Sport Psychology Tools

Sport
Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 1

Michelle Pain, PhD

Sport Psychology Tools

for Every Coach and Athlete
Michelle D. Pain, PhD
November 2011
www.pocketpsychology.com.au
Michelle D Pain, Parkdale Amber P/L

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used by you personally.
This license to distribute this eBook has been granted to Victoria University
for students/staff enrolled in Diploma of Sports Development, SIS50610
Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 2

Michelle Pain, PhD

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 4
WHAT IS SPORT PSYCHOLOGY? ............................................................................. 8
MUSCLE RELAXATION ...................................................................................................................... 14
GETTING RID OF NEGATIVE MESSAGES ......................................................................................... 18
VISUALISATION /IMAGERY .............................................................................................................. 20
Internal and external visualisation .................................................................................. 23
Imagery for healing .................................................................................................................. 24
USING KEY WORDS AND IMAGES .................................................................................................... 26
Using visualisation, key words, muscle relaxation and breathing to
develop a pre-game (or pre-shot) routine .................................................................. 30
AROUSAL CONTROL: PSYCHING UP AND PSYCHING DOWN ........................................................ 41
GOAL SETTING ................................................................................................................................... 57
Lifetime Goal Setting .............................................................................................................. 58
Spider Web Profile ................................................................................................................... 62
Achievement Management Plan ...................................................................................... 66
FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON THINGS THAT MATTER ................................................................... 74
Controlling distractions .......................................................................................................... 74
Controlling expectations ....................................................................................................... 75
OTHER SPORT PSYCHOLOGY SKILLS ............................................................... 77
COMMUNICATION APPROACHES ...................................................................................................... 79
Learning styles ........................................................................................................................... 79
Verbal and Non-Verbal Cues .................................................................................................. 81
Building rapport .......................................................................................................................... 82
Insightfulness ................................................................................................................................ 83
Delivering the message ............................................................................................................. 84
Feedback is a two-way process ............................................................................................. 85
Effect of Negative Feedback ................................................................................................... 86
Role playing ................................................................................................................................... 90
Confidentiality .............................................................................................................................. 90
SPORT PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH ....................................................................... 92
PSYCHOLOGICAL MOMENTUM ........................................................................................................ 92
MOTIVATION ................................................................................................................................... 102
Losing as a de-motivator ..................................................................................................... 102
The role of confidence ......................................................................................................... 103
Team culture ............................................................................................................................. 104
RETIREMENT ................................................................................................................................... 105
BURNOUT ......................................................................................................................................... 106
PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT .......................................................................................................... 108
Attentional abilities ................................................................................................................. 111
Interpersonal abilities ............................................................................................................. 111
Using the TAIS for selection ............................................................................................. 113

Michelle Pain, PhD

ROLES IN SUPPORTING THE ATHLETE ............................................................ 123

THE ROLE OF THE SPORT PSYCHOLOGIST ..................................................................................... 123
How do you know if the sport psychologist is effective? ................................. 123
THE ROLE OF THE COACH ............................................................................................................... 125
THE ROLE OF GAME DAY SUPPORT PERSONNEL .......................................................................... 127
THE ROLE OF FAMILY MEMBERS ................................................................................................... 128
Conflict over roles ................................................................................................................... 129
OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION ................................................................ 129
THE DREAM ................................................................................................................... 132
FUEL THE DREAM ............................................................................................................................ 132
LIVE THE DREAM ............................................................................................................................. 133
SHARE YOUR DREAM ....................................................................................................................... 134
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... 135
SISSCGP310A WORKBOOK ................................................................................... 136
1. HOW DOES A SPORT PSYCHOLOGIST WORK?...........................................................................132
2. COMMUNICATION.............135
3. IMPLEMENTING SPORT PSYCHOLOGY TECHNIQUES ...................................................................... 143
4. DEALING WITH YOUR INTERNAL VOICE ................................................................................... 145
5. VISUALISATION ........................................................................................................................... 146
6. KEY WORDS AND IMAGES .......................................................................................................... 146
7. PRECOMPETITION ROUTINES .................................................................................................... 147
8. AROUSAL CONTROL .................................................................................................................... 152
9. GOAL SETTING ............................................................................................................................. 157
10. ORGANISATIONAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, AND THE SPORT PSYCHOLOGIST AS
SUPPORT PERSONNEL .................................................................................................................... 162

Michelle Pain, PhD

Introduction
When I was a young undergraduate student, I discovered a sport
psychology textbook stocked in the university bookshop. It was a
how to on visualisation, and the book (or more, the potential it
offered) changed the course of my life. At that stage, I was
studying psychology but had no real idea how I wanted to use that
qualification. As a former track and field athlete, I was fascinated
by sport psychology (or more to the point, how to perform sport
psychology techniques on athletes), and this book inspired me to
take a punt (sic) on the fledgling professional sports industry in
Australia and want to become a sport psychologist.
Later, as a qualified postgraduate student, I really appreciated

being able to go along to Victoria University to hear Denis
Glencross (a noted Western Australian sport psychologist) speak
about how he worked with athletes. It was these how to sessions
that made the profession real to me, not the theoretical psychology
textbooks we studied.
Being a sport psychologist for over 25 years, I have recommended

to student sport psychologists that they collect a repertoire of tools
that they could call upon to use with athlete clients. This booklet is
intended to provide a start to creating that bag of tricks. I
recommend that you read widely and be like a magpie. Pick up the
shiny things you think might be useful later - try working with

Michelle Pain, PhD

them, modify them and over time youll have yourself a repertoire
of strategies that youll be able to call on.
I make no apologies for the conversational style of this text. Im

imagining Im right there with you, talking things over and giving
you a few pointers. Im trying to anticipate the questions you may
have so I can give you an explanation. By necessity, a book can
only ever be a one way conversation, but if you want a two way
conversation, Google me - Im sure youll find an up to date email
address on my Pocket Psychology website. Feel free to ask me a
question.
Here comes the disclaimer: using this booklet wont entitle you to
be called a sport psychologist. In Australia, the process to
become a sport psychologist is a long one (in my case, 12 years of
university). If this is your aim, (at the time writing this) you would
need to complete an undergraduate degree with a major in a
recognised psychology course, followed by a fourth year in
psychology, either as a Graduate Diploma or an Honours year,
and then a Masters degree in sport psychology. Youd also then
need 240 hours of supervised practice. (Those who intend to teach
at university would normally then go on to do a PhD, which can be
2-3 years full time.) You can find out if a course is an accredited
one, or which universities offer Masters degrees in sport
psychology, if you contact The Australian Psychological Society or
look on their website, http://www.psychology.org.au

Michelle Pain, PhD

Using this book will give you some idea of how sport psychologists
use these sorts of tools with their athletes, to help them unlock
their talent. The person reading this book might not be a sport
psychologist. They might be an athlete or coach wanting to
understand how to help him- or herself better, or a coach might
want to better understand her or his team (or players within the
team). This ebook would be an excellent start.
If a person wanted to complete the exercises in this book to pass a

sport psychology unit at TAFE, or fulfil requirements for VCE
Physical Education (Outcome 2), there is a Workbook at the end of
this text to print off and complete (and give to your teacher for
assessment). Your teachers will decide how much of the workbook
you should complete. Registered Training Organisations who
purchase a license, in addition to this ebook receive the Evidence
Guide for SISSCGP310A (Support athletes to adopt principles of
sport psychology) that maps the questions in the Workbook back
to the criteria for that unit.
In order to receive Recognition for Prior Learning for this unit, one
would need to have completed the exercises and have passed the
assessment (ie. meaning someone from an accredited Registered
Training Organisation, an RTO, would need to have judged that
the answers given were correct and appropriate and that they
meet the criteria for a particular unit or qualification). All of my

Michelle Pain, PhD

affordable resources may be purchased from my website,

http://www.pocketpsychology.com.au.
I dont believe theres a real how to book on sport psychology on
the market at the moment. I love being innovative and doing things
that others havent thought of doing yet. My grand ambition is to
provide affordable sport psychology resources to the world via the
internet. My colleagues might say why do you want to give away
all your tricks?, and to answer them Id say its a bit like hearing
your favourite artist on CD or DVD you get the pleasure of
seeing and hearing the artist and how their interpretation of their
workbut seeing them live means you get an extra special oneoff experience. I would say that its much the same when you work
with a sport psychologist in real life its so much more threedimensional (and it certainly is a two way dialogue at the very
least!). I consider this text to be a good advertising vehicle for me,
and for sport psychologists in general. Plus, Im really conscious of
the fact that lots of people cant afford to see a sport psych, so
they could use these tips to help themselves. But trust me, seeing
a sport psych in person is really good value, because you get a
session tailor-made for you, and the years of training a sport psych
undergoes means they can fix up a lot of issues much quicker than
you can do it yourself. But I think theres a place for a book like
this. I hope it will help a lot of people become much better athletes
way faster than the trial and error experience that most athletes
go through without any help at all.

Michelle Pain, PhD

What is Sport Psychology?

Sport psychology is about teaching athletes (or players) I usually
use these terms interchangeably but Im mostly going to stick with
the word athlete throughout this text unless I know Im referring to
team members - and coaches ways to think smarter in order for
them to perform better. Its not about technique we leave that to
coaches to teach the technical expertise but about using your
brain. I want my athletes to achieve their potential by me teaching
them mental skills that anyone of any ability can develop to help
improve themselves (as people and athletes).
Usually, my clients are happy to see a sport psych. They are

usually pretty motivated individuals in the first place, and they have
come to a decision that theyve taken themselves as far as they
can with the talent they have, but theres something still holding
them back from reaching their full potential. We enter into a
professional relationship to work together to unlock any further
talent they have that has been held back by their way of thinking.
Sport psychologists all the ones I know, at least work mostly

from a CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) framework. That is, the
sport psychologists try to understand the way a client currently
thinks and the effect it has on the clients behaviours, in order to
help develop some new thinking strategies that will improve

Michelle Pain, PhD

behaviours (ie. that will lead to improvement in performances and

increase enjoyment in sport).
There is a new movement (since 1999) that is quite attractive to

psychologists worldwide, called Acceptance and Commitment
Therapy, which is very loosely based on CBT principles. ACT
therapists have clients think mindfully (ie. in the moment), being
aware of negative and positive thoughts, and letting them drift
past without intervention, or if there is an intervention, it is without
judgement regarding those thoughts. Whereas CBT tries to have
clients evaluate their thoughts and behaviours and try actively to
make improvements, ACT is more about embracing ourselves as
we are (negative thoughts and all). I believe there is a place for
ACT, but I prefer to think (and teach my clients to think) more
strategically. I believe CBT is more solution-focused treatment for
athletes and coaches. (For issues of a more clinical orientation for example, depression, anxiety, psychoses - I think ACT may be
very beneficial for exploring why people think in a particular way
etc. For me, CBT serves me very well for most of my clients.)
I have also used a Humanistic approach, when I employed

Narrative Therapy with one of my clients. As its name implies, it is
where a story is told about the clients life, and is constructed by
the client. There is the life the client currently perceives they have,
as well as the life the client imagines or wishes they had (had
some specific incident not occurred). We (the client and I) then try

Michelle Pain, PhD

to rehearse strategies that might move the client from the life they
have now towards their idealised life, by constructing a series of
steps that lead to the desired outcome. In the narrative therapy,
the event is looked at from several peoples perspectives to try to
work out possible motives to explain others behaviour under the
circumstances. It is just a different way of working through an
issue, and because it is story telling, its not too difficult for the
client to participate in the therapy. I have used this treatment with a
client affected by post traumatic stress (with some success), but I
used a lot of CBT in addition to narrative therapy! Like most
psychologists, I may use other techniques (eg. narrative therapy
and ACT), but my go-to tool is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
So those thoughts reflect my philosophies. My primary aim is to

teach skills and knowledge that can be used right away (because I
like to be maximally useful to my clients). So, I want to share with
you now a little bit of how I work with my athletes, to teach you
some skills that I believe will help you (or your athletes) get more
out of your/their performances (and your/their enjoyment of sport).
I make no apologies for the way Ive written this booklet. I want you
to feel that Im standing right with you, talking you through these
exercises and explaining how and why I use them.
Heres what I really believe - athletes who just try to beat their
opponents (in order to win) are missing the point. In my opinion,

