Introduction

A psychological skills training programme (PST) is an individually designed combination of methods selected to attain psychological skill needs (Gill, 2000).

PST programmes are all different and each programme must be individualised based on the psychological state of the individual and the sport they take part in. It is vital to distinguish between PST skills and PST methods when assembling a programme; PST skills are the psychological attributes that need to be developed e.g. confidence, motivation or concentration. A PST method is the tool that will be used to help improve the PST skill e.g. listening to music, imagery or goal setting.
Research from (Calmels et al, 2003) on elite athletes show that the most successful athletes differ from less successful ones because they have:

• Better concentration

• Higher confidence

• More task-orientated thoughts

• Lower anxiety

• More positive thoughts and images

• More determination and commitment

PST programmes aim to implement psychological strategies to do the things listed above and more, with the overall aim of improving an athlete's performance level. As everyone is different, a consultation phase involving the athlete and the sports psychologist is crucial as the psychologist can aim to meet the athlete's required needs or desires.

Consultation

Consultations are used to explore what a client is looking for, and to see if the sports psychologist can understand what is going on, and to offer solutions and agree to an action plan. During this phase I will find out everything I can about the client in order to help me with the 6 week PST programme and to improve on their weaknesses. 

The performer has completed a questionnaire (shown below) and by analysing these responses about how they feel in certain situations, it is possible to determine their level of certain psychological factors. As a sports psychologist, I will be using some questions from the Sport Motivation Scale questionnaire (Briere et al, 1995) to assess the athlete's intrinsic, extrinsic and amotivation towards sport participation. The consultation meeting took place at a neutral location, Loughborough College, after a football match. The meeting involved me, the sports psychologist, and the client. It lasted roughly 30 minutes, this was enough time to get to know the client, find out their major weaknesses and think of psychological methods to improve these weaknesses.  

1) How old are you?
19

2) What sport do you play?
Football

3) Level of performance?
County

4) How often do you play?
2/3 a week

5) Interests/Hobbies?
Watching football / Playing golf

6) Jobs/Student?
Part time work / Full time student

7) Greatest thrill in your sport?
Scoring a goal

8) Biggest disappointment in your sport?
Losing a match / Missing a chance to score

9) Greatest psychological attributes?
Confidence / Concentration

10) How do you deal with setbacks or disappointments?
Lose interest / Become frustrated 

11) What is your focus whilst performing?
Winning the match / Scoring goals

12) If any, do you achieve the goals you set yourself?
On the rare occasion I set myself goals, I almost never achieve them

13) Do you ever feel incapable of succeeding in your sport?
Sometimes

14) Do you think your place is in sport?
I lose interest too often and become demotivated often

15) What are your reasons for taking part in your sport?
I enjoy playing sport and have gained friendships also 


In review of the questionnaire, it is clear to see that the performer is suffering from a lack of motivation. The same questionnaire will be administered after the PST programme to analyse progress. There are many psychological methods or strategies that can help improve an athlete's motivation, but the two I feel will be most suited to my client is listening to music and goal setting.   

Within this stage it is advised to do a SWOT analysis of the client; this identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats the client may have.

Strengths:

• Confidence has been highlighted as a strength as the client performs tricks and skills on the pitch, as well as shooting when they get a chance at goal. These aspects of their game show that confidence is high.
• Concentration has also been highlighted as a strength as the performer is often aware of opponents positions and keeps concentrated throughout performing in terms of dead ball situations e.g. free-kicks or penalties.

Weaknesses:

• Motivation is a key weakness for the client as shown from the questionnaires they have completed. As a sports psychologist, I have analysed the results and that shows that in game motivation as well as pre and post match motivation need to be improved on.
• The performer also shows signs of anxiety, especially before a match, as they fear losing the match as this is the biggest disappointment the client has in their sport.

Opportunities:

• Working with a sports psychologist could improve performance and enable the performer to gain knowledge of psychological techniques to improve their motivation level.
• As the client is a full time sports student, they can put their learning over the next 6 weeks into practice during their assessments at college.
• From the meeting with the client it is evident that transport is not going to be an issue as they drive so meetings are easily accessible to them.

