Matt Fisher

Dr. A. Poczwardowski

SLU Festival of Science 2001 Poster Presentation

The Impact of Mental Preparation on Free Throw Shooting
and Self-Efficacy with Collegiate Basketball Players:
A Psychological Skills Training Approach.

In today’s sporting world the constant strive for peak performance is on every coach’s agenda. Many turn to sports psychological skills to help their athletes try to achieve this goal. This study investigated the effect of a sport psychological skills training package on the performance of a college level men’s basketball team. Specifically, the intent of the PST intervention was to improve the participants’ free throw performance and free throw self-efficacy. The package included imagery and relaxation as described by Kauss (1980), game day routine building based on the work of Ravizza (1995), Singer’s (1988) five-step approach to learning a closed skill, and goal setting (Weinberg & Gould, 1999).

One of the outcome measures was a free throw score taken during normal practice hours. Secondly, a self-efficacy measure was obtained after modifications were made to the Free Throw Self-Efficacy Scale (Shaw, Dzewaltowski, & McElroy, 1992). These two measures for the experimental group were taken three times:  prior to the treatment, following the treatment, and at the close of the season. These scores were compared to those of a comparable team of a neighboring university, who were measured twice using the same procedures: at the beginning and at the conclusion of their season.

A repeated measures ANOVA identified no significant difference for the self-efficacy scores of the experimental group over the three testing periods. There was, however, a significant difference found for the experimental groups performance scores taken over the three dates (p = .04). A paired data comparison of means t-test indicated that the experimental group showed a significant difference between scores taken on the first test date and the third test date in both self-efficacy (p = .03) and performance (p = .005).  A paired data comparison of means t-test showed a significant difference between the control group and experimental group scores for performance (p = .022). No significant difference was found between the self-efficacy scores of the two groups.  Further, interviews with four players, conducted following the season, showed that they felt the PST program had improved their performance and confidence, both with basketball play and free throws. The skills had also allowed them to regulate their arousal prior to games to come closer to their peak performance level. An interview with the experimental group coach highlighted his enthusiasm for the program as he felt free throw percentages had improved, along with the confidence of his players. The findings of the study provide additional empirical support for the effectiveness of PST programs conducted in natural setting with collegiate athletes.