By Jonathan Hensey, MS Education & MS Sports Psychology
What is the role of the mind in sports?
Combining cognitive skills training with motor skills training for sports will improve an athlete’s performance. Research has shown that visualization and motor skills training have produced better approach shots for beginner golfers. Furthermore, improving situational performance requires the intentional training of cognitive skills with motor skills training.
“The mental game is what separates the good players from the great players. So, anything I can do to get that mental edge to help me stay my best, I’m gonna try and do it.”– Aaron Judge
Through a proper blend of skills exercises, the athlete can achieve greater abilities during the same time as an equivalent athlete with a technique-only practice. However, the stage of motor skills learning is significant in selecting the psychological skills activities.
Phases of Motor Skills Learning
During the cognitive phase of learning a new motor skill, the mind is active in guiding physical movements, and regular feedback is needed to ensure proper execution. When the performance of motor skills is developing, the performance errors are broad. This broad range of errors can be compounded by searching for a different answer rather than committing to the development plan. Grip, aim, alignment, stance, and balance are essential in golf, but these fundamentals are regularly overlooked as the cause of poor shots. Golfers with bad outcomes will likely search thousands of YouTube videos on how to swing a golf club or try a drill published in a golf publication. However, the fundamentals are essential to executing a good golf swing and must be addressed before swing concepts.
When a golfer does commit to developing skills and improving the pattern of shots, they begin to transition into the associative phase. This stage is characterized by learning how to apply the skill in a game situation, less conscious thought, and a specific mistake pattern. Practicing to perform becomes vital at this stage because technical thoughts can restrict movement and foster faults. Awareness and confidence in skills can start to emerge, but doubt can plateau the golfer’s on-course performance. Thus, this is the peak stage for many athletes because doubt, fear, and anxiety can influence performance.
The autonomous phase has a free-flowing nature. The golfer’s mind, body, and emotions have little to no tension. The golfer can execute shots on demand with minimal dispersion in most situations. Skills are being refined, and decision-making is characterized by unwavering confidence. The elite and skilled athletes need challenges that test their capabilities; therefore, mental skills development can shif
t to environmental factors such as competition and personal identity.
Cognitive Coaching
Each golfer requires different mental skills to achieve their goals, so coaching specific mental skills is essential. Cognitive coaches identify need and guides mental skills training to satisfy those needs. Visualization was an example in this article, but different skills are needed to cope with moments of fear, anxiety, arousal, and stress. Research has shown that learning about mental skills creates knowledge, but personalized training can reduce the time used in trial-and-error efforts.
Mindfulness has been identified as an encompassing mental skill because it absolves the past, eliminates expectations, and brings attention to the present moment. This psychological skill has many layers; therefore, we will discuss this in a future article.
References
Brouziyne, M., & Molinaro, C. (2005). Mental Imagery Combined with Physical Practice of Approach Shots for Golf Beginners. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 101(1), 203–211. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.101.1.203-211
Fitts, P. M., & Posner, M. I. (1967). Human performance. Oxford, England: Brooks/Cole.
Lavisse, D., Deviterne, D., & Perrin, P. (2000). Mental processing in motor skill acquisition by young subjects. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 31(3), 364–375.
Lindsey Hamilton, Christian A. J. Smith & Zach E. Brandon (2020) Representing the Psychological Demands of Sport: A Constraints-Led Approach to Mental Skills Training, Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 11:2, 129-137, DOI: 10.1080/21520704.2020.1729913