Threats:

• Suspensions or injuries are a threat as the client plays football so the risk of injury is quite high as it is a contact sport. If suspensions or injuries are acquired then it will be difficult to put the techniques into practice.
• As the client has a part time job and also goes to college as a full time student, they may find that finding the time is difficult and may not be fully focused on the 6 week PST programme.
• Transport may be a threat if traffic is heavy and the client may be late or not be able to attend a meeting.

Week 1 - Introduction to strategies

This phase of the PST programme involves educating the client. Psychological skills need to be learned and practiced; improvements are to be expected from the client as they develop these skills and refine them over time. 

A second meeting took place in this stage, this time with the client and their football coach. This meeting enabled me to understand the client's perceived strengths and weaknesses, as well as their coach's perceived strengths and weaknesses of the client too. The meeting lasted roughly 45 minutes and this was enough time to talk through the main weakness I will be working on with the client during the 6 week PST programme:

• Motivation

There are many psychological strategies to improve motivation but the two I will be using during the 6 week PST programme are:

• Listening to music
• Goal setting 

This is due to me gaining knowledge of the client as they like listening to music and also set goals for themselves but may need to adjust them goals to make them more specific, measurable, achievable, realistic or time framed (SMART). The client will need to be educated so they understand these strategies and what they will be doing during the 6 week PST programme, they also need to see the benefits in these strategies as this will keep them motivated to complete the full 6 weeks. During this 45 minute meeting, I will be educating the client on the following two techniques:

Listening to music:

Advancements in technology over the last couple of decades have allowed music to grow to become an effective intervention to achieve a range of desirable psychological and physical performance effects among athletes. The videos below show how listening to music can improve performance; the client will watch these videos and then be given a brief overview of what listening to music in sport entails. The type of music we listen to causes us to synchronise our movements at time (Karageorghis & Terry, 1997). If the client listens to a fast tempo song or a song with higher beats per minute, they will be more likely to increase movements which could possibly enhance performance such as sprinting during a match.  

Goal setting:

"Attaining a specific standard of proficiency on a task, usually within a specific time limit" (Williams, 2001). Motivation can have a huge effect on the performance of an athlete; athletes can lose motivation very easily if they are under or over achieving and not facing challenges that they need. In order to maintain motivation athletes must set goals to work towards. My client has provided information showing that they don't regularly set goals and if they do set goals, they often under achieve and don't reach those set goals. I will get the client to watch the videos below on goal setting and this will educate them on the method of increasing motivation. After the client has watched the videos, I will then give a brief overview of goal setting and how it will be used over the 6 week PST programme. 

Week 2 - Listening to music

Weeks 2 and 3 will be the acquisition phase. This will focus on strategies and techniques for learning the different psychological skills. The PST programme will be tailored to meet my clients needs during this phase.

Listening to music has been described and explained to the client in how effective it can be to increase their motivation. I have chosen listening to music as a technique to increase motivation as it is within the client's interest and it is a free technique. Once I have taught the client and they understand the technique, they are capable of performing this by themselves and do not need assistance. This weeks meeting with the client will be in a quiet location, local cafe, which will enable us to listen to a lot of songs and playlists that the client is in to. This meeting lasted 1 hour and this was enough time to figure out their music taste and this will therefore enable me to make a playlist for the client. Whilst discussing music tastes, the client has highlighted the following songs as songs they listen to before a match.

After having the meeting with the client and discovering what kind of music they listen to before a match. It was clear to me, as a sports psychologist, using https://songbpm.com/, that the client was listening to songs with a low BPM (Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know) and (Arctic Monkeys - I Wanna Be Yours) before a match and this is what may be causing the lack of motivation they are suffering with. My task, as the sports psychologist, will be to look at the type of music the client likes e.g. Arctic Monkeys, and find songs by that artist that have a higher beats per minute as this will result in a higher arousal and motivation levels.

Week 3 - Goal setting

The third week of the PST programme will focus on the second technique to increase motivation; goal setting. I chose goal setting as a technique to improve the client's motivation as it is also free to do, and it will allow the client to go into a game situation knowing the goals we have set together. Once I have educated and the client has acquired these techniques, they will then be able to put them into practice by themselves without assistance from me the sports psychologist. 

