跳至主要内容

The Effect of Mental Training on Motor Performance of Tennis and Field Hockey Strokes in Novice Players

Numerous papers have been published in recent years related to the importance of mental training in sports. Mental training is the segment of sports psychology that concentrates specifically on helping athletes break through the mental barriers that are keeping them from performing up to their peak potential. 

Tennis and field hockey are complex and dynamic games in which players repeatedly make decisions regarding stroke technique selection. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the mental training of motor performance can be useful or not in learning tennis and field hockey strokes (forehand, backhand; push pass, hit).

The study was carried out on the basis of teaching an interventional sport education program of tennis and field hockey. 24 university students participated in the study and were divided into 12 students for the experimental group and 12 students for the scientific treatment of the tests, recruited from the 3rd grade of the Faculty of Physical Education for Men, Alexandria University, Egypt. Subjects were novice in tennis and field hockey with ages between 19 - 20 years old, which would respond better to the demands of the questionnaire used. The experimental group attended 16 sessions (8 for tennis, 8 for field hockey) over six weeks (40 minutes each) and used mental training exercises (relaxation, visualization and concentration-attention control) pertinent to the forehand, backhand in tennis and push pass, hit in field hockey. Two waves of measurements were conducted (before and after the completion of the intervention) with the use of motor assessment tests related to the sport of tennis and field hockey. Each student was evaluated regarding to his technique of forehand, backhand in tennis and push pass, hit in field hockey in order to examine the effectiveness of mental training. Questionnaires were also used to measure visualization and concentration-attention control.

The results showed a highly significant improvement in learning forehand, backhand in tennis and push pass in field hockey. However, no statistical difference was found for the performance of the hit stroke in field hockey. In addition, the findings showed also a significant difference between the initial and the final measurement regarding to the ability of concentration and visualization by using questionnaires. The results revealed a value of 0.780 which indicates a good reliability of the tool.

In conclusion, a combination of mental and practical training promises the greatest improvement in performance and learning, because it involves all senses.

Article by Khaled Hegazy, et al, from Germany and Egypt.

Full access: http://t.cn/EtTJw0t
Image by All Hallows School, from Flickr-cc.

评论

发表评论

此博客中的热门博文

A Comparison of Methods Used to Determine the Oleic/Linoleic Acid Ratio in Cultivated Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Cultivated peanut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important oil and food crop. It is also a cheap source of protein, a good source of essential vitamins and minerals, and a component of many food products. The fatty acid composition of peanuts has become increasingly important with the realization that oleic acid content significantly affects the development of rancidity. And oil content of peanuts significantly affects flavor and shelf-life. Early generation screening of breeding lines for high oleic acid content greatly increases the efficiency of developing new peanut varieties. The objective of this study was to compare the accuracy of methods used to classify individual peanut seed as high oleic or not high oleic. Three hundred and seventy-four (374) seeds, spanning twenty-three (23) genotypes varying in oil composition (i.e. high oleic (H) or normal/not high oleic (NH) inclusive of all four peanut market-types (runner, Spanish, Valencia and Virginia), were individually tested ...
发表评论
阅读全文

The Influence of Heated Soil in Crop of “Tamaris” Tomato Plants on the Biological Activity of the Rhizosphere Soil

Tomato is a plant with high heat requirements and sensitive to cold weather and frost. The optimum temperature for the growth of tomato plants is between 21˚C and 27˚C during the day and between 17˚C and 21˚C at night. The soil temperature is also very important for plant growth. The optimum soil temperature for tomato cultivation should be within the range 15˚C - 18˚C. Besides, the proper development of the root system depends on the optimal temperature of the soil. A temperature below 14˚C reduces and inhibits the growth of the root system and encourages the development of fungal and bacterial diseases. In this study, the authors aimed to evaluate the effect of heated soil on the population of bacteria, fungi and nematodes inhabiting the soil of tomato cultivar “Tamaris” growing in peat and coconut substrates. The experiment was carried out in 12 treatments and in 3 replications (one slab was one replication). The soils were tested in two different types of containers: cylinders...
发表评论
阅读全文

Incorporation of High-Altitude Balloon Experiment in High School Science Classrooms

High-altitude balloon is a balloon, filled usually with helium or hydrogen that ascends into an area called “near space” or stratosphere. The most common type of high-altitude balloons are weather balloons. Other purposes include use as a platform for experiments in the upper atmosphere. Modern balloons generally contain electronic equipment such as radio transmitters, cameras, or satellite navigation systems, such as GPS receivers. The mission of the High-Altitude Balloon Experiment (HABE) is to acquire supporting data, validate enabling technologies, and resolve critical acquisition, tracking, and pointing (ATP) and fire control issues in support of future space-based precision pointing experiments. The use of high-altitude balloons offers a relatively low-cost, low-vibration test platform, a recoverable and reusable payload, worldwide launch capability, and a 'near- space' emulation of the future space systems operational scenarios. More recently, several university...
1 条评论
阅读全文