Effect of Psychological Skills Training Program On Floor Exercise performance

ABSTRACT

The present experimental study aimed to evaluate the effect of six weeks Psychological Skills Training (PST) Program on the Floor Exercise performance of the Artistic Gymnasts, for the

purpose a total number of 60 gymnasts were randomly divided into experimental and controlled group (30 gymnasts in each group) Subjects voluntarily agreed to participate in a

training program, at the end of the training program only 52 subjects completed the entire training schedule. The study was carried out at Bhoir’s Gymkhana, Dombivali, Mumbai from 16th August, 2012 to 30th September, 2012. The data was collected and statistically analysed

by employing the analysis of covariance. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Findings revealed that there was a significant improvement in the performance of the gymnasts those

who underwent the PST program as compared to the gymnasts in controlled group.

INTRODUCTION

The floor exercise is a common apparatus for women's and men's artistic gymnastics event.

Gymnasts are required to do four or five tumbling passes in a routine, and the passes often

contain multiple flips and twists. Women perform both tumbling and dance skills on floor,

while men do tumbling and occasional strength moves or flairs and circles. The whole routine

must be performed with rhythm and harmony, and the gymnast must move in different

directions, using a major portion of the allotted area. The women’s event is similar to the

men’s, except that it is performed to music and lasts 70 to 90 seconds. (Amy Van Deusen,

About.com)

In the present age of competitive sports world, sports person are required to exhibit the

superb physical ability Similarly, in Gymnastics the performance on floor is the combination

of biomechanical applications to fulfil the great technical demand of the events, balance,

coordination, strength, agility, speed and endurance, ornamented with aesthetics, grace and

beauty to support the wondrous performance, but to perfect the skills, so they could be

exhibited efficiently at the time when it is most required, there is something extra which is

required to be trained to avoid the poor performance, i.e the mental side/ Psychological aspect

of the training. This can be supported under the shadow of the literature that the interface

between biomechanical (Hayes, 1982), physiological (Hasan, Enoka, & Stuart, 1985), and

peripheral (Zajac, 1993) and central nervous system (Behm & Sale, 1993; Wolpaw, 1994)

operation to coordination of movement (sports performance) are mediated by different facets

of psychological involvement (Bergenheim, Johansson, Granlund, & Pedersen, 1996). To

enhance the psychological component of physical movement, mental skills training has been

recognised as an effective method (Driskell, Copper, & Moran, 1994; Feltz & Landers,

1983). Primarily, mental skills training has developed from the necessity of the athlete to

learn more about their individual mental life to allow a degree of control in coordinating

effective movement through various psychological states of performance (Martens, 1987;

Rushall, 1992). There are many different methods and exercises to develop mental skills of

the athletes targeting the rise in the performance, and these methods can be separated into two

basic approaches, cognitive and somatic, by keeping this in mind in the present study the

targeted mental skills were Goal-setting, Relaxation, Self-talk, Imagery, Attention and

Confidence, Mahoney et al. (1983) identified confidence, concentration/attention, relaxation

and positive thinking as important mental skills and it has become necessary for the coaches

and sports psychologists to decide which psychological variables will be crucial for the

gymnasts performance. To accomplish the aim of the present study psychological skills

training was imparted in an efficient manner to assess the effect of PST on the Floor Exercise

performance among Artistic Gymnasts, as this could result in the motivation of the individual

to attain self-mastery, that is, a desire to control their individual psychological world. On the

basis of the background stated the research question emerges as:

Research Question

Is Psychological Skills Training Program effective to improve performance on floor ecercise

To test the research question following objectives were tested:

o To assess, the effect of PST program on the floor exercise performance among the gymnasts.

o To compare the experimental and controlled groups performances. o Does PST program effect differently to male and female Gymnasts?

METHODOLOGY

Sample

A total of 60 artistic male and female gymnasts, who accepted voluntarily to be the part of the study, were selected as the subject from Bhoir’s Gymkhana, Dombivali, Mumbai. The

subjects were ranging from 9 to 17 years. The gymnasts were divided randomly into two equal groups i.e Experimental Group, provided with the Psychological Skills Training along with the regular physical training in which 28 (12 Female and 16 Male) Gymnasts completed

the study, Whereas, on the other hand controlled Group was not exposed to any treatments other than the regular physical training in which only 24 (12 Female and 12 Male) gymnasts

completed the study process.

Criterion Measure

For the purpose of the study following criterion measures were used:

Code of point’s artistic Gymnastics (2009-12) of Federation of International Gymnastics

(FIG) was used to assess the Gymnastics performance of the gymnasts.

