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The study aimed to analyze the relationship between commitment to the team and team resilience factors (characteristics of resilience and vulnerability under pressure), and to examine whether the task and social intra-group conflict act as mediators between commitment to the team and team resilience factors. One hundred seventy (170) male soccer players (16-38 years; M = 18.35; SD = 4.72) of the national teams of Argentina, Costa Rica, and Mexico participated in the study. The path analytic model was used to test mediating pathways. First, the results revealed that commitment to the team was positively related to characteristics of resilience and negatively to vulnerability under pressure. Second, bootstrap mediation analysis showed that athletes' perceptions of the task and social intra-group conflict mediated the association between their perception of commitment to the team and team resilience factors. Findings provide initial evidence for a link between commitment to the team and team resilience in national teams and also suggest that intra-group conflict can improve the association between commitment to the team and team resilience. Therefore, the main conclusion of this study is that practioners should promote players' commitment to the team and avoid intra-group conflicts within teams to have a resilient team that copes with problems more easily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to signal the importance of mental training which consists in developing those aspects of the athlete's psycho-behavioral activity that condition him an effective conduct in training both in terms of full adaptation to stress and stress, and in terms of technical and tactical perfection. In this sense, we start from the premise that psychological monitoring in performance sports in general and in alpine skiing in general through objective investigations and evaluations, determine the achievement of superior results both in the training of athletes and in competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to provide a summary and discussion of the main workshop ideas presented at the national 2013 AASP Conference, entitled Mindfulness Strategies: Consulting with Coaches and Athletes. In this article a brief overview of the meaning of mindfulness and potential benefits of mindfulness-based strategies are offered. Specific mindfulness-based strategies for sport psychology consultants working with athletes and coaches are presented. The mindfulness-oriented strategies offered, integrated with traditional mental skills training, include normalizing the experience of negative emotions, accepting aversive emotions, clarifying and committing to task-focused efforts in performance, visualizing success and noticing the good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of theories of performance excellence to the field of sport and performance psychology generally, and to training practitioners specifically, is discussed. Nomenclature surrounding terms such as philosophy, theory, and models is defined and clarified in order to facilitate a more consistent dialogue on these issues. The case is made that theories of performance excellence must be articulated and then empirically assessed in order for the field to progress. An example of how to teach theories of performance excellence is provided, and encouragement given for such a course to become a requirement of sport psychology training programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: The aim of the study was to examine whether training with mild levels of anxiety helps in maintaining performance under higher levels of anxiety. Methods: Novices practiced dart throwing while they were hanging low on a climbing wall either with or without mild anxiety. After training, participants were tested under low, mild, and high anxiety (in the latter case high on the climbing wall). Results: Despite systematic increases in anxiety, heart rate, and perceived effort from low to mild to high anxiety the group that had trained with anxiety performed equally well on all three tests, while performance of the control group deteriorated with high anxiety. Conclusion: It is concluded that practicing perceptual-motor tasks under mild levels of anxiety can also prevent choking when performing with higher levels of anxiety. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in the empathic accuracy of sport coaches in relation to feedback of information. Coaches'' experience and qualification level were also considered. Method: Sixty badminton coaches were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. All coaches watched a video of an athlete''s technical training session with her coach. At designated segments of the video all coaches were asked to make inferences about what the athlete''s thoughts and feelings had been. Only the coaches in the experimental group were given corrective feedback on the athlete''s thoughts and feelings following their inference. Empathic accuracy was estimated by comparing these inferences with the athlete''s own self-reported thoughts and feelings. Results: It was shown that both groups'' empathic accuracy improved over the course of watching the video; however, the experimental group improved significantly more. It was found that coaches'' experience was significantly associated with empathic accuracy for the control group only. Conclusions: The results suggest that continued exposure to an athlete increases a coach''s empathic accuracy and that this can be significantly improved with accurate feedback about that athlete. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The potential for the occurrence of multiple-role relationships is increased when professors also consult with athletic teams on their campuses. Such multiple-role relationships have potential ethical implications that are unclear and largely unexplored, and consultants may find multiple-role relationships both difficult to deal with and unavoidable. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the nature of teacher–practitioner multiple-role relationships. Participants ( = 35) were recruited from Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP) certified consultants (CCs) who were also affiliated with a university ( = 68). All participants completed a 28-item survey exploring the incidence and relevant issues pertaining to multiple-role relationships. Chi-square analyses revealed that licensed mental health practitioners (i.e., psychologists and counselors) were more likely than nonlicensed AAASP CCs to believe that multiple-role relationships were never appropriate in sport psychology, χ2(1, = 30) = 12.80, < .001, and to have never taken part in a multiple-role relationship, χ2(1, = 33) = 12.44, < .001. Independent samples tests revealed that mental health practitioners also reported that they would have higher levels of concern for both the practitioner, (30) = –2.77, = .009, and the client, (30) = –2.50, = .018, in such a relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing sport psychology services to athletes and coaches before and during the Olympic Games presents a number of ethical concerns and challenges for the practitioner. These challenges are amplified by the nontraditional way in which sport psychology services are delivered, requiring careful attention to maintaining ethical behavior no matter the setting. The purpose of this article is, from the perspective of sport psychology consultants employed by the U.S. Olympic Committee, to outline specific challenges, including prolonged travel with teams, multiple relationships, and such Olympic Games-related issues as dealing with the media, team identification, servicing multiple teams simultaneously, and practitioner self-care. Strategies for coping with these challenges, as well as questions to ponder, are also presented as a way to increase awareness of this field's unique challenges for the aspiring practitioner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]