Michelle Pain, PhD

its the person who looks back at you in the mirror who needs to be
changed, in order for that person to reach their potential.
Ive seen a saying on a wall that says (something like), if we keep

doing what weve always done, well never see improvement. We
have to keep actively working toward improvement. Thats what its
all about - sport is just the vehicle we use to test ourselves, to see
how good we can be. Just as Lance Armstrong titled his book Its
not about the bike, so is sport psychology not about your
opponent. Its about you and your journey, and about being the
best you can be.
Were usually our own worst enemy. We often talk ourselves out of
a win (or even of trying our best). The outcome of the match or
performance is often over before weve even started (or at least we
are seriously handicapped) by our own thoughts. Imagine how
much better we could be if we felt carefree and self assured, and
that we didnt need to prove anything to anyone? How good could
we be, as athletes and coaches if we just tried to do the best we
could, without our negative thoughts hindering us? What about if
we took that attitude to our everyday life, just being open to new
experiences and looking to improve ourselves? Wed be great!
Ive seen athletes try so hard they are their own worst enemy.
They want it so badly, and yet their performances are spiralling out

Michelle Pain, PhD

of control. They just dont understand it. No-one wants it as badly

as them, yet its just not happening for them when it matters most.
Whats going on? This sort of thing happens because the athlete
has been heaping pressure on him- or herself. They have a plan,
but life just isnt following the plan... They feel out of control
feelings they dont really like, so its scary and it feels like theyll
never be talented again
So far, you can see that the things the athlete has been thinking,
and the way that they have been behaving, has not been a good
strategy for them. Their performances are declining, not improving,
so something obviously has gone wrong. What sport psychologists
are on about is to identify patterns of thoughts, and patterns of
behaviours, which do and do not work, and do more of the former.
What would you do with an athlete like this? (The lines are here for
you to jot down some ideas before you turn the page. If you are
looking at an electronic document, write your ideas on a separate
piece of paper as we go through the exercises.)
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

In the next part of the book, Im going to look at a range of

strategies, presented in no particular order. When I work with an
athlete I wouldnt work through each strategy in turn; instead, I
would just pick the one (or ones) I think will suit my client and my
clients situation best.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Mental preparation skills

Muscle Relaxation
It is a good idea for athletes to learn a calming strategy. Very few
athletes perform well when the chatter inside their head tells them
things are going badly and there doesnt seem to be a way to get
out of this negative spiral. Calming a person down means they can
start to get a grip on the situation, and look to strategies outside
their headstrategies that will probably work a lot better than the
one they are currently using!
As a general strategy, I go right back to basics. I teach a person to

recognise how tense their muscles are feeling but when you are
teaching it to the client, they can be just sitting comfortably upright
on a seat to begin with. This is a muscle relaxation session, but
slowing the breathing is important to help calm a person down too.
I would recommend that the client do the muscle relaxation
sequence lying in bed, just before they go to sleep. The principle is
that you start from the head and work your way down to your toes,
alternately tensing and relaxing each muscle group in turn as you
go down from your head to your toes.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Heres the sort of script you might use (or you could record your
voice reading the script so you could play it back rather than rely
on recall):
Lie down, or sit, somewhere comfortably. Take a deep breath, and
fill your lungs more than you usually would in your day-to-day
life(wait a second or two more)then breathe out. Keep
breathing slowly as you now tense your forehead. Squish it right
up so you have deep furrows in your brow, and you are screwing
your eyes right up. Hold it like this for a few more seconds.and
now relax. Notice the difference in how your muscles feel right
now, now that they are relaxed. Keep breathing slowly. Now I
want you to clench your jaw. Show your teeth and tense your jaw
and neck. Hold it there a few more secondsand now
relaxmove your lips and mouth, roll your head slowly in a circle,
first one way, then the nextnotice how it feels to be more relaxed
in your jaw and neck.
Now I want you to work on your fingers, hands and arms. Make
tight fists, bend your elbows towards you, and tense your biceps,
triceps and forearms all at the same time. Breath slowly and hold it
for a few seconds more.and now un-tense those muscle groups
wiggle your fingers - and notice how it feels to be more relaxed in
those muscles.
Keep breathing slowly, and now tense your stomach and lower
back muscles. Hold it a bit longerand now relax.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Continue to breath in and out slowly. Tense your buttocks

now.hold it a few more secondsand now relax those muscles.
Tense your quadriceps (muscles on the front of your upper leg)
now, as well as your calf muscles. Tense them uphold it for a
few more seconds.now relax them. Feel how it should be when
you feel relaxed there. Finally, curl your toes and tense them too.
Hold it.and now relax.
Now that youve tensed all parts of your body in turn, take a
moment to analyse what part of your body still feels tension. If you
still feel tense in any muscle group, just tense it consciously, and
then consciously un-tense it, so you feel relaxed there too. Your
body should feel a little heavy, but relaxed. Keep breathing slowly,
in and out.
OK, so that exercise starts to make the athlete aware of muscle

groups, which can then be manipulated to feel tension and
relaxation as required. Hopefully this will get them to start
identifying how their muscles feel at any particular time before,
during, or after a competition. By experiencing both states (tension
and relaxation), they can take steps at any time in the future to feel
more relaxed.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Once a person feels calmer, they are more likely to take on board
suggestions for improvement. This is why a stressed person say
someone who is getting bad news from a doctor, or an athlete
hearing they are about to be dropped by the coach doesnt really
hear all the information.
The brain shuts down because it cant cope with the news. Its a
self-preservation strategy, so if youre a coach, youll want to follow
up later with your athlete and spell out what they need to do to get
back in the team, and if youre an athlete youll want to follow up
with the coach to hear what you need to do to get back into the
team again. Being calm means you can better assess your options
and make better decisions.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Getting Rid of Negative Messages

The next area to address is what I call the leprechaun on the
shoulder. I reckon all of us have a leprechaun (in my imagination)
who whispers in our ear, that was rubbish, or you dont deserve
to be out here, or youre useless etc. Most of us arent even
aware of the leprechaun because we unconsciously hear those
sorts of messages all the time. So firstly, we have to make
ourselves aware when our mind hears those negative messages.
Next, we have to either stop the messages, or (better still) replace
the messages with something more positive. Lets have a look at
how to do this.
Think of a scenario in your sport where a player might hear
negative messages. A mistake has been made and the player
feels a bit down about the situation. Or something has happened
recently (ie. form not so good) and the player is about to perform
that skill in a competitive situation and wondering if theyll succumb
to the pressure and not perform the skill well enough (eg. kicking
for goal but the past three attempts have skewed off the boot).
Here are some likely messages they might hear (in their own
mind):
1. Youre not good enough to be here
2. Youre only going to stuff it up again
3. Youll never be any good

Michelle Pain, PhD

Its difficult to ignore the negative messages, so the best way to

deal with them is to replace the messages with realistic but
positive messages so that as soon as the athlete becomes aware
of the negative message, theyll replace it with a more positivelyframed message that is less likely to be harmful to their chances of
a successful outcome This is called countering, because we are
countering the negative messages with something positive. Have
a go at writing something positive that you might use to counter
these sorts of messages:
eg. Youre not good enough to be here might be countered by
Ive earned my right to be here just like everyone else
1. Youre only going to stuff it up (Now you have a go at countering
this message)
_____________________________________________________
2. Youll never be any good
_____________________________________________________
Create an example for your sport here:
(Original) Negative message
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

Now, counter your negative message with something more

positive:
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
If you are in a group right now, turn to the person next to you and
discuss your example and why you think it will be effective. Do
they have any constructive criticism for you to make your words
more effective? Is there a better way to phrase that?
Visualisation / Imagery
Now that we have our leprechaun under control (from the previous
section), we can start to learn some other skills that are used as
sport psychology tools. One of the fun exercises its been
described as a good party trick is actually an excellent
demonstration of the power of the mind. Youll need a lightweighted object (I have a plastic golf ball that has holes all around
it) tied to a length of string (approximately 40-50cm long), and tie a
knot at the free end.
The idea is that you (or, in my case, Id instruct my client) sit on a

chair with space in front of you, hold the knot between your
forefinger and thumb, rest your elbow on your knee as you lean
forward and let the weight drop. You can use your other hand to
steady the weight, if necessary. Its important to let the weight fall
straight and not consciously move it around at all. What you are

Michelle Pain, PhD

trying to do is move the weight in a clockwise direction without

moving your muscles just using your mind.
I use a visualisation technique to help me here when I do this

activity. Its important to see, as clearly as possible, what you want
to achieve (ie. to get the weighted object in my case, a plastic
golf ball at the end of a length of string to swing in a clockwise
direction). Specifically, I imagine that my eyeballs are pushing the
weight around in the correct direction (but you might have another
technique!). The more times you practice this, the easier it
becomes to get the weighted object to move in the desired
direction.
You must make sure you arent moving your wrist, or forearm,
shoulder or anything else in order to achieve movement in the
correct direction. It might take a while to get started, but most
people can get some movement out of the weight. (Ive found that
those people who might already be familiar with visualisation have
an advantage over those who have never or rarely tried
visualisation.)
Those people that can achieve clockwise movement might be

encouraged now to see if they can get the circle even bigger. Or
for those who are pretty skilled at this, they can try to slow the
weight down and have it move in the opposite direction. (This

Michelle Pain, PhD

usually takes a little time, even for me.) If youve got a weight and
some string handy, why not give this a try now?
OK, assuming youve got movement without moving your arm or

hand to help it along you should ask your client (or yourself) how
and why this can happen? As I said earlier, the trick is in being
able to tell the brain exactly what you want to have happen, as
clearly as possible. If you are not moving your major muscles to do
this, what is happening is that the micro-muscles in your fingertips
are co-ordinating in the right sequence to bring about the
movement in the desired direction (even if you are not totally
aware of it).
This example demonstrates the power of the mind. It has

implications for you playing sport, because if you can clearly
visualise the outcome you want (ie. in this example it was to have
the weight to swing in a clock-wise direction, but it might be to
imagine the correct technique to shoot the goal, or putt from 4m
into a headwind), your brain will tell your muscles to co-ordinate in
a specific way to attempt to achieve this (and of course, if youve
correctly practiced this skill in training or even watched someone
highly skilled perform the routine) it isnt a big stretch for your brain
to do this.

