A controlled evaluation of a comprehensive mental skills program for Ncaa and youth club swimmers
Previous studies have established that mental skills training is an effective intervention for improving performance in athletes. Relaxation, imagery, and mental preparation interventions have demonstrated efficacy in the improvement of athletic performance. However, relaxation combined with imagery is more effective than either one alone. Similarly, past studies have indicated mental preparation interventions may be more effective in the improvement of athletic performance when combined with other interventions. In team sports such as swimming, optimum performance has been found to improve cohesion. However, whether cohesion leads to improvements in sports performance is undetermined. In this study, a multiple baseline across team sports methodology was utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of cohesion and multi-component interventions in swim performance. The study included thirty-nine NCAA swimmers, and twelve Youth Club swimmers. Results indicated that the cohesion intervention appeared to enhance swim trial times for males, and female youth swimmers. However, this intervention did not appear to influence trial times for NCAA women. Interestingly, the relationship between cohesion and swim performance did not appear to be a direct one. Although improvements in swim trial performance were noted for males and youth swimmers consequent to the implementation of the multi-component intervention, the evaluation of this component was not controlled. Thus, the latter result must be interpreted with caution. Study implications are discussed in light of these results.
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