Preparation of the training Program

To achieve the objective of the study Psychological Skill Training Program was prepared in consultation with the supervisor and other experts. Before implementing the training program Rapport was developed with the subjects (gymnasts) by visiting the Gymnastics Centre to

communicate and observe the gymnasts. After conforming, Gymnastics performance of the

Subjects was evaluated as per code of points (2009-2012) to receive the Pre-data before administering the Psychological Skills Training. Further, after collecting the Pre-data a six

weeks PST program was administered on the gymnasts. Successful Completion of the six weeks training program was followed by a second assessment i.e Post-training Test of

Gymnastics performance evaluation of the Gymnasts. Gymnastics performance was evaluated by qualified judges including research scholar herself, who is qualified FIG judge.

Administration of the Psychological skills

Skill Development program: PST program in self-talk, relaxation, concentration, goal-setting, imagery

and confidence was implemented in the form of 30- 45 minutes session for five days in a week to

develop areas / factors limiting the athlete’s present performance potential.

Application and Evaluation: PST was imparted to the gymnasts for six weeks Gymnasts were

made aware of the Psychological Skills and began to practice the techniques under the guidance

of the coach and researcher observed the training program. Evaluation of the gymnast’s

performance was obtained at two stages, Pre-data i.e in the beginning before starting the PST

Program and Post-data i.e after the completion of PST Program. Performance on Floor exercise

was evaluated by the three national qualified judges on the basis of FIG, code of points 2009-

2012.

Performance Scores

For the purpose of the study, the performance scores of the subjects were taken twice i.e

before starting the training program and after the completion of the training program:

Pre-test Performance: Before starting the PST Program, the selected subjects were judged on the basis of

FIG, code of points, 2009 by three qualified judges, and the researcher herself had also judged as scholar

is an international qualified judge. Though, the judging in the gymnastics is subjective in nature but FIG

has formulated and developed the code of points in such a manner that the objectivity has been ensured to

its optimum level while evaluating the performance.

Post-test Performance: After completion of the PST Program the gymnast’s performance was evaluated

by three qualified judges on the basis of the FIG, code of points, 2009.

Statistical Analysis

For the purpose of the present study data was analysed by employing ANCOVA to test significant difference between the means of post performances of Experimental and Controlled

groups by covariating the pre performance of both the groups. When an ANCOVA is conducted we look at the overall relationship between the outcome (dependent variable i.e post floor exercise performance scores of the gymnasts belonging to the experimental and controlled

groups) and the covariate we fit the regression line to the entire data set, ignoring to which group a person belongs (pre floor exercise performance scores of the gymnasts belonging to the

experimental and controlled groups) Miller G.A, Chapman, J.P, (2001). The findings are presented in Table No. 1.

FINDINGS

Table 1: Descriptive Statistics of Gymnastics Performance on Floor exercise

Group Gender N Mean SD

Experimental Girls 12 10.05 1.36

Boys 16 8.62 3.29

Total 28 9.23 2.69

Control Girls 12 6.44 3.03

Boys 12 6.87 4.13

Total 24 6.65 3.55

Total Girls 24 8.24 2.95

Boys 28 7.87 3.71

Total 52 8.04 3.35

The above table reflects the mean value of the performance and number of girls and boys in

experimental and controlled groups, the mean value of all the gymnasts in experimental group is 9.23; SD 2.69, whereas mean of girls (N=12) is 10.05; SD is 1.36 and boys (N=16) is 8.63; SD 3.29.

Homogeneity of the group was tested by computing the levene’s test of equality, the findings

are presented in table No. 2.

Table 2: Levene’s Test of Equality of Error Variances

F df1 df2 Sig.

.879 3 48 .459

* Design: Intercept + Pre + group + gender + group * gender

Output shows the result of Levene’s test when pre PST program is included in the model as a covariate. The Levene’s test is insignificant, indicating that the group variances are equal. Hence, the assumption of homogeneity of variance has been met. The findings with regard to

ANCOVA are presented in table 3.

Table 3: Tests of Between-Subjects Effects

Source Type III Sum of

Squares

Df Mean Square F Sig.

