Research Summaries Research Summary 41 Developing Mental skills
Sports Coach UK Research Summary 41:
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A Tool for Developing Young Players’
Mental Skills
Coaching young players in organised sport gives coaches both the opportunity to influence young people’s
experiences and a responsibility to assist in their development.
A team of academics in America suggest the word ‘development’ in the youth sport coaching context has
traditionally meant developing physical, technical and tactical skills rather than the mental skills that can help
young players cope with stress and enhance their performance.
This new study responds by providing coaches with a practical evidence-based tool to integrate the
development of mental skills into their training sessions.