PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS TRAINING FOR SWIMMING ATHLETES

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a psychological skills training program designed for swimming athletes. Participants: three male adolescent swimmers. Instruments: a semi-structured interview script, CSAI-2R, ACSI-28BR, and records of verbal reports. The psychological skills training program consisted of 12 individual sessions. When comparing coping skills, it was observed that P1 showed improvement in the greatest number of skills, followed by P3. P2 improved only one coping skill. Regarding competitive anxiety, the most notable effect for P1 occurred in cognitive anxiety. P2 demonstrated improvement in somatic anxiety indicators. P3 showed a reduction in both somatic and cognitive anxiety, as well as an increase in self-confidence from the pre-test phase to the post-test phase. The psychological skills training program proved to be a relevant resource for swimming athletes.