Corrected Model 441.906a 4 110.48 39.78 0.00

Intercept 42.429 1 42.43 15.28 0.00

Pre Perform 341.009 1 341.00 122.81 0.00

Group 12.549 1 12.55 4.51 0.039

Gender 6.877 1 6.88 2.47 0.12

Group * Gender 1.187 1 1.19 .428 0.51

Error 130.503 47 2.78

Total 3938.920 52

Corrected Total 572.409 51

a. R Squared = .772 (Adjusted R Squared = .753)

b. P < 0.05

The above table shows the ANCOVA table with the covariate included. Looking first at the significance value of Group it is clear that the result of F-test support the effect after

controlling for Pre performance, obtained F = 4.51 at p 0.039 < 0.05. Table further indicates the interaction of group and gender, the attained f value is .428 at the p > 0.05.

Whereas in case of Gender, it can be revealed that p is 0.12 > 0.05, fails to support the assumption of the regression homogeneity, F = 2.47, p > 0.05.

Table 4: Mean Difference Between Experimental And Controlled Group

(I) group (J) group Mean

Difference

(I-J)

Std.

Error

Sig.a 95% Confidence Interval for

Differencea

Lower Bound Upper Bound

Exp Control 1.039* .489 .039 .056 2.022

Control Exp -1.039* .489 .039 -2.022 -.056

*. The mean difference is significant at the .05 level.

Based on estimated marginal means

a. . Adjustment for multiple comparisons: Least Significant Difference (equivalent to no adjustments).

The above table exhibits that the mean difference among Experimental and Controlled group

is 1.03, significant at 0.039 < 0.05.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

Results of the present study reveals that the Psychological Skills Training Program composite

of Goal-setting, Relaxation, Imagery, Attention, Self-talk and Self-confidence has been most useful in enhancing the Floor Exercise performance of the Artistic Gymnasts, if clubbed with physical training. All the data collected offered to understand the scenario in the quantity and

created an overall picture of PST influence. The result of the current study suggest that Gymnasts who engaged in Psychological Skills Training program (performance enhancement Techniques) exhibited enhanced performance

on Floor Exercise when compared to participants in a controlled condition where, the gymnasts did not participate in a PST program but regularly were undergoing physical

training program. Improvement in performance is supported by the findings given by Calmels, C., & Fournier, J, (1999). A number of studies show that athletes who are strongly confident in sport, concentrate better, have healthier emotions, and demonstrate better game

strategies, control of tempos, and performance than less confident athletes (Chi, 1996; Gould, 1981; Mahoney, Gabriel, & Perkin, 1987).

With an anticipation of enhancement in sports performance a combination of several psychological skills was developed for the Artistic Gymnasts and the results of the present

study also supports the assumptions of the researcher, with the reference to the findins of (Calmels etal. 2003). Much of the early research utilizing prescribed PST programs used

single PST methods and tested their effect on performance (Martin, Moritz & Hall, 1999; Garza & Feltz, 1998). Thelwell and Greenlees (2001) argue that when implementing a PST program, it is improbable that a single method will be employed by a sports psychologist.

Thelwell and Greenlees (2001) highlight that it is more effective to employ a combination of mental skills that relate to the specific sport. The performance could elevate as the gymnasts

under experimentation could understand, learn and adapt the Psychological Skills and finally

applied that during the training and competition which helped them to concentrate better, being more focussed, rehearse perfect technique, relaxing themselves during training or

competition, stopped negative thoughts and chanted positive statements etc. In consideration to a great emphasis has been place on identification of numerous psychological skills and on

instruction of athletes in how to learn and apply them (Orlick, 1990, Nideffer, 1992, Williams, 1093) psychological skills are related to a number of desired qualities such as commitment to training, confidence and decreased pre competition anxiety (Williams and

Krane, 1992; White, 1993).

While there is ample evidence that PST enhances the sports performance, it is unable to understand if PST influence differently to the males and females, after the examination of data in the present study it has been revealed that there was no difference found in the

improvement in male and female Artistic gymnasts performance on Floor Exercise following the PST program. In support of the former, analysis of 46 meta-analyses that were conducted

during the last two decades of the 20th century underscores that men and women are basically alike in terms of personality, cognitive ability and leadership. Hyde, J. S. (2005) supported by Halpern, D. F. (2000) & (2004). However, Research findings references from

previous studies, with regard to gender differences in psychological skills are conflicting.

Educational Implication

The current article reviews a PST program for the Indian Gymnasts that was successfully implemented to improve the Gymnast's mental skills and performance.

CONCLUSIONS

1. Tailor made PST Program may be developed to enhance the performance of the

players. 2. There is significant difference between the Experimental and Control Group

performances.

3. Psychological skills training program has significantly improved the Floor Exercise performance of the gymnasts.

4. The psychological skills training worked evenly for both male and female gymnasts or in other words they adapted evenly.

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