Michelle Pain, PhD

On a more global scale, the clearly visualised outcome might be

win Wimbledon or kick 6 goals, and one would use Goal Setting
(see later section) to move oneself in that direction by taking the
necessary steps to bring about that outcome.
Internal and external visualisation

Visualisation has been described as guided imagery, or mental
rehearsal. When visualising, you are imagining yourself going
through a sequence of behaviours in order to get a desired
outcome. When you visualise yourself playing sport, you can
imagine you are watching yourself perform as though you are a
spectator (ie. watching yourself perform as though you were on
TV). This is external visualisation. The other sort is if you are
actually doing the skill yourself from within your own body (ie. this
is internal visualisation).
A lot of research was conducted into these two types of

visualisation, and it was concluded that one type of visualisation
wasnt superior compared to the other, and that many people
actually used both types of visualisation during the course of their
performance. I know when I was a 400m hurdler, I used internal
visualisation for the parts of the event that required more skill or
technique (eg. the start, the 7th hurdle on the bottom bend of the
track where I was most likely to lose concentration due to
fatigue, and about 5 metres to the finish line). For 90% of the race,

Michelle Pain, PhD

I would be using external visualisation (as though I was watching

myself run from about the 50m mark of the stands in the finishing
straight). So, theres no right or wrong way, but you might think
about the technique parts of the sport you play and ask yourself,
Do I use internal or external visualisation when I perform?.
Imagery for healing

Imagery is like visualisation, except the images arent to do with
sport but may be of pleasant places (like relaxing at the beach, or
walking through the bush etc), or of coloured balls of heat or
energy. When Ive worked with tennis players with an aggression
problem, Ive had them imagine the temper they feel developing is
like a red ball of energy swirling about their head. I ask them to
imagine they are controlling that red ball, making it smaller and
more compact, and making it move from their head, down through
their shoulder, and then their arm, and then through the racquet. I
have the touch the baseline with their racquet, and imagine their
anger or frustration is leaving them, and they see the red ball
disperse so they feel calm and focused again. (Obviously I take a
lot longer to suggest this than the time it takes for you to read this,
otherwise it would feel too rushed and be ineffective. We work on
this as a performance routine, so that when they start feeling the
symptoms that represent anger and frustration, they can take
steps to calm themselves down and feel more in control of the
situation.)

Michelle Pain, PhD

Another area where imagery is very important is in the aftermath of

injury, when a player sustains a significant injury and wants to aid
the healing process. Studies have shown that using this imagery
technique does aid blood flow to the injury location, and increased
blood flow is linked to healing. So, in this case, the imagery we
might use is of a gold coloured ball (with gold representing
healing), swirling around the injured limb or body part.
The golden ball is imagined to be quite large to begin with (eg.

beach ball sized), then I have the athlete imagine they can control
the rate of swirling and the size of the ball, moving it from being
quite large to begin with, to becoming smaller (ie. tennis ball
sized), smaller (eg. table tennis ball sized), smaller still (eg. marble
sized) and then finally smaller again (eg. pea sized). I have them
imagine the golden ball swirls all around the injured part, repairing
the injury and making the injured site better than ever.
Injured players often are very concerned about re-injuring

themselves, so it is important to encourage them to follow all the
rehabilitation instructions from the medical staff and have them
trust the skill and experience of the medical staff that they will be
given the all clear when they are right to come back after injury.
They may also lose confidence while they are on the sidelines
recovering from their injury, so we might also be doing some work
in that area too.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Using Key Words and Images

Because sport usually occurs over a fixed time span, and because
the brain is adept in working with shorthand forms that allows
thinking to speed up, sport psychologists often have their athletes
think of a word, or an image, of a quality (or qualities) the athlete
wants to attain. These are known as key words and images, and I
find it is a really handy concept to teach my athletes.
The athletes I see as clients have come to see me to help them fix
something up about themselves. Together, we identify what the
issue is and if there is more than one issue, then we decide on a
priority for fixing them. Part of the process might be to evaluate
what qualities the athlete wants to work on, because they
recognise these are missing those from their existing repertoire.
They might be qualities such as being a more assertive leader,
working on not feeling fear when receiving a 150km/hr serve, not
toppling over when defending (in netball), or driving out of the
blocks faster (in athletics), or doing a tumble turn faster (in
swimming), no longer worrying about whether my injury will allow
me to compete fully etc.
Once the quality is identified, we then try to think of a
picture/image/word of someone or something that will give us that
quality. With regard to pictures or images and the need to develop
speed, the image of a big cat such a cheetah, jaguar or lion

Michelle Pain, PhD

(power), or gazelle (speed and grace) might be used. The image

stands for the quality the athlete wants to take on board.
Swimmers, I find, often use images of dolphins, or if needing to be
more aggressive, sharks. Ive taught tennis players receiving serve
to think of themselves as a solid brick wall or a Sherman tank (ie.
nothing is going to get past me), and for netballers playing in
defence to imagine they are tall trees with roots anchoring them
strongly to the ground (to avoid them toppling over onto their
opponent, thus giving them an unguarded free pass).
Sometimes a word is more effective than a picture, depending on

the quality you are trying to convey. Twinkletoes might remind an
athlete to be fast and light on their feet; boost for extra energy;
bulls-eye to remind one to focus attention etc. (It might be one, or
two words maximum. Ive found that longer phrases take too much
effort to remember at times when you are stressed.)
Ive also discovered that while I can suggest possible words or

pictures to my athlete, they usually need to find the word or picture
that resonates with them, that they can really embrace. So I
usually explain the concept, give them some examples that might
be relevant to the quality they want to attain, and then give them
some homework to decide upon an image or a word that they like
best.

Michelle Pain, PhD

A person might have maybe 3-4 key words or images they call
upon at various times, to make them feel more confident and
competent at various stages of a competition. For instance, a
tennis player might have a word or image for when they are
serving, when they are following up service, when they are
receiving, and when they are feeling that their performance isnt
going well. A 400m runner might have one for starting, one for
running the bend or the back straight, and one for 5m before
crossing the line.
Here is some more homework for you. Have a go at suggesting

key words or images for our tennis player or runner (nominate the
occasion when the athlete would use this tool).
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

Now, lets use an example that is most relevant to your sporting

situation. What quality would you most like to improve? Write it
down here:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Now, what word or picture sums up that quality for you, that you
could use at appropriate times that would make you feel more
confident and competent?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Using key words and images in times of stress can make an

athlete feel more confident and competent, which is good for
performance in that it gives the athlete something within their
control to do (ie. thinking of a key word or image to remind him- or
herself of a quality they want to emulate) and reduces the
possibility of being distracted by other things (especially negative
thoughts in his or her head).

Michelle Pain, PhD

One of the best key words Ive seen is 100% APE. I really like this
one because it is only two words, but it stands for four qualities,
and it is good for any sport.
100% APE stands for
1. Giving 100% effort,
2. Having a positive attitude,
3. Being physically strong, and
4. Having no excuses at the end of the competition.
I would ask my athletes to print up their key words (perhaps like
100% APE) and put them on the back of the bathroom door, or
write it on the back of their hand, or on a piece of equipment they
use in their sport that they would see when they compete.
Remember, when you are stressed, you dont want to over-think,
so keeping things simple is a good idea.
Using visualisation, key words, muscle relaxation and

breathing to develop a pre-game (or pre-shot) routine
OK, weve got the basics all covered now. What we can do next is
put them all together to make a pre-game or a pre-shot (if we have
a smaller time frame in mind) routine. A routine is something we go
through before something important happens (ie. the start of the
game, or the execution of a skill).

Michelle Pain, PhD

We have a routine so we can think clearly, using productive

thoughts that will help us achieve our potential. It minimises the
chance of thinking of non-productive thoughts (ie. how your
opponent has been performing etc), instead filling your mind with
thoughts that are known to assist in that situation. It helps you
perform more consistently (because what you are doing is done
consistently), and it should leave you feeling calm and confident.
You should not just save doing your routine for times that matter,
you should be practicing it all the time in training so that it
becomes perfectly normal and feels natural to do, no matter how
stressed (or calm) you feel. Only by practicing skills until they
become automatic can you feel confident that you will be able to
reproduce those skills under pressure.
Here is a script that you might adapt for your sport (which you
would then listen to maybe in the week before a major
competition). Its in five phases: the first and second phases aim to
develop a more deeply relaxed frame of mind; the third phase
introduces the skill with the view to rehearsing a successful
outcome; the fourth phase shows the skill being integrated with the
rest of the game; and, the fifth phase uses key words to leave the
athlete feeling empowered. Notice the extensive use of sensations
that occur in a visualisation exercise.

Michelle Pain, PhD

For visualisation to appear more real to us (and be more effective

as a tool to help us perform better), we try to incorporate as many
of the five senses (ie. seeing, hearing, taste, touch and smell) as
possible. Look at this example and make a note of where the
senses are brought into the visualisation process.
Phase 1
Close your eyes, and begin by taking three deep breaths.
Inhale deeply, and exhale slowly inhale deeply, and exhale
slowly inhale deeply, and exhale slowly. Good now just
relax let yourself go, and no matter how deeply relaxed you
become, you will always be in control and able to respond to
anything that you choose to respond to you will remember
everything
Begin to concentrate on your right arm Raise your right
arm so it is in the air a little open your hand with your palm
facing upwards good Now pay attention to the feelings in your
upper arm in your forearm in your hand in your fingers.
Notice any sensations that might be occurring in your right arm
you might notice the weight of your clothing or its texture where it
touches your skin you might have a tingling sensation in your
hand and fingers just observe the feelingsNow, notice the
heaviness that occurs in your right arm as you exhale just relax,
and notice the feeling of comfortable, relaxed heaviness that
develops in your right arm as you exhale

Michelle Pain, PhD

Take your left arm and position it so it is in the air like your
right arm Make a slight bend in your left wrist goodnow pay
attention to the feelings in your left hand. Notice as you inhale how
your left hand begins to feel lighter just relax, and notice as you
inhale how your hand begins to feel lighter, as if it wants to lift
upYou can create different feelings in your hands if you want
to all you have to do is find the right images. Do that now Pay
attention to your right hand again. Imagine you have a small
weight attached to your wrist, and the weight is pulling your hand
down, making it heavier and heavier with each breath you
exhale and heavier and heavier Just let yourself
goGood take a moment to experience that heaviness (wait
15 seconds). Now, get rid of that image and let the feelings of
heaviness goThis time, pay attention to your left arm imagine
you have a helium balloon attached to your left wrist Imagine
that each time you inhale, the balloon is gently pulling your wrist up
a little more, making your arm lighter and lighter lighter and
lighter. Good. Just let yourself go Good take a moment to
experience that lightness (wait 15 seconds). Now, get rid of that
image and let the feelings of lightness go
Phase 2
Good. Now just relax. If your left or right arm has moved, just
settle yourself into a comfortable position. As your arm settles
down, you will feel very comfortable. You can increase this
pleasant feeling by counting down from one to five With every
count, you will become more deeply relaxed.

Michelle Pain, PhD

No matter how deeply relaxed you become, however, you will

always be in controlOnerelax all of the muscles in both your
arms, in the fingers, hands, forearms, and upper arms.
Just completely relax those muscles and enjoy the pleasant feeling
of heaviness that occurs as you exhale and sink deeper and
deeper. Two relax the muscles in both legsrelax the muscles
in your feet and toes relax the muscles in your calves relax the
muscles in your thighs Just completely relax all the muscles in
both your arms and your legs, and notice how you exhalethe
pleasant sensation of drifting down deeper and deeperinto a
deep hypnotic state. Threerelax all your muscles in your
foreheadcheeksand jaw Let your mouth open slightly as you
relax the muscles in your jawFour relax the muscles in your
neck and your shoulders Just completely relax, deeper and
deeper.and deeperFive relax the muscles in your chest
and your back and your stomach. Relax all your muscles and
enjoy the pleasant sensations of being so deeply relaxedFor the
next minute or two, just let yourself gowith each exhale, drift
down deeper and deeper That's good. (wait 30 seconds)
Phase 3
Now, I want you to imagine you are about to
_________(insert your skill here) As you prepare to
________(do this skill), look to ________ (think of somewhere a
little distance away that makes sense to your sport eg. where you
want the ball to land; 50m away if crouching for a sprint start etc)