The goals the client sets need to be SMART. Specific goals should be set to show what needs to be done. Measurable goals will allow the client to see what improvements need to be made. Goals need to be attainable as this will maintain motivation levels. Relevant goals are key as irrelevant goals could demotivate the client; and goals must also have a time scale.

This week the client will also gain the knowledge on the length and the type of goals that they should set. 

Types of goals include:

• Outcome - focus on the end result e.g. winning a football match
• Performance - compare with previous performances to improve on future performances e.g. shooting accuracy percentage could be improved
• Process - concentration on processes, techniques and practice on what needs to be done successfully e.g. breaking down a free-kick technique

Length of goals include:

• Dream goals - usually between 6 months and several years e.g. winning the league the client competes in next season
• Intermediate goals - usually a couple of months and are normally steps to where the athlete wants to be at to achieve their long term goal e.g. a certain amount of wins half way through the season
• Short-term goals - set to motivate athletes through everyday situations in order to achieve their intermediate or long term goals e.g. focusing on winning the next match

During this phase, I asked them to set an outcome goal or a long term goal they would like to achieve. Their response was "to win the league next season". This is an outcome goal as it only focuses on the end result of the season and focuses on winning the league. It is a long term goal as the season doesn't end until May and they have set this goal in September. From previous education, the client has improved this goal to make it 'SMART'. "I would like to win the Leicester and District Men's Premier Division by the start of May next season". This goal is specific to the client's sport, it can be measured by failure or success, it is achievable as their team came 3rd last season and it has a time scale as the client has stated next season. 

Week 4 - Listening to music

Weeks 4 and 5 are the practice phases of the PST programme. The client will progress from learning the psychological skills from practices and simulations to actual competitions. This phase focuses on automating skills through over-learning, integrating psychological skills, and simulating the skills the client wants to apply to actual competitions. 

This weeks meeting took place in a quiet neutral environment so it was easier for me and the client to put together a playlist of songs I feel would be suitable to listen to before competition. The session took 2 hours and this was enough time to explain the choice of song and agree on a suitable playlist. The client brought these 2 songs (shown below) to the meeting, and using these songs I used the same artist but founds songs with higher beats per minute to meet their needs prior to an event; an increase in motivation. 

It is clear to see that the client has a strong interest in Arctic Monkeys and Michael Jackson songs, so, with that knowledge, I have produced this playlist for the client to listen to before a match. The playlist lasts roughly 25 minutes and consists of 6 songs from the client's favourite artists. Notice how the BPM increases throughout the playlist, this will have a positive impact on the client's motivation as it will increase as the event gets closer and closer. 

Before event playlist:

Michael Jackson - Beat it (4:19 139bpm)

Arctic Monkeys - When the sun goes down (3:23 169bpm)

Arctic Monkeys - One for the road (3:27 180bpm)

Arctic Monkeys - Arabella (3:28 180bpm)

Arctic Monkeys - From the ritz to the rubble (3:13 193bpm)

Michael Jackson - Wanna be starting something (6:02 245bpm)

I instructed the client to listen to this playlist before their next match and after the match they should make a note of how they felt before hand and whether or not they found an improvement in their motivation level. This week has enabled to client to be able to make their own playlist by monitoring the BPM of the song primarily. I also ensured that the coach of the client's team implemented these songs before a match to see if there were any improvements made to the client's motivation; this will benefit both the client and the team's overall performance as a result.

Week 5 - Goal setting

The aim of this week is to look at goal setting in more detail with the client by setting some more advanced goals such as the ones learnt through previous weeks. These include SMART goals, types and lengths of goals. This weeks meeting took place at the client's place of education, Loughborough College, as this is where the client will be learning about goal setting and it will be a more familiar location.

After the client watched the video (shown above), I asked them to set a performance and a process goal they would like to achieve. These types of goals would be more beneficially to the client as they have a huge positive effect on motivation. Performance goals are more precise than outcome goals as they have a specific goal they want to achieve and they also encourage the development of mastery which would improve the client's motivation levels. Process goals help focus attention as individuals have complete control of their own goals; these goals can be established to map the route to achieving the desired performance goals.

