The Scientific Approach to Mental Preparation in Team Sports to Deal with Anxiety
This study aimed to determine the impact of anxiety on the performance of youth football players during sports competitions and to examine the role of mental preparation in dealing with it. The descriptive-analytical method was employed, as dictated by the nature of the subject. The study population comprised the youth (cubs) category football teams of the Regional Division in the province of Bouira, Algeria; from four clubs, a randomly selected sample of 10 coaches and 80 players completed structured questionnaires containing closed, semi-closed, and open questions, and responses were analyzed using percentages and the chi-square (χ²) test. The results showed that the majority of players receive advice from their coaches, that such guidance plays a substantial role in players' willingness to train, and that good psychological preparation is reflected positively in players' on-field performance; conversely, neglect of psychological preparation, pressure from opposing fans, and the perceived importance of the competition were associated with declines in performance. These findings are consistent with contemporary sport psychology evidence that cognitive anxiety impairs attentional control and performance and that competitive anxiety in young athletes is shaped by situational and social factors. The study recommends focusing on the psychological preparation of players—particularly in youth categories—including psychologists within teams' technical staffs, and strengthening coaches' guidance role in training so that it serves official competition.
Baumeister, R. F. (1984). Choking under pressure: Self-consciousness and paradoxical effects of incentives on skillful performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(3), 610–620.
Eysenck, M. W., Derakshan, N., Santos, R., & Calvo, M. G. (2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory. Emotion, 7(2), 336–353.
Ford, J. L., Ildefonso, K., Jones, M. L., & Arvinen-Barrow, M. (2017). Sport-related anxiety: Current insights. Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine, 8, 205–212.
Martens, R., Vealey, R. S., & Burton, D. (1990). Competitive anxiety in sport. Human Kinetics.
Mellalieu, S. D., Hanton, S., & Fletcher, D. (2006). A competitive anxiety review: Recent directions in sport psychology research. In S. Hanton & S. D. Mellalieu (Eds.), Literature reviews in sport psychology (pp. 1–45). Nova Science Publishers.
Rateb, O. K. (1997). Sports psychology: Concepts and terminology (1st ed.). Dar Al-Fikr Al-Arabi.
Rateb, O. K. (2001). Psychological preparation for young people (1st ed.). Dar Al-Fikr Al-Arabi.
Rateb, O. K. (2002). Mental skills training (1st ed.). Dar Al-Fikr Al-Arabi.
Reardon, C. L., Hainline, B., Aron, C. M., Baron, D., Baum, A. L., Bindra, A., Budgett, R., Campriani, N., Castaldelli-Maia, J. M., Currie, A., Derevensky, J. L., Glick, I. D., Gorczynski, P., Gouttebarge, V., Grandner, M. A., Han, D. H., McDuff, D., Mountjoy, M., Polat, A., … Engebretsen, L. (2019). Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2019). British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(11), 667–699.
Rice, S. M., Gwyther, K., Santesteban-Echarri, O., Baron, D., Gorczynski, P., Gouttebarge, V., Reardon, C. L., Hitchcock, M. E., Hainline, B., & Purcell, R. (2019). Determinants of anxiety in elite athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(11), 722–730.
Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D. (2019). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology (7th ed.). Human Kinetics.
Woodman, T., & Hardy, L. (2003). The relative impact of cognitive anxiety and self-confidence upon sport performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sports Sciences, 21(6), 443–457.
Yerkes, R. M., & Dodson, J. D. (1908). The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, 18(5), 459–482