictors of the success of football players in national and international competitions. Regarding the type of sport, the mental training should be designed and executed in accordance with the same field. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a mental training intervention on the mental readiness of Iran’s Perspolis U17 football players. Mental training included life style educations, imagery, relaxation, focus and refocus, self-esteem, stress control, coping with stress, goal setting, game strategies, commitment, and mental training. Ottawa's mental fitness questionnaire was completed by athletes in two phase. The statistical population included 28 under 17 years old professional football players who volunteered to participate in this study. Data was collected before the start of the first mental training session and then after 10 weeks (after interventions sessions) they were analyzed. The results of the analysis of data showed that after 10 weeks, the sub-scale of focus, refocus and game strategies experienced positive and significant changes. Subscales such as commitment, goal-setting The follow up after 4 months showed that only changes in there were no significant changes in sub-scales of commitment, and self-confidence. The results of this study indicate that we can use mental training interventions to improve performance of U17 professional players.
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