Setting performance and process goals in this week of the PST programme shows progression from the 3rd week as the client only set a more simple outcome goal in that phase. This progression shows the client has been educated well and acquired the skills to enable them to set these types of goal. 

The client has set a performance goal to improve on their shooting accuracy. This is specific to their position as they play as a striker and it can be measured by the percentage of their shots on target. This can be practiced during training or in a match situation and monitored by the coach and the client can then gain knowledge of whether or not they have achieved their performance goal from previous performance or whether it needs to be adapted. Adapting or changing goals to make them harder or easier, depending on where the client is at, can have a positive effect on motivation which is what the PST programme is aiming to increase. 

The client has also set a process goal to improve on their technique during a free-kick situation. The client is the free-kick taker in their team and improving this would be beneficial for both themselves and their team. The free-kick set piece can be broken down into the starting position, the run up to the ball, the planting foot, the connection with the ball and the follow through. Improving these processes of the set piece will work towards their performance goal to increase the accuracy of their shooting and also to score more goals. These processes can be assessed by the coach or me, the sports psychologist using video analysis which will clearly identify the process in which the client needs to improve on. This will be fed back to the client in the final week of the PST programme as well as feedback on other goals and his music playlists. 

Week 6 - Debrief meeting

The PST programme is into the final week and this week the meeting took place in the same place as the consultation meeting, Loughborough College, a neutral location in which the client is familiar with. This meeting lasted 45 minutes and it involved me, the client and the client's football coach. This meeting gave me the chance to give some feedback to the client and the coach, and also make comments on what could be improved on. The strengths of the client over the 6 week PST programme will be fed back also as this will give them confidence and make them motivated to carry on with the techniques they have learnt, acquired and practiced.

In review of the PST programme, I will comment upon why we did the things we did e.g. the two techniques to improve motivation. And also why it was beneficial for the client to use these techniques rather than any others. I will interview the client and ask them questions about the programme so I can make improvements on my behalf as the sports psychologist. The questionnaire the client filled out during the consultation phase will be filled out again to monitor any improvements made over the 6 week period. This questionnaire is shown below:

The questionnaire clearly shows great improvement in motivation levels over the last 6 weeks. The client started the PST programme with a lack of motivation (amotivation) and using the techniques I have provided for him, it is clear to see they have worked in a positive manner and increased his motivation levels. As well as this, their intrinsic and extrinsic motivation has also increased which means they are more equipped to stay motivate throughout performing. 

As well as this question, I also asked the client some final questions to see if improvements have been made and what could be done differently if we were to do the 6 week PST programme again. 

• Has your knowledge of the psychology techniques improved? My knowledge of goal setting and listening to music has increased massively. I know that setting SMART goals and the type/length of goals are crucial also. I have also discovered that a higher BPM for songs will increase my motivation before an event or match.
• Do you feel as if your place is in sport and if so, do you now feel capable of succeeding? My motivation levels during performance has increased so I now believe my place is in sport. As a result of setting appropriate and SMART goals, I now believe I am capable of succeeding and achieving the goals I have set.
• Will you use the techniques I have provided you with again? I found that listening to music and goal setting were extremely useful techniques in increasing motivation levels. I will be definitely using them again by working with my coach, creating appropriate playlists and listening to them prior to an event. Goal setting was also useful but I found it less useful than listening to music. 
• Are there any improvements to be made to the 6 week PST programme? If so, what could be done differently? I thought the only thing that could be improved on is the goal setting phases of the programme. I found the goals we set together useful, but more could have been set to a greater level of difficulty as I completed the short term and intermediate goals shortly after they were set.

From the questionnaire and the set of questions I asked the client in this week of the programme. It is clear to see that the client's motivation level has increased and they are no longer demotivated prior to events or during a match. The questionnaire also highlights how the client's intrinsic and extrinsic motivation has increased which will lead to a greater work ethic both on and off the field which will therefore result in an increase in performance. As a sports psychologist, the only thing that has been highlighted for me to improve on is setting more appropriate, and just more in general, goals for the client to achieve. If I were to do the 6 week PST programme again, I will take note of this feedback and input more appropriate goals for the client. 

