Use the following numbers and headings when completing the assignment.
1.STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Things to consider as you answer
Why you think it is important for you to begin or enhance a Mental Skills Training Program (MST) or Sport Psychology Program (SPP) for both you and your athletes?
This can be a broad statement similar to a philosophy of how you want this to impact you as a person, a coach and those who you come in contact with as a part of your coaching profession. Don’t just copy your Coaching Philosophy. This philosophy maybe just one area that fulfills your total coaching philosophy that you have written in other courses
Make sure that you keep it in the framework or specific for MST / SPP.
You can think of and use philosophical issues like enjoyment of sport and life. But if you write it I want you to believe it and then see it in the objective you have and skills you will be teaching.
2. What are you personally working on in your personal life? After all the material you covered and wrote about, evaluate and outline what specifics things you want to do as a part of your own MST? (these are things you plan to work on in your personal life, like improving your Goal Setting, relaxation or personal self-talk)
These don’t have to be complete deficiencies but you realize that you could improve in this area and it will make your coaching and teaching of MST for your athletes more effect both by the example you set and quality in coaching style.
Some examples may be issues of calm, confident, appropriate levels of arousal at different points of practice and competition, your own self talk, personal goal setting, non-verbal expressions during practice and competition.
Write out what it is you are currently doing or plan to do that will be an enhancement for your own Mental Training. For any noted area of change (like Self Talk) then provide bullet point(s) for the steps or goals you have that will help you make the changes you want to see.
3.Key Objectives- What you want to happen as a result of your MST or SPP that you will implement for your athletes and your team.
You can put in statements for yourself, coaching staff, athletes and team.
Write them as complete statements that have specific outcomes for each objective you write. I prefer that they are written a separate bulleted statements and not written into a paragraph.
Make sure you consider your age level and who you are working with. (It is not necessary to throw the kitchen sink of MST at 10 year olds.)
You can and should be realistic here and it should point to what you stated as your purpose. At the same time I don’t want you to sell yourself short. You don’t want to be like athletes we have all had that say “ that’s not for me” “that will never work” or “I could never do that.”
4. List the Foundational Skills You Will Seek to Enhance in Your MST / SPP
For each item you put on this list make sure you write a brief 2-4 sentences(if possible) describing why you believe these are important foundational skills specific to your age group, sport and if so your unique coaching or administrative situation.
Use the examples on (Table 16-2) to get your ideas but remember to be specific to your situation (age, team size, sport) when you write your description.
Table 16-2:
Foundation Skills: Achievement drive, Self-awareness, Productive-thinking, Self-confidence
5.List the Methods/Skills You will Use in Your MST / SPP
5.1 Sub Section(make this a bullet point list) – For each method/skill listed in point 5 provide a description of how each method/skill will help you achieve your Key Objectives already stated
This does not have to be lengthy but it is important to note that if you have a key objective there must be some mechanism to achieve it and you don’t need to be doing things (employing these methods) if they don’t achieve an important objective you have stated.
This becomes your confirmation of why you want to spend time teaching and using these methods/skills
5.2 Sub Section (make this a bullet point) – Again for each method/skill in 5 provide what you will teach for each of the following
What is the skill(s)/techniques your athletes need for this sport psych method/skill
Why it is important for them to learn or control this sport psych method/skill
When can it or should it be used in your sport setting
What do athletes actually have to do to use or implement the method/skill – you need to just cover key basics in this response and not the detail that may have already been used in other assignments. I want to be able to see that you know how to break it down and teach it.
6.For Methods You Listed in section 5 Set a Schedule for Implementing your MST / SPP
This may be more difficult since some of you already mentioned in several assignments that the amount of time to implement would be an issue.
Each of your schedules will be unique and will be different because of rules for athlete contact in off-season, multi sport athletes in the program, coaching more than one sport. You have to find a way to make it work. Teams have won championships without their own facility to practice in – how did they do that – they found a way.
Also consider that you are going to be coaching beyond one year. Can you add or enhance some of the MT methods and strategies in stages and to different levels of your program.
7. Elevator Message
Provide a paragraph that reflects what you would want to say, in a short period of time (elevator ride 30 seconds to 2 minutes) that would make an athlete want to work on MST, a parent want MST for their son or daughter on your team, an assistant to agree to work with you on MST, or an administrator who needs convincing why you are doing MST. Find your best arguments/rational to make this short conversation impactful so that one could hardly argue against you and want to be a part of your MST / SPP.
