PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS SEQUENCE

                                             

The notes for this post comes from study on developing a psychological skills sequence (PSS) that I can't relocate on the internet but I'm pretty sure there's enough here for you to make something of it and have a crack at developing your own program for your club, team and players.

If you're going to let almost anyone off the street walk into your football club, then you can't get upset from a coaching point of view when they don't nail the various psychological aspects of competitive sport if you haven't given them even the most basic of frameworks.

Just like you want evidence from training that players can carry out certain roles come game day, you need to give players evidence that you can help with the psychological side of sport and give them support when they need it, not just spray them, as you can't yell about what you haven't coached them. 

Runs in a sequence of goal setting - imagery - self talk - relaxation

• Previous skill assists in learning/application of the next
• The mental training process consists of 4 layers x philosophy, model, strategies and techniques
• Psychological x the practitioner organises their idea’s/beliefs towards a PSS and the type of program they’ll deliver (educational v clinical approach, program v athlete centered approach etc)
• Model of Intervention x select an overarching framework to guide their PSS (cognitive-behavioral approach etc)
• Strategies x outline of operational plans for how the intervention will run (sequential steps, multiple phases, packaging of mental skills etc)
• Techniques x the specific mental skills that will be delivered within the program (goal setting, self talk etc)
• Practitioner still makes the critical decisions around design/delivery like how mental skills will be packaged (1 or multiple skills at a time x visualisation/self talk)
• Which mental skills you focus on will depend on if it’s a program or athlete centered program
• Athlete Centered Program x individually specific, not often practiced, requires lots of resources/time
• Program Centered Program x pre-planned sequence of mental skills
• Imagery/goal setting should appear early in the program
• Basic psychological skills (imagery, self talk, goal setting, relaxation) serve various functions, can be used on their own or with other psychological skills
• Advanced Psychological Skills x specific strategies to achieve ideal performance states, reaching optimal arousal, maintaining attention (simulation training including self talk/imagery) and managing emotions
• Go in order of goal setting, imagery, self talk, relaxation
• Week 1 x introductory session x introduce yourself, get to know players, an overview of the importance of PSS
• Week 2 – 5 x goal setting, imagery, self talk, relaxation respectively
• Week 6 – 8 x open sessions x review/expand basic skills, advanced skills, team building