MENTAL TOUGHNESS OF SCHOLAR ATHLETES
Keywords:
Mental Toughness, Scholar Athletes, Psychological Performance Inventory, Psychological Skills Training ProgramAbstract
The Current study investigated the level of mental toughness of scholar athletes of selected State Universities and Colleges in Region 02, Philippines as a key factor for optimal sports performance, as well as looking at its significant difference when athletes were grouped according to their gender and type of sport (individual/team). Data were collected through the Psychological Performance Inventory (PPI). The collected data were computed and analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test. A total of 213 scholar athletes took part in this research where among the participants, male respondents were dominative and mostly were team athletes. The findings also revealed that scholar athletes’ level of mental toughness to have ‘room for improvement’ on self-confidence, visual and imagery control, motivation level, positive energy and attitude control while ‘needs special attention’ on negative energy and attention control. When grouped according to gender, the data uncovered a significant difference on some attributes of mental toughness (self-confidence, visual and imagery control, motivation level and positive energy); conversely, when data were grouped according to type of sport (individual/team), athletes’ level of mental toughness were reported to have no significant difference. In conclusion, coaches need to address athletes’ low level of mental toughness since it is now being recognized that physical talent is not the only component which leads to athletic success (Gucciardi, Gordon & Dimmock, 2008) but also attributed to athletes’ psychological skills (Creasy, 2005; Williams & Krane, 2001). Hence, the inclusion of a Psychological Skills Training (PST) program as an essential part of athletes’ regular training is recommended.
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