Michelle Pain, PhD

You have soft eyesyou are feeling focused and calmyou

know what you have to do . At the same time, you are aware of
everything around you You can see everything As you
prepare, you decide on your strategy you make up your mind
that you are going to _________ (insert your strategy here), to
__________ (insert first part of strategy here)You feel
_________ (insert relevant body sensation here eg. the ball in
your hand; your knee resting on the track etc) you can feel
__________ (insert sensations here eg. the texture and weight of
the ball, the sun on your back etc)You can feel ________ (insert
a bit more detail here eg. the seams where there isn't any fuzz; the
smoothness of the leather etc). Notice the feeling of________
(insert even more detail relevant to your sport eg. your racquet in
your hands as you grip it; the space around your fingers as you
grip the bowling ball etc) Notice how______ (eg. tightly you hold
it, how it feels against your palm) and your fingertips
Pay attention to your bodys weight distributionnotice how
______ (insert body movement that would occur immediately
before you start to perform the skill eg. your centre of mass shifts
toward your front foot as you bounce the ball and prepare to serve;
you settle your hips back into the blocks and lean forward with the
weight mostly balanced on your thumb and forefinger etc) You
feel very comfortable and balanced.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Now, as you ____ (insert start of performance here eg. begin your
toss; breath out deeply, waiting for the gun to go off etc), your
attention narrows and you focus on the spot where ______ (insert
focus point here eg. you are tossing the ball; the point on the line
between your fingers etc) As your concentration narrows, you
________ (insert the moment of truth point here eg. see the ball
come into view very clearly; hear the gun go off; feel your foot
making connection with the ball - Put some more detail here eg.
You see the ballit's colour you see it rotate.)
As you _________ (insert start of performance here eg.
watch the ball, start to become upright from the starting position),
you ________ (insert the follow through here eg. feel your racquet
coming through; you feel your legs blast out of the blocks and you
smoothly drive and move to upright running stance etc. Describe
the movement and follow through in more detail here. eg. You can
see it make contact with the ball, and you can feel your weight and
your centre of mass transferring, moving forward, coming through
at the moment your racquet contacts the ball) Now you feel
_______ (eg. the follow-through of your racquet, your legs
pounding rhythmically).
Quickly, your attention broadens again and you see
______(eg. the whole court, your competitors around you) and you
hear (eg. the roar of the crowd). You can feel yourself re-centre as
you bring your legs under you. You feel balanced and centered.
You are ready to move in any direction

Michelle Pain, PhD

Phase 4
Good. Now lets just imagine you (performing in your sport)
where things can happen at their regular speedlet your
imagination go get completely involved You will feel and see
everything as if you were actually performing in competition. You
will feel confident in control You'll find it easy to move and get
into position, to feel your weight move into correct positionYou
seem to have all the time in the world to prepare you just know
you can do anything you want Just let yourself enjoy all of the
feelings and sensations that come with playing 'in the zone'(wait
30 seconds)
Phase 5
GoodIn a moment, it will be time to leave this pleasant
stateBefore you do, however, you need to know that you can
create the feelings that you have now when you are playing 'in the
zone' whenever you want to You will be able to do this yourself
by taking a deep centering breath, inhaling deeply attending
to the expansion of muscles in your abdomen as you inhale As
you exhale,relax the chest, neck and shoulder muscles, and say
"___________ and __________" (insert your two key words here)
Remember, whenever you want to settle yourself down and to
improve your concentration you simply take a deep, centering
breath Then, on the exhale, you say to yourself "___________
and __________" (insert your two key words here).

Michelle Pain, PhD

Imagine you are going through this process right now

imagine you are about to ______ (eg. kick for goal, serve in a
match)you can feel the pressureyou notice you are a little tight
in the neck and shoulders, and that you are gripping the _______
(eg. ball, racquet) a little too tightlyyou are worried about _____
(eg. making the distance, your accuracy, coming out of the blocks
cleanly) Feel the pressure Now, look _________ (eg. at the
court, at the goals, across the net, or into the distance) As you
look there, take that deep centering breath and as you breath
out you say to yourself "___________ and __________" (insert
your two key words here).
At the end of the exhale, notice that you have soft eyes
you see ____ (eg. the area all around you, field of play, the whole
court)... you feel comfortable Take one more centering breath
and repeat your phrase just before you ____(eg. begin your ball
toss, get down on the blocks, begin your run up, take the putt)
Then, as your concentration narrows you focus on the spot where
you are _____ (eg. tossing the ball, intending on taking your first
step out of the blocks, intend to strike the ball on your putt) Just
give yourself some time to practice thisfeeling the tension and
taking your deep breath, saying your words, and noticing how
much more calm and confident you feel(wait for 30 seconds).

Michelle Pain, PhD

Alrightit's time to return to your normal activitiesto do

that, count backwards from three to one On the count of three,
take a deep breath, holding it momentarilyOn the count of
twostretch your arms and your legs and exhaleOn the count of
one, open your eyes and you will be wide awake ready to do
things you normally do at this time you're feeling good
comfortable. and relaxed.
Ready?threetake a deep breathtwo stretch your
arms and legs and exhaleoneopen your eyes, wide awake.
Its a good exercise to go through this script and makes changes
relevant to your sport. Where I have written in normal type, this is a
suggestion for you to add information relative to your sport (so you
wouldnt read that out if you were reading it back!).
Because it is rather long and difficult to recall all the various

phases without reading the script (which wouldnt then make it
relaxing, would it?), Ive often helped an athlete create their script,
then recorded it so it could be played back and they could put it on
their own equipment so the track was maximally useful to them. If
you are going to read it back (either for yourself or for someone
else), remember to read much slower than you normally speak,
because reading quickly doesnt help a person feel very relaxed!

Michelle Pain, PhD

There are Apps (applications) for iPhones and Android phones that
allow recording of voices, or you could use a microphone with the
free software program Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/),
so that may be a possibility if you wanted to hear yourself reading
out the whole script that has been personalised.
This sort of script (once recorded) could be played right up until the
start of competition. Youll need to try it out to see how it affects
your performance, but the only adverse effect I can imagine is if it
makes you too excited to sleep if you listen to it the night before
your competition. In that instance, Id advocate using a muscle
relaxation script such as the one given on pages 14 and 15.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Arousal control: Psyching up / Psyching down

An area that is not well understood by athletes, I feel, is the aspect
of psyching up or psyching down. Often athletes only seem to
learn what works for them by trial and error (and unfortunately,
some people never do). Sport psychology is all about looking at
patterns of behaviour working out what works, and what doesnt,
and trying to do what works more often and doing what doesnt
work less often. Arousal control was the area of my PhD topic, so
Im passionate about this area. Although I am going to introduce a
bit of theory, I promise Ill be gentle with you!
The go to model of arousal used to be the Inverted U hypothesis

(see over the page), originally proposed by Yerkes and Dodson in
1908 (based on a study of how long it took mice to run a maze).
Many people are familiar with the Inverted U, since most people
can recall a time when they underperformed due to being too
stressed (represented by the far right of the diagram) or
unmotivated (represented by the far left of the diagram). The
Inverted U hypothesis says that under moderate arousal levels, an
athlete is able to perform to the best of his or her ability and so it is
the state that is associated with best performances (see red dotted
line).

Michelle Pain, PhD

The reason why the Inverted U hypothesis isnt used any more is
because it doesnt take into account individual differences between
people for a particular task (ie. what might be high arousal for one
person might be low or moderate arousal for another), nor the
different arousal level required between different tasks.
Reversal Theory has an explanation for these, and is one of the

very practical theories that is really easy to demonstrate to
athletes, that gives them strategies that will assist them right away.
Im a big fan! You think it is obvious, but athletes usually only make
the connection between how they prepare and how they perform
after many years and Reversal theory can help shortcut the
process so its worth knowing a bit about it.

Michelle Pain, PhD

I most often use a copyrighted questionnaire (so Im afraid I cant

reproduce it here) called the Telic Paratelic State Inventory (TPSI)
by Calhoun (1995). However, instead of using it a state measure
(ie. answering the questions how do you feel right now), I ask
my athletes to answer the questions as a trait measure (ie. how do
you usually feel), as I want to know about their typical or usual
feelings.
The T/PSI has been validated by OConnell and Calhoun (2001)

and could be sent to you by email if you contact Kathleen
OConnell at oconnell@tc.columbia.edu but a copy of the
questionnaire can also be found in John Kerrs excellent book,
Counselling athletes: Applying Reversal Theory, published in
2001. This book has some great examples of using Reversal
Theory with athletes, but I have to confess in the interests of selfdisclosure that John is a personal friend of mine and I also
contributed in a small way to that book. Of course I dont get any
kick backs by referring you to his book.
The 12 items on the T/PSI are self rated, with a person choosing a
number between 1 and 6 to illustrate how they usually feel. They
arent sport-related questions, just everyday questions asking
how activated (ie. how psyched up) they usually like to feel. I do
think, however, if youve got an athlete wanting to work with you in

Michelle Pain, PhD

a sport setting, you ask them to interpret their answers as though

the question asks about their preference in a sport setting. Ive
often had athletes answer as though in every day life and they
admit they would be quite different in their responses if theyd
answered it for their sport.
Now, if I were going to create a questionnaire like the T/PSI that
asks about preferences for being activated prior to a sporting
competition (that is totally unvalidated psychometrically, but has
good face and construct validity), it might look something like
this
Telic/Paratelic Instrument (Pain, 2011)
Instructions: Think back to a time when you performed well, or better than you expected,
and try to think specifically how you prepared yourself for that competition. Circle the number
that best represents how you remember feeling at the time (where 1 = not at all true of me
and 6 = very true of me)
Not at all true of me
Very true of me
1. I wasnt stressed about what the outcome might be

1
2
2. I felt really hyped up
3. I felt angry or agitated
4. I felt loose and relaxed
5. I felt serious-minded
6. I was happy to chat to others before the event

1
2
7. My heart rate was racing
12. I felt like I had all the time in the world to prepare for my event
1
2
3
4
8. I was comfortable with my preparation

9. I wanted to have fun
10. I wanted to feel in control
1
2
11. I felt mischievous and wanted to stir things up a bit
1
2

Michelle Pain, PhD

Ive set up the same number of items in my survey as the T/PSI,

and made the same item numbers be reverse scored, so when you
are reading about the T/PSI you can hopefully apply the results of
the T/PI (pronounced tee-pee) to the Reversal Theory model. Like
the T/PSI, a high score indicates Paratelic preferences.
Here is the scoring sheet. Look at the position of the number you
circled in the Telic/Paratelic Instrument (not the number itself) and
re-circle the number in the position you originally circled. eg. For
the first question, if you originally circled 3 (ie the third position) on
the scoring sheet, you would circle the 4.
Telic/Paratelic Instrument Scoring Sheet
6
5
4
3
2
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
5
4
3
2
1
6
5
4
3
2
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7. My heart rate was racing 1
2
3
4
5
6
6
5
4
3
2
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
5
4
3
2
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
5
4
3
2
1

Michelle Pain, PhD

Now, add the scores on the scoring sheet to get a total that could
vary between 12 and 72.
If you measured the general population on the T/PSI, the average
score would be 40, with the majority of people having scores a bit
below, or a bit above the average. (I havent done any qualitative
analysis on the T/PI, but lets just assume 40 will be the midpoint
too at this stage.) Fewer people have scores a lot below, or a lot
above, the average. That is, the scores for this questionnaire
follow a bell shaped, or normal curve, distribution (see next
diagram).
[---Flexible---]
On the T/PSI, a score of 41 or more would arbitrarily categorise

the person as paratelic, and a score of 40 or lower nominally
categorises the person as telic. Yes, I know; that process is a bit
arbitrary, but its in name only. For the most part, the majority of us
as classified as flexible because our scores would fall somewhere
between 30 and 50 and its only the more extreme scores where
the classification has more meaning. Just bear with me at this
stage!