I feel as if the main strength of the 6 week programme on my behalf is the listening to music phases as the client gained the most information from these and is still using this technique now to increase their motivation. The videos that were added to the blog in the consultation, introduction to strategies and acquisition phases were highlighted as major strengths as the client found them useful to learn from. Other strengths included the meetings with both the client and the football coach, we got to know each other well and this helped with the education phase especially as I learnt how the client best learns e.g. visual learning from the videos I inputted. 

One thing the client asked was; why did we use goal setting and listening to music as techniques to increase motivation? Why not other techniques?

As we know, motivation can have a huge affect on sporting performance and you can become demotivated if you are under or over achieving in your sport. Goal setting is free so any performer at any level can use this technique. Goal setting can overcome that by setting specific goals to your sport and having goals that can be measured on a scale so success can be monitored. The goals must be achievable, goals that are too easy or too difficult to achieve will promote amotivation which is why it is crucial to set attainable goals that are just within the athlete's limits. A time scale on the goal will motivate the athlete to achieve it within a specific time frame and the goal must be realistic to the athlete's ability. Overall, it has been found that goal setting has a consistent and powerful effect on behaviour and they help organise training and competition routines to ensure targets are being met, this is why goal setting was chosen as a technique to increase motivation levels. 


Listening to music was chosen as in most competitions, athlete's ability levels are usually similar and listening to music has the potential to elicit a small but significant effect on sporting performance. Listening to music is ideal in a training environment and can be used right up to an event or match e.g. in the changing rooms. You often see professional footballers with their headphones walking into the football stadiums, this is a technique implemented by them to not only increase their arousal, but to also motivate them for the game ahead. Fast tempo songs are easy to find using the appropriate web links and it is simple and straight forward to build a playlist for an athlete to listen to. Overall, listening to music is an effective and straight forward way of increasing a performer's motivation as therefore increases their performance. 

Techniques such as biofeedback involves employing devices that amplify specific body functions for psychosomatic feedback. In essence, biofeedback gives the performer the power to control their body and often helps with health conditions or physical performance. Biofeedback is also often used as a relaxation technique or a technique used to control arousal levels for a performer; therefore I would not use this technique for this 6 week PST programme as I was aiming to increase the performer's motivation. In biofeedback, devices used can be impractical and sometimes difficult to ascribe causes of results if two or more modalities are being used (Petruzzello, Landers and Salazar, 1991). Biofeedback may also cause an increase in arousal for a performer due to being evaluated so intensely and may find it difficult performing whilst being wired up to the specific devices. If results gained show that the athlete is not performing well, it may cause a demotivating effect which could lead to the athlete becoming highly anxious and stressed. A final reason why I did not use biofeedback as a technique during the programme is the devices used can be costly and need specialist knowledge and assistance to use the equipment correctly.


Controlled breathing is another psychological technique that could of been used in the 6 week PST programme. Controlled or timed breathing is steady and even breathing used for relaxation and also controls arousal levels; as this technique aims to control arousal levels, I did not use this in the PST programme as my client was struggling with motivation. Controlled breathing is a technique that might not be for everyone, some people may find it boring or are unable to carry out the technique correctly; as it isn't very exciting, it could actually have a negative effect on my client's motivation if this was used. It may also be easier to do prior or after an event rather than during as the performer would have other things on their mind and may not think about controlling their breathing.

Performance profiling is a psychological technique used to increase an athlete's motivation. It is a process whereby an athlete lists the most important attributes for their success in their sport. Newman & Crespo (2008). Whilst profiling my client's performance, as the sports psychologist, I may have to make sacrifices to avoid a rift with the client as they may disagree. My client has identified confidence as a negative previously and they may not want to say what they are good or bad at; on the other hand, if my client was over confident, they may think they are better than what they actually are. The process of performance profiling may not show the biggest weakness of my client but instead the area of weakness with the most importance to that sport; this may result in my client not working on their motivation but another psychological factor which they are stronger at. Overall, the disadvantages of performance profiling, in my opinion, outweigh the positives and this is why I would not use this technique during the 6 week PST programme.