Stress, Coping and Performing: an exploration of self talk used by collegiate soccer players
Stress, Coping and Performing: an exploration of self talk used by collegiate soccer players
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Issue Date
2011
Authors
Baumgardner, Brad
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Abstract
Sports can be a big source of stress for a lot of athletes. The purpose of this study was to explore not only the main sources of stress in collegiate soccer players but also learn how the athletes cope with these stressors. Additionally, this study sought to discover the role that self talk plays in this process and its interaction with an athlete's performance. Ten collegiate soccer athletes who had participated in a minimum of one full season, ages 18-21 were interviewed then the information was analyzed. Of these participants eight were female and two were male, six of the athletes identified their ethnicity as Hispanic while three selected Caucasian and one participant identified them self as Assyrian. Using content analysis the questions were split up in to themes land higher themes such as specific causes of stress, how they attempt to cope with that stress, how they use self talk, and how it affects their performance. This research found that athletes use positive self talk in several different areas including coping with stress, motivating themselves and building self-confidence. The findings of this study help support current research as well as provide more detail on this specific population. Some practical implications from this study are discussed, including how versatile self talk is and how it can be used to prolong some athletes participation in sports.