UNITED STATES SPORTS ACADEMY ARTICLE CRITIQUE #3 A Class Paper Submitted for SAR 790D Selected Readings Professor: Dr. Spradley by: Brian Howells Daphne, Alabama December 2021 KIENER, M. (2019). Documenting the Experiences of Collegiate Wrestlers Participating in Mental Skills Training. College Student Journal, 53(3), 351–359. The research by Kiener was one of the most interesting articles and research that I have critiqued. I found the research very thought-provoking and valuable to any sports program. The work by Kiener combines the aspects of the mental side of sports training. The author conducted a qualitative study examining the effects of a season long mental skills program for a Division 2 collegiate wrestling program. Athletes had the opportunity to develop skills on goal setting, visualization, responding to injury and or setbacks, remaining calm under pressure, and persevering through training and competition. The statement of the problem for this study was to determine if mental skills training was a valuable tool used to create success in athletic and for this particular study for wrestling. The significance of the study is that one of the main assurances that wrestling coaches and stakeholders hold in high regard is that wrestling creates champions of character. So, a study being done to gauge a student’s character is an important study for the wrestling community to use to help promote the sport. Other studies mentioned by the author to support their claim of how effective mental skills training is included Shannon (2012) a qualitative study on the mental training routines utilized by six Olympic gold medalists across various sports. In that particular study the author found four common examples of mental techniques used by Olympic gold medalists which included: performance imagery, positive self-talk, goal setting, and focusing on the task and remaining present in the moment. The findings revealed mental training was a significant component of their preparation and training regimen. Another study that caught my attention that the author mentioned was the study conducted by Drees and Mack (2012) that investigated the mental toughness of 54 high school wrestlers over the course of a season. The findings concluded that there were significant differences between freshman and seniors and wrestlers with winning records had higher levels of mental toughness. The purpose of this author’s research was to qualitatively examine the experiences of Division-II wrestling team as their coaching staff overtly taught and monitored mental preparation. The methodology of the study included an open-ended research question which the author said captures the unique and complex experiences of the participants. A quantitative phenological approach was utilized to answer the research question. All the participants were student athletes of a division II wrestling program from a medium sized university in the Midwest. There were 28 wrestlers who participated in the study, and all were male. The findings show that the inside-out training (what they called their programs mental skills sessions) showed a positive correlation with wrestlers’ improvement in their matches. The session topics were titled: (1) grit, (2) mental toughness, (3) flow, and (4) visualization and goal setting. The researcher conducted 18 total sessions related to those four topics. A total of 250 pieces of data were collected and analyzed which included individual journals (130 data points), observations of the inside out trainings (40 data points), and two post season evaluations (60 data points). In addition the researcher used memos (20 data points) to write summaries of the data analysis and used a journal about the theme development process. A core theme emerged from the data. The mental rituals partaken by the wrestlers and maintaining mental focus from the inside out sessions allowed the wrestlers to gain a mental competitive edge on their opponents. The author concluded his findings by summarizing the data results with a clear picture that learning the inside out mental edge sessions enhanced the wrestler’s performance. Athletes who can develop superior mental skills will be better able to successfully handle the stressors of competition and thus have an advantage in competing against other athletes with similar physical talents. Also, teams that fully embrace mental skills training and integrate into the team culture as a valued component of athlete development will have a team advantage against teams with underdeveloped mental skills. This article relates to my topic of interest as I am in the beginning stages of determining my dissertation topic. My topic options include wrestling, football, coaching and adaptive physical education. This article is about wrestling and the psychological aspects of mental toughness and creating a competitive edge. I enjoyed this article, and it has intrigued me to new possibilities for a potential dissertation.