Michelle Pain, PhD

If you are unable to get your hands on a Telic/Paratelic State

Inventory (T/PSI), or prefer not to use the T/PI, Reversal theorists
suggest you can tell a lot about a person by asking them to
describe what they did the previous weekend. Extreme paratelics
will pick out the highlights and they will not necessarily be in
chronological order. Extreme telics will describe what they did
largely in chronological order. Most of us who are flexible will do a
little of both. If you are going to try the T/PI, score it up and see if
you end up being classified as extremely telic (29 or less), telic
(30-34), telic but flexible (35 40), paratelic but flexible (41 45),
paratelic (46 50), or extremely paratelic (51 or higher). Have a
read of the descriptions of telic and paratelic people in the
sections below. Does it make sense to you to be described in this
way that the T/PI, or the description method classifies you?
Now, about Reversal Theorythe unfortunate part about it is that

it uses Greek terms. If you were classified as telic (from the Greek
word telios) it would mean you are goal oriented and able to delay
gratification and would prefer constant and predictable routines,
and if you were classified as paratelic (ie. other than telic) it would
mean you are excitement seeking and would prefer to do things on
the spur of the moment and enjoy variety. The majority of the
general population would score around 35-45 on the
Telic/Paratelic State Inventory (T/PSI), and these people can be
considered to be flexible (ie. sometimes telic, sometimes
paratelic) in their preferences or approaches. This theory is still

Michelle Pain, PhD

important to them, because they need to know what to do to psych

up or psych down as the situation requires.
Reversal Theory has the greatest significance for people identified

as extremely telic (less than 30 on the T/PSI) or extremely
paratelic (more than 50 on the T/PSI). The extreme telics or
paratelics have distinct preferences about how they like to prepare
for a competition, and if their preparation needs are not met, they
will not be able to perform to the best of their ability. Its important
for all athletes (eg. Telic, Paratelic or flexible) to know what sort of
preparation helps them perform their best, under different
circumstances so that they can actively do something about that
situation. Looking at Reversal Theory helps demonstrate the
strategies you could use to help yourself prepare optimally,
knowing your own preferences.
Reversal Theory was proposed by Michael Apter in the late 1980s.

It is based on looking at the match (or mismatch) between a
persons preferred arousal levels (or in Greek terms used by
Reversal Theorists, hedonic tone = pleasure) and their actual
arousal levels. Apter suggests that the match or mismatch of
arousal levels helps explain a persons motives.

Michelle Pain, PhD

John Kerr was one of the first to adapt the model for use with
athletes in a sports setting, and you can see from the following
diagram (looking at the dotted line across the tip of the model) that
he thought best performance was associated with Telics (the blue
solid line) being in a relaxed (or psyched down) state of mind, and
Paratelics (the red dotted line) being in an excited (or psyched up)
frame of mind. Similarly, poorer performances were observed
when Telics were anxious and Paratelics were bored. This
intuitively makes sense, doesnt it? Lets look and see how we can
use that knowledge.
Looking at the x axis (Perceived arousal levels), this has three

nominated levels (low, medium and high arousal). The idea is for
you to locate yourself somewhere along this axis, depending on
how activated (psyched up or psyched down) you felt.

Michelle Pain, PhD

The y axis (Hedonic tone) reflects how you experience the arousal
level whether you find this level of arousal pleasant (high
hedonic tone) or unpleasant (low hedonic tone). The diagram
illustrates the expected patterns of experiences for two personality
types: Telics and Paratelics. People classified as telic are likely to
be goal oriented and single-minded. People classified as paratelic
are likely to be sensation seeking.
This model (above) has been shown to be a little simplistic, but

does effectively describe behaviours under home and away type
conditions. Under Grand Final type arousal conditions, extreme
paratelics need to be able to psych themselves down to avoid
over-arousal. The message here is that too much excitement is not
always helpful for paratelics over arousal can lead to cockiness
(so that vital cues in the environment may be missed, and
performance suffers). For this reason, it is very important that
everyone knows how to psych themselves up or down.

Michelle Pain, PhD

If you look at the original model (on the previous page) at the
unpleasant end (ie. low score on the y axis), it looks a bit like the
Inverted U hypothesis, where best performances are associated
with a moderate amount of arousal. This gives Reversal theory a
bit more credibility, since independently it has come up with a
pattern of behaviour we know already exists. The fact that Yerkes
and Dodson proposed the Inverted U based on the behaviour
(accuracy and speed) of mice running mazes explains why the
attribution part of the theory is missing (ie. you cant very well ask
a mouse how it feels when it is under or over aroused, or what
motivated it to run fast or slow).
I think its easier to look at Reversal Theory with someone in mind,

so you can possibly see how it works by interpreting a persons
motives. Although I do not know these athletes personally, I would
guess from their behaviour that Telic athletes might include Matt
Shirvington (track), Roger Federer (tennis) and Michael Clark
(cricket). Paratelic athletes might include Lleyton Hewitt (tennis),
Usain Bolt (track) and Anthony Mundine (Boxing). Its the athletes
who are at the extreme levels who stand out as being different,
but all of us could benefit from knowing when to psych ourselves
up, and when to psych ourselves down. Its a matter of knowing
our personality, as well as the circumstances surrounding the
performance (ie. is it a Grand Final or a regular home and away
match; is there extra pressure on because were fighting for our

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place in the side, or are we coming back from injury?), and how we
feel about those circumstances.
From the Reversal Theory diagram (previous page), you can see
that best performances (those above the dotted black line) are
associated with feeling relaxed for Telics and feeling excited for
Paratelics. Note that this diagram is good for regular home and
away types of competitions. For Grand Finals (or equivalent big
stage events) you have to assume the perceived arousal level is
already very high, so steps must be taken for both Telics and
Paratelics to use psyching down strategies or risk being overaroused (and thus unable to focus on the task at hand).
So, back to the model, for regular competitions feeling bored (for
Paratelics) and feeling anxious (for Telics) are not associated with
good performances, and so must be avoided. The theory says
there are two ways of addressing this (and you can do either or
both in order to bring about the change in your perceived arousal
levels). Firstly, using your heart rate as a guide, you can either
increase (if you were feeling bored) or decrease (if you were
feeling anxious) your heart rate and that would move you
upwards along your Paratelic or Telic line, respectively. This is a
physiological strategy. (Ill give you some tips as to how to do that
in a moment.) Secondly, you can reverse the way you think about
the competition (ie. giving the theory its name, Reversal Theory),
so that one is a cognitive strategy.

Michelle Pain, PhD

OK, lets deal with the physiological side of things first. If you are
not already, you ought to be aware of your own symptoms of
stress. How do you know when you are feeling anxious? You
might comment that your heart beats faster, your stomach feels
like it is in knots, your hands may get clammy, etc. You may not
feel all these symptoms, but you probably have at some time.
When you experience these symptoms, you know you need to
take steps to calm yourself.
The easiest way to change your level of perceived arousal (ie.
moving to the left or right of the diagram, along the x axis) is to
alter your heart rate. For a Paratelic person currently experiencing
boredom (ie. low arousal as unpleasant, in the bottom left of the
diagram), they would want to elevate their heart rate (moving
upward and to the right along the dotted line from low to high) until
they became excited about the competition (or situation). For a
Telic person currently experiencing anxiety (ie. high arousal as
unpleasant, in the bottom right of the diagram), they would want to
reduce their heart rate (moving upward and left along the unbroken
line from low to high) until they became relaxed about the
competition (or situation).
The brain is always trying to interpret situations, and heart rate is
an easy physiological factor to manipulate in order to alter the way
in which a situation is experienced. To increase heart rate (so a
Paratelic person can move from boredom to excitement), one

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merely needs to exercise (eg. boxing, bumping aggressively, run

up and down stairs, jump rope etc). Have you noticed, in the
rooms prior to the beginning of a football match, those people who
are bumping, boxing or skipping rope? They are the paratelic
ones. To decrease heart rate (so a Telic person can move from
anxiety to relaxed), one should not warm up too close to the start
of the event. The telic players are the ones in the rooms prior to
the event who are listening to their own music and perhaps sitting
in a corner by themselves.
In addition, one can manipulate the way in which someone
breathes in and out. As the blood passes around the body, the
brain measures the oxygen saturation of blood and uses this as a
way of deciding whether the person is stressed or not. A stressed
person normally breathes in and out much faster than usual, often
only filling the top part of their lungs. To feel less stressed, that
person ought to take slower, deeper breaths to fill their lungs.
Having more oxygen in the blood means the brain interprets that
as feeling less stressed.
Conversely, if you wanted to increase the perceived arousal level
(eg. lifting a Paratelic person from bored to excited), you might
start taking smaller, more frequent (shallow) breaths (sending less
oxygen to the brain). The brain interprets this as activated and
makes the athlete feel alert (ie. ready for the flight or fight
response), and thus able to perform better. (Of course, it is

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possible for an extremely paratelic person to become so over

aroused it would lead to poor performances. In many instances the
poor judgement that occurs in this scenario results in feelings of
invincibility, leading the athlete to make poor decisions not based
on all the available information.)
Lastly, a person could manipulate heart rate through their selection
of music. Heart rate often follows the beat of selected music, so for
someone wanting to slow down their heart rate, a slower paced
song (such as a ballad) would be preferred. If an athlete needed to
be more activated, a song with a faster beat would be selected.
I often recommend my clients use iTunes (or equivalent) to create
a couple of different playlists of their favourite songs. One playlist
might have a dozen slower songs (for occasions where relaxation
was preferred or required), while another playlist might have a
dozen faster songs (where excitement was preferred or required),
and (especially if the athlete was designated a flexible type) yet
another playlist might have six each from the other playlists
presented alternately, or slower leading to faster, or vice versa.
If you have a few playlists at the ready, you can listen to your
preferred music in the style you need it in, in order to perform to
your best. Song selection in a teams rooms is very personal, so if
the team tends to choose songs that are not in the style that is
best for you, earphones and your own selection on your personal
hand held device is still possible (and probably preferable).

Michelle Pain, PhD

What are the symptoms you might associate with being under
aroused (ie. the left side of the Inverted U hypothesis, or the
bottom left side of the Reversal Theory diagram)?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Name some songs you might put on a playlist to help you feel
more excited if you recognised that you were under aroused.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
If you felt you needed to become more motivated, what strategies

could you take to change how you felt (to put yourself in your
optimal arousal state)?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
What are the symptoms you might associate with being over
aroused (ie. the right side of the Inverted U hypothesis, or the
bottom right side of the Reversal Theory diagram)?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

Name some songs you might put on a playlist to help you feel
more relaxed if you recognised that you were over aroused.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
If you felt you needed to become more relaxed, what strategies

could you take to change how you felt (to put yourself in your
optimal arousal state)?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Goal Setting
Goal setting sounds pretty boring because most of us think we
know what it is and how to do it, but most of us just arent specific
enough in knowing/saying what we want to achieve (or worse, we
just go through life accepting what falls into our lap without actively
striving to improve ourselves).
There are three types of goal setting that I teach my athletes, and
they are used to make a whole person, rather than just dealing
with the sporting person.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Lifetime Goal Setting

The first is a standard Life Goal Setting approach. Take a blank A4
sheet of paper, set it out in front of you so the short ends are top
and bottom, and fold the paper into thirds. Look at the diagram
(see next page) and write a heading on each third.
Before you start writing down your life goals, you need to be aware
of the rules of Goal Setting. You need to set S-M-A-R-T goals
that is, goals which are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic
and Time sensitive.
Specific goals are those broken down into their smallest

component. For example, its not useful to say I want to be happy
or I want to be rich. What can you do to actually make these
things happen? If reading for 30 minutes before bed makes you
happy, you need to schedule time into your life to ensure that is
likely. If buying a convertible makes you happy and feel rich, how

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many hours (or what sort of job) will you need to do in order to
make this happen? Saying the goal that will give you those
emotions (eg. reading a book, owning a convertible) is the better
way to go.
Your goals need to be recorded so you can pat yourself on the

back when you reach them, and they also need to be measured
against some sort of criteria (so you can measure the quality of
your progress). Otherwise, how will you know if you have been
successful in attaining those goals?
Goals need to be within the realms of possibility. They have to be

achievable and they have to be realistic. For instance, if you have
no intention of doing a uni course in astrophysics (or whatever it
takes these days), youll never be an astronaut. You have to be
prepared to put in the hard yards
Lastly, your goals are more likely to be achieved if you write them
down and set yourself a deadline for improvement. Setting goals is
a bit like pulling on a rubber band. There needs to be tension (ie.
for the goal to be a challenge) between where you are now and
where you want to be, so that you can be propelled in that
direction. If there is too little tension (ie. no motivation), nothing
happens. If there is too much tension (ie. the goal seems

