1. PAGES 1-35 - Texas Track & Field Coaches Association

MENTAL IMAGERY
could affect the imagery used by the participants, which could
have effects on the overall results of the study. In addition, more
prolonged regular use of imagery could show whether the positive
impacts on confidence increase or eventually plateau. These
results would be useful in determining the optimal length of an
imagery training program and perhaps in determining when
such a training program would be most beneficial to the athletes.
Perhaps the strongest recommendation (and potentially the
one with the most implications) would be a study with a larger
population sample, including athletes from different sports and
multiple institutions. These results would be more valid across
a larger cross section of the population and could be used to
promote imagery training sessions for athletes in many sports.
In addition, the inclusion of participants from multiple institutions
could be used to validate the findings for athletes from
colleges and universities of all sizes and divisions in different
parts of the country. This research would be necessary to further
conclude that regular use of MG-M imagery could be generally
effective at enhancing the sport confidence of all athletes.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of this project was to determine whether regular
use of MG-M imagery by athletes over the course of a six-week
intervention period would have any impact on their sport confidence
as measured by Vealey’s (1986) TSCI. Both the quantitative
TSCI and the qualitative subject responses suggested that
imagery use enhanced athlete sport confidence within the
parameters of the study. Several recommendations were made
which could further the literature in the area of imagery and
sport confidence, including expanding the study to include a
larger sample of athletes from various sports who attend different
institutions across the country. Such research would be beneficial
in advancing the understanding of the link between
imagery and confidence, which is essential for a high level of
performance for athletes. This understanding could be vital in
enhancing the methods of coaches in any sport in order to provide
their athletes with the highest opportunities for success.
Sterling Roberts has spent the past two years as the graduate
assistant jumps/hurdles/sprints coach at Defiance College in
Defiance, Ohio, where he recently earned his Master of Arts in
Education with a Concentration in Coaching.
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