Preparatory routines for
emotional regulation

What It's About:
This research concentrates on the significance of preparatory routines and psychological skills training in high performance environments. It presents a
5-stage PST (psychological skills training) model that integrates psychological strategies with athlete preparation and demonstrates its application through a case study.

How It Was Conducted:
The five-phase PST model was used to improve the free-throw shooting skills of an 18-year-old basketball player. The model's phases consist of Introduction, Learning, Modification, Application, and Analysis & Recovery, included psychological skills such as relaxation, imagery, self-talk, and concentration in the athletes practice. With biofeedback included, the model was adjusted to fit a variety of In-Game Situations.

And here’s how the 5 stage PST Model is built up and works:

1. Introduction Stage: Understanding the athlete's sport demands and unique nature, the sport psychologist initiates the process by observing their training.

2. Learning Stage: In a structured environment, athletes are taught fundamental psychological skills consisting of relaxation, visualization, self-talk, and concentration. Via biofeedback, users gain insight into their choices in real time.

3. Modification Stage: By customizing these skills to fit their sport's distinct stresses, athletes optimize their performance. They tailor mental strategies to suit each individual's competitive requirements, including focused concentration and vivid imagery.

4. Application Stage: Rehearsing their mental faculties amidst challenging, realistic circumstances. This stage rehearses game situations with precise replicas of competitive environments.

5. Analysis & Recovery Stage: Athletes critically evaluate their performance, accentuating favorable aspects and pinpointing areas of development. Recovery entails reflection on success and setting new targets after strenuous effort.

Findings:
Following the 5-stage PST model, the 18-year-old basketball player was able to elevate her shooting percentage from 40% to 60-65%.
Using the Model and incorporating it into practice helped her applying the techniques under various stress levels, thereby gaining that 20-25% uplift in performance.

So what are the takeaways here?
In essence, the 5-model PST framework offers any sportsperson in any sport a planned route for acquiring and utilizing psychological talents in their sports. With this progression, athletes may effectively manage their emotions and improve performance under stress situations.

Read the full study here:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9374066/

🔐 Victory Vault

Goal setting with Russell Wilson

How does Russell Wilson, arguably one of the best passers in American Football set and manage his goals?

First of all, here’s what he does.
He uses the goals he sets to visualize what he has to do and thereby manifests them also by writing them down. Every single one. But thats nothing totally new and something many do. What he especially does and this is where it gets interesting, he divides his goals into two kinds:

1) Legacy Goals,
something he wants to achieve in a lifetime, nothing necessarily in his sport.

2) Game Goals,
in his case, what progression does he have, what purpose does the play serve, etc. But in a more general way, what he tries to do here is to attach an end goal to his execution plan. E.g. the goal is a touchdown and the play is his plan.

Here, we get back to his way of visualizing: not focusing on the End-Goal but on the next step.
Most importantly, by setting his goals he does it so that now he not only knows where he wants to be, but also how he wants to get there. So implementing his way of visualization makes him very efficient.
A good example presented in the 2^nd source is this:
“He doesn’t think about the top of the mountain, he thinks about climbing”.

Additionally, something important he mentions, is the importance of surrounding yourself with people who want to be or are what you want to become. This helps him to fully commit to his goals.

Sources
1^st : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eh2J915f9s
2^nd : https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=uNLPYEqFPs8

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