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impossible), the rubber band breaks. The goal wont be achieved

because no-one wants to put in so much effort for no reward.
So, starting at the top of your A4 sheet, write down the goals you
want to achieve that are into the future (ie. 5 or more years away).
Think, If I was on my deathbed, I would be really disappointed with
if I hadnt achieved X,Y,Z. In this case, X, Y and Z represent the
goals that really matter to you.
After youve listed a few of those, start to think now about the
middle third of your A4 sheet. What goals do you want to achieve
within 3 years, ones that you wont complete in the next 12
months? After you have a few more of those, start working on the
goals you want to achieve in the next 12 months, and these are
written on the bottom third of the paper.
OK, when youve completed your last third, open up your A4 page
and look over the goals youve written there. Is there anything
more you want to add? Go ahead and put them in. Now, reading
over your list, put an asterisk (*) next to any goals listed that are
extremely important to you. (Some of the goals youve listed might
be quite important, and others will be extremely important to you.
Differentiate between those.) Is there a theme to those youve

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asterisked? (ie. Are they mostly sport-related goals, or non-sportrelated goals, or a mix?)
Now, the key thing to setting goals is to check that you have the
scaffolding in place. If you have an asterisked goal in your
Lifetime section, are there asterisked goals in the Medium and
Short term sections that support you getting to that Lifetime goal,
or does it seemingly appear out of nowhere? (If it appears out of
nowhere, it indicates that youre probably not going to achieve it
because youre relying on fate to present it to you, without doing
the hard work early in your career.) Similarly for asterisked
Medium term goals - are they supported by asterisked goals linked
to that goal in the Short term section?
OK, thats it for seeing whats important to you in Lifetime goal

setting, and that you have the scaffolding in place to make it
happen. Theres a lot of research to show that if you make your
goals public, you are more likely to actively work towards them.
Nothing like public shame and humiliation to be a motivating factor!
Now well look at two sport-specific types of goal setting: the
Spider Web profile, and the Achievement Management Plan
(AMP).

Michelle Pain, PhD

Spider Web Profile

The Spider Web Profile asks you to identify key performance
indicators (KPIs) for your sport (or if you are playing a team sport,
for example, you would use the key performance indicators for
your position on the field). Each of the spokes on the spider web
represent a key performance indicator. Again, each KPI needs to
be a S-M-A-R-T goal, and related to sport (but it might be to
positional tactics, or nutrition, or psychological or other well being
activities, such as not gambling, or not taking drugs etc).
The idea is that you rate yourself on each spoke, with a rating
closest to the outside of the web indicating being close to or at
elite status. Have a go at identifying KPIs for your sport (or
position) on each spoke, and then rating yourself for each
category. Choosing a rating closer to the centre of the spider web
means you rate yourself s being no good at that skill pr quality.
Choosing the outside band of the spider web for that skill or quality
means you rate yourself as the best in your group would.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Once youve put a dot or an X on each spoke, join them up to

create the spider web (see diagrams, below).
Apart from doing this exercise on yourself (ie. just with one set of
lines on a web), its also possible (preferable?) for a coach to
identify for an athlete which areas the athlete needs to improve on
to make him or her a better athlete (see diagrams, below).
Opening up lines of communication between the athlete and coach
is desirable, because athletes need to know specifically what they
can do to improve themselves in the eyes of the coach and the
Spider Web Profile really spells this out.

Michelle Pain, PhD

This diagram (above) represents a rating where you have

compared yourself to an elite level athlete. The spokes selected in
this example could relate to tennis, badminton, volleyball etc (since
serve is one of the KPIs) but the athlete has also chosen some
other KPIs that he or she wants to work on, such as fitness and
mental toughness. Other spokes are rated but the spokes arent
labelled in this example.

Michelle Pain, PhD

In this example, the players rating (in red) is contrasted with the
coachs assessment of the player (in orange). Having someone
elses opinion of how well you play (particularly if they are in a
position of judging whether you deserve your place in the squad
next week) can be nerve-wracking, but good, honest feedback is
essential if you are to progress in sport.
Ive done this exercise most successfully with a football club,

where I had the team break into three groups (forwards, midfield
and defenders). Each player completed the Spider web Profile on
the KPIs the group nominated was most relevant for the group (ie.
the midfielders all decided what were the important characteristics
for an elite midfielder at that club; the defenders all decided on the

Michelle Pain, PhD

KPIs for their position; and, the forwards all decided on the KPIs
for their position). They rated themselves, and then put their
(named) profile into the pile and the players within that group
critiqued the rating (based on the KPIs). That is, they assessed
whether the player was too hard, too easy, or just right in
assessing their value to the team on their KPIs. Talk about
honesty! It was a most productive session, and by the end, there
was no doubt where a player needed to improve, in the eyes of the
players team mates!
Achievement Management Plan

The last type of goal setting I want to talk about is the Achievement
Management Plan (AMP). The AMP can be used in conjunction
with the Spider Web Profile. For instance, for an athlete whose
spider web is not at an elite level, the athlete and coach can
identify the steps (or stages) an athlete can do to start moving
themselves closer to that ideal. It most often involves correcting
technique (ie. the coachs domain), so thats the example I will use
but sometimes it might be to do with thinking about things
differently ie sport psychology such as creating a pre-shot
routine, for example, (but Ill talk more about that later).
For the AMP, you identify one goal per page of AMP. You choose
the weakest goal from the Spider Web Profile (or one that you
choose to work on as a priority). Then, you break that skill
(remember, were talking technique in this example) into its

Michelle Pain, PhD

smallest components, and write them down in chronological order

(ie. in the order in which you carry out that skill), starting from
beginning to end. That is, if you executed each step correctly,
youd have a perfect execution overall and the skill would be one
you might see in an elite athlete. (At this stage, its often a good
idea to get input from the coach, since they are likely to be the
expert on technique-related skills.)
Below is an example from tennis, where the skill is serving a

tennis ball. The (sub)skills are written underneath the general skill
as they occur (in order). Each column represents a moment in
time, which might be after a training session, or after a
competition. All sub-skills would normally be assessed at the
beginning (for the expected value) and at the end of the session
(for the actual, or achieved, value).
The actual (A) and expected (E) values are the two numbers
written in each individual square. The number after the diagonal ( /
E ) is the expected outcome, where outcome might be the total
number of times the outcome might be expected to occur in that
session, or represent a percentage, or it might simply be a yes/no
as to whether the outcome occurred.
For example, in the first sub-skill (visualise ball placement), before
the session commenced the athlete expected a 75% success rate
(ie. remembering to use 5 senses to see clearly where the ball was
to be placed each time the ball was served in training). The

Michelle Pain, PhD

number before the diagonal in that square represents the actual

(or achieved) outcome value ( A / ), which you might record during
the session or immediately afterward. In this example, the athlete
remembered to visualise the ball placement 70% of the time.
Only once the session has concluded and the actual/achieved

values are recorded, can the next sessions expected values be
estimated. The trick here is to choose a new expected value for
the next session that isnt too tough to meet, but not too easy
(think of our rubber band we used in our goal setting example
earlier on). You want to keep moving in an upwards direction, but
you dont want to be discouraged if you cant meet the target. So, if
you didnt meet the target in the last round (in the example above,

Michelle Pain, PhD

look at the shoulder rotation row), but you werent too far off, Id
keep the expected value the same as it was as the last round.
If you were a fair way off (refer in the example above to the ball
toss) or even a little way off (eg. refer to the reach for the ball
row), you might think about lowering your expectations a bit (just a
little) so you dont lose confidence, especially if there was a good
reason why you didnt make the target (eg. sustained a minor
injury). Think about how far off the target you were, and adjust
your expectations accordingly. Modification is a key element of the
goal setting process.
If you sustain a major injury, youll definitely need to rethink all your
expected values to make them in line with your new capabilities.
Dont push yourself too fast too early if that is the case better to
make a slow but sustained comeback rather than risking re-injury.
There is a risk that an athlete coming back from a serious injury
might not push him- or herself hard enough (because there is the
fear of re-injury), so it might be necessary to show the AMP to the
treating medical personnel for their expert opinion.
You may get to 100% on a particular sub-skill before you finish a
row. If you get to 100% and then do it again and again
consecutively (ie. three times in a row), you can stop measuring
that sub-skill (because its figured youve mastered it by now). Still
continue measuring the other sub-skills and continue to do the

Michelle Pain, PhD

sub-skill youve mastered, of course (but you dont have to keep

recording it - unless you really want to!).
If you want to work on more than one general skill at a time, thats
OK, but I wouldnt try working on more than two or three. You want
to make sure you can devote a clear head to identifying patterns of
play that are effective, so you can keep improving over time. If you
try to work on too many things simultaneously, it just gets too
confusing. Better to do it right the first time!
Now, using the blank template provided, you have a go at
identifying a general skill you want to work on. Maybe pick on
something that was a bit low (in your estimation) from the Spider
Web Profile. Then identify the sub-skills that go into that general
skill (you may not need to fill the whole page, but there are usually
at least 2-3 sub-skills and most often more - for every general
skill) and place them in order that you do them when you
completed that general skill. Your selected sub-skills might be
technical, or psychological (eg. think about) or physiological (eg.
take a deep breath) factors to identify as part of the general skill.
Include them in chronological order (ie. the order in which you
would normally do them).
You might need to do it in pencil so you can change the order, if
required. Many people have never really thought about what goes
into a general skill in that amount of detail before, so you may
need to make changes or add or subtract information. If you know

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someone with the same general skill to do as you, why not

compare notes and see if you can learn something from one
another?
Once you are happy with the order of your sub-skills, pick your
expected values for the first session. You could label the top of the
column so you know whether it was a training session or a
competition. (You might even want to go a bit more high tech and
include details like the weather conditions if yours is an outdoor
sport or how you were feeling at the time.)
When you decide how often you are going to record your activity
(ie. every training session), decide on your first lot of expected
values and put them in the first column. Dont make it too hard or
too easy, but you mean to be aiming for each session to be
challenging (ie. something you have to work consciously on, in
order to improve yourself). This first lot of expected values are the
hardest to decide, because youve probably never recorded
yourself in such detail before. Chances are you wont get it spot
on to start with, so bear in mind you can fiddle with the numbers
for the first couple of sessions until you get a better feel for it.
Really, there shouldnt be any difference between your effort in

training and in competition. If you always train with 100% effort (as
you would do in a competitive performance) you can become
accustomed to that level of concentration (and can then do it

Michelle Pain, PhD

automatically without needing to think about it when the

pressure is on). That should be your aim.
Goal setting is all about measuring your behaviour remember to
make all your goals SMART goals and quantifying behaviours
before and after. Using goal setting techniques enables you to
evaluate whether what you are doing is leading to sporting
improvement. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are really useful
for a team (or athlete) to draw attention to the things that lead to
improvement for the team (or individual).
OK, on the next page is a blank Achievement Management Plan
(AMP) for you to try to fill in. Select an area you want to improve.
See how you go at identifying SMART sub-goals to place in
chronological order and picking out a realistic expected value to
start with (based on your current level of fitness or skill etc), then
evaluating (after training or competition) how you went (ie. to give
you your actual value), and then selecting an appropriate new
expected value to go in the new column.

