PTST Application Paper

PTST Application Paper

Phase 1: Who is the client?

The client is a college track runner, who got to an Ivy league through a sports scholarship. The student is from Rwanda, and running for an ivy league college is his life-long dream. His family is very excited about his admission into a good college and heavily rely on his part-time job for finances. Coming from a very humble background, the athlete struggles to integrate with other college students. In his freshman year, he won all the interuniversity 100-meter races and thrived in long-jumps. At the end of the year however, the athlete got a significant injury while training, straining his hamstring and causing him serious ALC tear. The athlete went through recovery and rehabilitation during the summer. In his junior year, the coach noticed that he is hesitant in the field and has lost his confidence when interacting with his teammates. The client constantly gets sick, is always worried, and has a low concentration span during training. His coach believes that he suffers from sport-related anxiety.

Phase 2: Initial meeting with the athlete.

It is essential for sport psychologist to have a discussion with the athletes and their coaches before initiating any training program. In this meet, the psychologist explains the nature of the available training programs and their importance. In this case, I would inform the athlete of the advantages of psychological skills training. Such merits include growth of athlete confidence, developing better coping skills in new environments or when dealing with setbacks, dealing with distractions and improving one’s focus, instill a healthy balance in motivations, and helping one create game specific goals. Skills training is also beneficial to the entire team as it helps develop communication and cohesion skills. Moreover, training programs improve one’s mental toughness (Cooper, Wilson, & Jones, 2019). I would ensure that the coach and athlete understand that they are the core factors in these training programs. Therefore, they would need to commit to the program from its commencement to its ending.

Phase 3: Education of the sport psychologist relative to activity.

All sports differ in their activities, goals, and formats. As a sports psychologist, I must have comprehensive information about my client’s sport so that I can understand its essence. Therefore, self-education is necessary to equip myself with knowledge on biomechanical, psychological, physiological, and aspects of the game. Although running track contains teams, its athletes run alone during competition. Track defers from other games because all other team members work together in the field during games. Athletes also need continuous practice and commitment. In field events, athletes participate in activities such as pole vault, discus throwing, shot put, high jump, triple jump, and long jumps.

Phase 4: Development of a need’s assessment plan.

A sports psychologist needs knowledge on the athlete’s psychological skills and weaknesses before developing a needs assessment plan. The initial step required is to interview the athlete. In the interview, I discovered that the athlete fears that he may lose his scholarship if he doesn’t perform effectively. Working while constantly training also overwhelms the athlete. Moreover, although his teammates and classmates are good to him, the athlete still feels alienated and has not fully integrated into the new environment. He is also worried that his accident would slow him down and he may not perform as well as he did during the previous year. However, he shows significant effort and willingness to improve.

According to Weber et al. (2018), young athletes deal with numerous stressors and psychological demands. They face mental and physical fatigue, high demands during training sessions, and anxiety due to separation with family members. The athlete in this study is overwhelmed by the change in environment, his recent injury, familial expectations, and his scholarship’s requirements.

After the interview, I would undertake performance profiling by watching the athlete’s previous videos, analyzing his academic results, and asking for his coach’s and teachers’ input. Moreover, I would observe him during practice sessions and compare these observations to the athlete’s freshman year performance. Using the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2), I would measure the athlete’s self confidence levels and his somatic and cognitive state anxiety. CSAI-2 also helps measure an athlete’s mental toughness. In addition, I would use the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI-28) that analyses an athlete’s ability to cope with adversities, freedom of worry, motivation and mental preparedness. Also, the Profile of Mood States would equip me with information about the athlete’s degree of depression, vigor, anger, and confusion.

Phase 5: Psychological Methods and strategies to be taught.

Since the athlete exhibits signs of panic, performance, and phobic anxiety, he would need mental toughness to cope. Therefore, psychological methods such as relaxation, imagery, self-talk, and goal setting would help dealing with his anxiety. Moreover, performance routines such as pre-shot cardio are also essential.

Phase 6: Actual teaching and learning of selected psychological methods.

Ford et al. (2019, np) describe mental toughness as “a state-like psychological resource that is purposeful, flexible, and efficient in nature for the enactment and maintenance of goal-directed pursuits.” All psychological methods have one goal; to increase mental toughness. Relaxation techniques, for instance, such as progressive muscle relaxation and controlled breathing help in faster recovery after injuries and reduces one’s anxiety levels. Progressive muscle relaxation is an exercise that involves tensing and relaxing body muscles in order. The procedure would help the athlete’s knee and hamstring relax, hence improving his practice sessions. Human beings have faster breathing rates when in stressful situations. Controlled breathing would slow the athlete’s heart rate and reduce his anxiety levels.

Imagery is the creation or re-creation of experiences in one’s mind. The athlete can picture previous situations where he succeeded in races and jumps for motivation. There are different types of imagery such as relaxation, pain management, healing, and skill practice imagery. When the athlete imagines himself in relaxing situations, he would reduce his anxiety levels. Goal setting would also help the athlete make better plans. Since the athlete has many responsibilities to the team and to his family, he needs to set his priorities right to avoid anxiety. Setting proper goals would remind him of his ambitions and motivate him into achieving them.

Pre-shot performance routines are essential to the athlete’s rehabilitation. Therefore, increased cardio exercises and gym visits would improve his strength and speed. Also, the athlete would need a healthy diet to accelerate healing and reduce anxiety. During play, the athlete must maintain calmness. He should perform muscle and mind relaxation exercises before the race and forget about his apprehensions. Finally, the athlete should aim for winning but be psychologically prepared incase of failure. Post-shot, a track runner should analyze their mistakes during the competition and study the strengths of his competitors.

Phase 7: Ongoing and end of season evaluations.

Athletes must remain optimistic and hopeful through out their training and competition (Cooper, Wilson, & Jones, 2019). As a sports psychologist, it is my duty to ensure that athletes remain motivated. Therefore, I would monitor the athlete’s progress through out his junior year and find remedies to setbacks. Moreover, I would record all the critical actions taken during the PTSP training ensure that the client does not miss a step in his psychological journey.