Sports Performance Interventions

Abstract

Abstract Athletes often turn to sport psychologists in an attempt to achieve and maintain optimal performance states. Two performance enhancement models are generally accepted as psychosocial options that can theoretically aid in the attainment of sport excellence. The traditional psychological skills training ( PST ) model proposes that active efforts to control/modify internal psychological states and external environmental conditions can lead to the ideal performance state, and techniques such as goal setting, self‐talk, imagery, pre‐competitive routines, and arousal control/regulation are utilized for this purpose. The second major performance enhancement model is based on mindfulness‐ and acceptance‐based approaches. This general model posits that instead of changing the form or frequency of internal states, through meditative and other experiential exercises, athletes can learn to maintain a task‐relevant attentional focus and perform optimally regardless of their cognitive, affective, and physiological states. Although opposite in their theoretical and applied underpinnings, and despite differing levels of empirical support, these two approaches remain at the cornerstone of sport performance enhancement services worldwide.