Michelle Pain, PhD


Michelle Pain, PhD

Focus your attention on things that matter

Being busy isnt the same thing as being excellent. Some of the
best advice I have heard was Trying harder (ie. putting in more
effort) isnt always the best use of your resources. Sometimes
athletes perform better if they ease off a bit on the muscular effort,
and put a bit more thinking into their performance (ie. increase
their strategic effort).
Controlling distractions
I recommend you expend your energy on focusing your attention
on the things that matter; those things that will help you become a
better athlete. Resolve to not pay attention to the things that dont
matter (ie. these are the distractions). Control the controllable; for
all else, just let go. This is good advice. Too often in pressure
situations athletes start worrying about things they cant actually
control (including how well prepared their opponent is).
I can suggest putting a big sign up somewhere that says

something like, Is what Im thinking, or doing, right now helping me
become the best I can be?. That sign can remind you to pay
attention to your thoughts and actions, and not waste time and
energy on things that are not helpful. This is a useful sign to have
up in the change rooms during a big final, because it recognises
that we can easily become distracted by things around us and the

Michelle Pain, PhD

thoughts that pop into our head to do with performing on a big

stage (thats natural), but you notice when you are thinking or
doing those things that arent helpful, and then take corrective
steps to think and act more productively.
Controlling expectations
Sometimes we sabotage ourselves by thinking too far ahead of
ourselves (eg. it will feel great when I win this match, I cant
believe Im about to win this race) and these thoughts, and those
we think others are placing upon us (eg. Mum and Dad will be so
proud of me if I can pull this off, My coach wants me to win this so
badly) that these expectations can interfere with an athlete
thinking clearly in the present, leading to mistakes being made (or
worse, pressure being heaped upon the athlete so they appear to
become paralysed in their decision making). This is commonly
known as choking and there are some very famous examples in
sport. To be labelled a choker is one of sports highest insults. It
implies that one had the talent to win, but failed to do so because
of premature thoughts of celebration.
If an athlete notices that he- or she- is starting to think too far
ahead, I would have them remind themselves to concentrate on
the things that matter right now and to leave whatever happens to
the future. It is worth practicing what if scenarios in training by
simulating the pressure of the last few minutes of competition as
best as possible. I would recommend to a coach to incorporate a

Michelle Pain, PhD

decision-making skill session at the end of a physically demanding

training session (to simulate the physical tiredness an athlete
experiences at the conclusion of a match) so the athlete can
practice clearing her or his mind and identifying an effective
strategy that will help them win the next point, or set up the team
play etc. Strategies that can become automatic in training, under
pressure, are more likely to come off in competition.
You could use key words or images to remind yourself of the
qualities you want to adhere to when under pressure. I really like
the key word 100% APE to remind athletes to give 100% effort,
have a positive attitude, be physically strong and have no excuses
by the end of the competition. I like my athletes to train 100% APE
so that they become used to putting in maximal effort every time
they prepare to compete.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Other sport psychology skills

Apart from working with individual athletes to improve their
thinking, if Im working with a team I also give educational sessions
and sometimes I conduct research. Ive found this is a good way to
open dialogue between myself and a team and generally introduce
to them the way a sport psychologist works (especially if theyve
not met one before). An educational session might lead to an
opportunity for more work with the team, or to work with individual
athletes on a private basis. Doing research quantifies behaviours
so you can look and see if patterns emerge (and see if you can
come up with a suggestion as to what to do about it). The
headings in this section give some idea of possible research
projects.
If Im not already working with the team, I may give an educational
session to the group purely to educate them about some aspect of
sport psychology work that I do. The typical sessions I might run
(for which I have prepared 45 minute talks) are around the themes
of Goal Setting, Arousal Control, as well as a talk on Seven Mental
Skills (based on James Loehrs Psychological Performance
Inventory) to illustrate seven typical mental skills how athletes can
work to improve them. In addition, all the talks usually have a more
general component (taking about 15 minutes) where I discuss
about what sport psychologists do, what it takes to qualify as a
sport psychologist etc (and is more of a question and answer
session drawing on a few examples).

Michelle Pain, PhD

Part of my role as a sport psychologist has been to co-ordinate a

mid-season team review. For this, I used the framework of a
SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is a whiteboard or flip chart tool
where the page is divided into 4 quadrants (Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and with a bit of preplanning to suggest some dot points to go in each category if
discussion slows you ask participants to throw up some ideas to
jot into each category. That way, you get everyones ideas and
everyone feels part of the process (making follow through on
decisions more likely).
As part of the mid-season review, I also conducted some research
because I wanted anonymous responses to evaluate (give positive
and negative constructive feedback) for particular positions within
the group (both for team roles among the playing and coaching
group, as well as for the support personnel, including the
administration). For both the SWOT analysis and the research, my
job was to summarise the findings by creating themes and
suggesting possible ways to move forward, so these types of
sessions involve a bit more complexity and skill than just straight
sport psychology.
If a team or individual was dealing with a crisis, the phrase
Sergeant Major Eats Sugar Cookies (SMESC) can be used to
summarise the process. It stands for: Situation what is the
problem?; Mission What is the objective?; Execution What
tactics are we going to employ?; Support What logistics do we

Michelle Pain, PhD

need (eg. people, equipment)?; Command What other

organisations need to be involved (eg. management, media/PR)?
Communication approaches
(Note: This Communication section is more aimed at someone
training to be a sport psychologist, although athletes may be
interested to see the sorts of things that run through a sport
psychologists head when they are involved in a counselling
session.)
I always ask my athlete clients what they know of sport psychology
and how they think it might help them. I deal with a lot of young
athletes (aged 12-17) in my practice and most of them dont really
know what sport psychology can do for them. Often their parents
have recommended seeing a sport psychologist, and sometimes a
coach has suggested it. My older clients (20-25 years old) might
have read something about sport psychology, but for the most
part, my clients arent exactly sure what I do, but have an inkling
that sport psychologists help athletes, so therefore I should be
able to help them.
Learning styles
I take an educative approach when I work with athletes. I figure Im
entering into a professional relationship with the athlete, and Im

Michelle Pain, PhD

planning on teaching them some strategies so that when they walk

out the door at the end of the first session, they have something to
try in training that I think will help them. I try to use different
learning styles to get my point across (since I usually dont know
before hand which learning style the athlete favours).
The three learning styles are auditory (hearing), visual (seeing),
and kinaesthetic (doing). I usually provide reading material (dot
points, most often) so that the athletes (and their parents, in the
case of my younger clients) can refer to some pointers and be
reminded of what we covered in the session (eg. visual). Because
my notes are written down, a lot of the session is spent discussing
things (ie. auditory) so that I am interacting directly with the client,
and towards the end I would go to the written sheets and remind
the athlete what we covered by pointing to the notes and maybe
writing in something that deviated from the pre-prepared notes.
During the session, I also have the athlete move into the centre of
the room (instead of remaining seated on the couch) and we might
practice an exercise in the way they might do it at training (eg.
kinaesthetic).
By using all three learning styles in each session, I am confident I
am teaching my client the skills they need in their preferred
learning style, so they will understand how and when to use them.
There are other communication techniques I use when working
with my clients that build rapport and assist in gaining information

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about my client and the environment in which they train and

compete.
Verbal and Non-Verbal Cues

Verbal cues are easy these are the things athletes tell me about
in our session. But still, Im not always taking just their word for
things. Im always trying to see if there are alternative explanations
for the way the athlete has been treated (ie. to see if there is
another side to the story).
I always give my younger clients the option of having a parent in
the session with them. Sometimes this is helpful if the parent can
explain a situation more clearly, but the downside is that a parents
presence might be more inhibiting for the young client. (At a Peer
Support Network meeting with other sport psychologists, I think
some of my colleagues were aghast that I would even offer to have
a parent present, as they seemed to fear the young client might be
less likely to speak their mind. I havent found that to be a problem,
and in fact I have found the child often feels more comfortable and
confident with a familiar adult around to help clarify what they want
to say, and to help recall specific examples where an issue has
arisen.)
Apart from looking for other explanations which I do in my head,
not out loud in front of the client I am also looking at whether
there is a mismatch between what the client is saying and how

Michelle Pain, PhD

they look (ie. in terms of body language). Body language gives us

useful non-verbal cues, and includes the way things were said (eg.
forcefully, reluctantly) as well as body position (eg. crossed arms,
looking down or looking away etc). Where there are mismatches in
what is said and how it is said, I would ask a few more questions of
the client to try to get to the truth of the matter - or at least work out
if the perceived mismatch comes from other explanations (eg.
shyness, low confidence etc).
Building rapport

When you first meet your client, look at your clients eyes,
introduce yourself by name and shake their hand confidently. You
want to give the impression that you have knowledge (ie. sport
psychology, counselling skills etc) that you are willing to share with
them. When sitting down to begin talking with a client, it is good
practice to sit towards the edge of your seat, leaning slightly
towards the client. Leaning backward (away from the client) or
sitting too far back in your chair gives the client the impression you
are not involved in their issue. Make sure you talk to the client and
make eye contact. Firstly, for those hard of hearing, they may be
trying to read your lips (not to mention trying to read your verbal
and non-verbal cues!), but it is polite to look at someones face
when you are speaking to them. It shows you are interested in
what they have to say.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Next, when you are speaking with your client, you might
occasionally say hmmm and nod, to signify your agreement or
that you heard the client correctly. On this last matter, you might
re-phrase what theyve said to clarify your understanding of the
issue, or to show that you have been listening to the client. After
they have described a particular situation, (and after youve
received their verbal and non-verbal cues) you might take a punt
and say, I can see that would make you feel ____ (and suggest
what you might be feeling if you were in their shoes). This is
empathy.
Insightfulness

The success of a session, to my mind, depends very heavily on
the insightfulness of the client. I can recall two instances in the last
25 years where a client has come to me for assistance and I have
felt that I have been unable to help them. One was a child who
was brought along by his mother and really didnt understand what
I could do or him (or why he was there at all). He thought he was
performing well enough, and his mother thought I could teach him
something, but the need didnt exist so there was no motivation to
benefit from the time we spent together. The other time was with
an adult. She was a golfer and knew there was a problem with her
game but didnt want to share that with me. (I think she expected
me to be psychic!) In both cases, in spite of my best efforts, I
wasnt able to develop enough rapport to work effectively with the
client. These are the sessions that stick in my mind as failures. Oh

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well(in my best countering and ego-protecting style I would say,

you can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink, and
nobodys perfect).
Delivering the message

The quarter time, half time and three quarter time speeches by
coaches fall into this category, but it is my belief that a coach ought
to be measured in his or her words rather than being too
aggressive or too passive (as if the latter is likely!). A coach ought
to be respected for her or his actions and words, so flying off the
handle and reacting to a situation without having a calm plan of
action would be a mistake. Its just as important for coaches to use
sport psychology techniques to clear their head and think clearly,
as it is for athletes.

A good coach will be aware of each athletes own preferences for

receiving information (so that it is passed along in a timely and
effective way to allow the athlete to perform to the best of his or
her ability). The coach should know how much information to give
each athlete (some athletes like to know a lot, and some athletes
just want to know only what affects them), and when the athlete
likes to receive the information (ie. how long before the event).

