(pg 69 - 70)Self - Talk

Self - Talk

Technique used in the form of thoughts in an athlete’s head or words actually

spoken to improve concentration (Amezdroz et al, 2010).

Self talk

Based on the theory that what people say to

themselves has an affect on the way they behave

Central idea – focusing on the desired thought leads to the desired behaviour

Self talk is widely promoted as an integral

psychological skill for improving sports

performance

Netball

Open environment

rarely time for self-talk before

the execution of skill

Self talk when playing netball (Amezdroz et al, 2004)

During natural

occurring breaks such

as

prior to game

when ball goes out of

bounds

between points

during substitution

between halves

any other break in the flow of the

game

Four forms of self talk

positive

negative

instructional

neutral

Four main types of self - talk

• Physical skills that require strength & endurance• Positive effect on self-confidence, concentration and

motivation• Great shot, let’s go, come on

Positive

• Most common & is detrimental to performance • Critical thoughts & counterproductive emotions• I’ll never make the team, I can’t even beat this guy

Negative

• Fine motor skills that require precision & accuracy (archery, golf)

• Use metaphors (wrist snap) to develop a narrow focus for attention or instruction (drive with the arms)

Technical or instructional

• Endurance events• Put aside pain & discomfort and think about anything else

other than current eventNeutral

The key

identify when negative self-talk is used and turn these thoughts into positive ones

Examples include phrases such as “great skills”, “this is an easy skill”, “I always get these” or “this is my

favourite”.

Thought-stopping

when recognise a negative cue, can

refocus on skill

Key is to recognise negative thought &

stop its impact

Eg. Say stop, clap hands, click fingers, slap

thigh

Refocusing plans

Plan specific thoughts for moments that could occur in a match which

may distract

Train to remove negative self – talk & replace with positive,

technical cues

Repeat phrases “Keep eyes on net”

“focus on hands”“watch ball into hands”

Instructional self talk

particularly effective in fine motor skills requiring precision and

accuracy

Can use phrases as a pre-planned instructional self-talk to refocus

rather than simply looking at the negative outcome

“slow down and focus on the net – extend arms and follow through”

“fingers apart, soft hands”“Elbows out and push from chest”“ ball of foot on ground and twist”