Michelle Pain, PhD

You can imagine that a young player selected to play in a major

event (like a Grand Final or a Test match for Australia) might be
informed on the morning of the event so as not to upset their sleep
patterns the night before. Or some players might prefer an
unexpected selection to be broken to them a few days prior to the
event, so they can feel properly prepared. The timing may depend
on many factors, like the athletes age, experience, and the
significance of the event.
Feedback is a two-way process

Athletes ought to be encouraged to voice their opinions (in the
right forum) if they are dissatisfied with a situation. When working
with athlete clients who are unhappy with the way something in
their sporting environment is occurring (eg, how the coach or
selectors are treating them, how their parents are treating them), I
might have them rehearse with me what they want to say. In this
way, in a safe environment, they can practice delivering their
message in a calm and logical way. It should be brought to the
athletes attention if a situation is unable to be changed owing to
factors outside the control of those present. Then it has to be
harden up, sunshine and/or finding a better forum to voice the
dissatisfaction.
Throughout my session with a client there may be more than one
issue to work on, so part of the feedback process is to ascertain
the priority of the client. Would you rather work on this right now,

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or that? might be a question I would ask. Or after weve decided

and Ive suggested a strategy and weve practiced it, I might ask
do you think youll be able to do that at training in the next week?
to check that I havent confused the client and they feel
comfortable following through on the suggestions. Asking
questions of the client is a good way to elicit feedback.
Sometimes (if Im working in a kinaesthetic kind of way), I might
get the athlete to stand at one end of the room and I would stand
at the other. I tell the client that the distance represents how far
away they were to a solution to their issue before this day. Then, I
ask them to move closer to me to illustrate how close they think
they are to solving their issue as a result of us working together in
the session this day. Of course, Im hoping the client moves very
close to me, but if they havent, we would spend more time
clarifying where we have moved from the original goal. I might do
this particular exercise with about 15 minutes to go (of our hour
long session), so we have time to back track a bit, so that we can
agree that by the end of the session they have something to work
on that they think will help.
Effect of Negative Feedback

If you have to give negative feedback, there are ways to deliver the
message so it is palatable to an athlete. I highly recommend the
1983 book One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard with Spencer
Johnson. It is based on the principle that people who feel good
about themselves produce the best results. I believe this too. In

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brief, Blanchard suggests taking a moment to review your teams

goals, look to see how the teams performances deviate from the
goal, and if it is different (ie. less than expected) find ways to make
the behaviours (eg. KPIs) into the goals that can be attained, thus
leading to improved performance.
I did some research with Alex Bartsch back in 1999 and 2000
where we were able to gain access to a number of the AFL clubs
and ask their players to take The Attentional and Interpersonal
Style inventory (TAIS, 1996 version, by Robert Nideffer). This was
the test I encouraged the AFL to use at their Draft Camp back in
1997 (to prevent clubs from giving the same test or tests - to a
player multiple times). I really love the TAIS! I think it can give
some very insightful information about the thinking patterns of
athletes. One of the benefits (?) is that it has an inbuilt depression
subscale, where depression indicates disordered thinking around
the sorts of things like inability to sleep, worries, feelings of
worthlessness etc.
(The reason Ive put benefits followed by a question mark is that

the Depression subscale is very powerful, and one has to be
prepared for the fact that some athletes even if they havent
come to visit a sport psychologist for that reason may be
suffering from depression. In fact, they may be counting on you
picking it up, even if they dont say so overtly. Its a good idea to
know of some resources to help clients with depression or other

Michelle Pain, PhD

mental health issue: the clients local GP; Lifeline 13 11 14; Kids
Helpline 1800 551 800; Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467;
Headspace at headspace.org.au; Beyond Blue at
beyondblue.org.au; Young and Well CRC at yawcrc.org.au; and
SANE at sane.org.au.)
As part of the study into attentional and interpersonal styles

between forwards (ie. goalkickers), backs (ie. defenders) and
midfield players, my colleague visited one AFL team on the
Monday after a Saturday match in which that team was absolutely
smashed on the scoreboard. Unbeknownst to us, many of that
teams best players were severely chastised by the coach in front
of their team mates. My colleague collected the data on the
Monday and we started entering the data in the afternoon.
Immediately it was apparent that there was a problem at the club
so I contacted the club liaison that we had dealt with that previous
day to say that a number of their players were quite severely
depressed and that I held grave concerns about one player in
particular (and significant concerns for five others), and that the
club ought to ensure these players were followed up to receive
some sort of assistance right away (or at the very least, to enquire
if they are okay). The liaison thanked me for alerting him to the
situation and confessed it was probably as a result of that player
(as well as the five others we had nominated to him) having had
strips torn off them by the coach in front of the team. He told me
hed check them out right away. (About 20 minutes later he rang

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me back threatening legal action if I spoke to the press about it but

admitted that there was an issue for the reasons hed spelt out.)
While we werent privy to what the coach said, it was absolutely

fascinating to me was the fact that the six players we identified
with the higher than usual depression scores (a) were the ones
that took the brunt of the coachs wrath, and (b) it took them more
than a month to be back in the best players list in the newspapers
(where they would normally be each week). Negative criticism has
the power to affect players adversely for a long period of time
(usually much more than one match), so a coach ought to weigh
up whether the short term benefit of getting something off his or
her chest is in the long term interests of the team.
As it happens, this coach was sacked at the end of the season.
Apparently the coach had lost the respect and trust of the players.
I noted with interest that this coach had been miked up for a
significant match in recent years and his three quarter time
address was captured for the TV audience. Even though his team
was down at three quarter time, his style was completely different
and much more closely aligned to the optimal feedback style. I
hadnt seen him in operation for about 10 years and was really
pleased to see the difference, because until then, he had lost my
respect for him as a coach too. I guess coaches can make
mistakes too, and it shouldnt be held against them forever.

Michelle Pain, PhD

In my opinion, coaches who express their frustration by abusing a

player (especially in public, or in front of team members) are not
being as effective as they could be as a coach. They miss the
opportunity to model grace under pressure that they hope their
players will follow.
Role playing
I have used role playing as a tool for an athlete to rehearse that
which they want to say to a team mate, coach or family member if
the athlete didnt feel confident they could cope with the other
persons reaction to their news. Role playing allows the athlete to
try out a range of ways to communicate something that for them is
difficult to say straight out to the other person (either because of
unbalanced power - where what the athlete says may impact on
their future selection as a team member - or an athlete has some
difficult news to impact eg. imminent retirement or injury concerns
etc). I might take the part of the other person and the athlete tries
to rehearse what they would say when the other person (ie. me)
reacts to their news, or I might play the part of the athlete breaking
the news and my client acts out the reactions of the other person.
Confidentiality
As a sport psychologist working with athletes or coaches, my aim
is to be as transparent and honest with my client as possible,
because you need that to build rapport with your clients. An issue
arises, of course, in that grey area over who is the client. This is

Michelle Pain, PhD

something that needs to be ironed out early in discussions with a

coach, or a club, preferably before an issue arises. For example, if
you are working for a team (paid or unpaid), is your allegiance to
the coach, or the board of a club, or to the athlete? If you are
working with a young athlete (ie. a minor), are you obliged to notify
the parents?
Ive worked with a couple of tricky cases in my lifetime, including
sensitive issues like rape (where two different coaches were
convicted of improper relationships/rape of their players, in two
different sports), athletes coming out to their family, athletes with
cutting behaviours, and athletes with post traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD). These issues require a long term commitment to
counselling sessions, often involving other family members.
Negotiating the minefield of boundaries is difficult, but in all
instances I would say that my primary duty of care was with the
athlete and if that is in conflict with what the team or coach
requires, then I would have a problem. Luckily for me, the coaches
I have worked for have given me almost free reign to do as I saw
fit with the athlete, knowing I was doing so in the athletes and
teams best interests and only needed to be aware in only vague
terms what I was doing at the time. At a la ter date, with the fully
healed athletes permission, I was able to disclose more fully the
nature of my work with the athlete (without being too specific).

Michelle Pain, PhD

Sport Psychology Research

It is important for sport psychologists to be aware of the results of
research, so they can inform their clients of best practice
procedures. Here are some topics that have interested me over he
years.
Psychological Momentum
Examining psychological momentum shifts in behaviours that
facilitate improvement in performance is a real interest for me. On
rare occasions, a one off act can bring about sustained change
but usually it takes the combined actions of a group (ie. a critical
mass of players) to change a teams fortunes on the field. Its a bit
like a car that hasnt been serviced for a while. It is able to drive
forward with a cough and a splutter on the engines misfiring
cylinders, but proper, consistent, smooth forward propulsion
requires all cylinders firing (or at least in my experience, a critical
mass of players all being effective at the one time).
Momentum is a massive thing, and what it did today will give us a
big lift for the remainder of the Ashes, said Andrew Strauss (July
2009). Early research took a simplistic approach (whomever won
the first point in tennis won the match 61% of the time) but
momentum itself appeared to play a small role once other factors
were taken into account (ie. ability of the players; support,
particularly financial backing; and preparation).

Michelle Pain, PhD

The aim of psychological momentum is to create opportunities for

you or your team (or limit opportunities by the opposition) by
creating pressure in a consistent way. Ive looked a bit at
psychological momentum in cricket, and the way to build
momentum is by scoring runs (if you are the batting side) or
minimising runs (if you are the fielding side). Its obvious in cricket
how to coach players to use productive behaviours to help lift their
teams performance. What isnt so obvious is how to minimise the
impact of momentum imposed by the opposition. Rather than
succumbing to the pressure, the team under siege ought to
develop some pre-game strategies for swinging the momentum
back their way.
To create pressure if you are the batting side, strategies I would

suggest are: looking to hit singles (or at least looking for
opportunities to score); hitting to different areas of the ground;
make the blowers/fielders feel rushed; hit boundaries; use different
shot selection; and play the role (ie. hold up an end, keep up with
or surpass the required run rate; keep the inform batter on strike
etc). To limit pressure if you were the batting side, some strategies
might be to: do some mid wicket gardening or have mid wicket
chats with the other batter; step away to ostensibly adjust your
gear but use the time to refocus on your goal; talk with your
partner to remind them of conditions (eg. the bowlers or fielders
strengths or weaknesses); and build partnerships (ie. play yourself
in and go on to score runs).

Michelle Pain, PhD

To build pressure if you are the fielding side you could you could:
talk between fielders (eg. offer support to the bowler); make the
batters feel rushed; take wickets; bowl to a plan; bowl dot balls
(ie. so no runs are scored from that delivery); attempt run outs (ie.
create uncertainty in the mind of the batter as to whether the
fielder will hit the stumps with their return); appeal (note: appealing
too often or for obvious not out decisions is considered
unsportsmanlike behaviour); play the role (eg. bowlers create
pressure by bowling to a plan, bowling into the wind even if they
prefer not to, limiting the run rate, playing second fiddle to another
bowler etc); and be ready and switched on (eg. be in position to
take catches, get behind the ball to stop it, stop your mind from
wandering if play is slow). If you were the fielding side, to limit
pressure from the batting side you could: slow down the tempo of
the game; talk between captain and bowler; know the batters
weakness (ie. scouting); vary deliveries; and bowl to a plan (ie. be
purposeful).
ESPN Cricinfo gives a ball-by-ball description for all international
matches (Men and Women), but the descriptions can be emotive
(which may lead to bias, which you want to avoid as a researcher).
Google ESPN live scores to find the website. Cricket Australia
maintains a less emotive description (at http://livescores.cricket.com.au/summary.aspx).
Go to View Scorecard, where you can look at the ball-by-ball
commentary (which, unlike the ESPN Cricinfo site, goes
backwards with the most recent action at the top of the page).

Michelle Pain, PhD

I prefer the Cricket Australia website, but it is tricky to navigate. To

see the description, heres a screenshot from the Cricket Australia
website of the third ODI of Australias tour of South Africa, where
the Aussie won by three wickets to take the series 2-1 (29/10/11).
The T20 matches and One Day Internationals lend themselves to

psychological momentum research, because you get a result in
one day and a result is the usual outcome (ie. there are rarely ties
or draws). Pressure builds during the course of the match as the
team batting first tries to impose itself on the game to set a target
the fielding team cant beat. At the changeover, the fielding side
tries to outscore the opposition team. Powerplays have been
introduced to make the game less biased toward the batting side.

Michelle Pain, PhD

If I am using the ball-by-ball analysis from the website I do this

after the match has ended so I know the run rate for the innings,
so I am able to say if a batting over was much better, much worse,
or no different to the completed innings run rate - I colour code
each over to signify which team created pressure (solid colour) or
limited pressure (light colour) in that over. If I tape the games and
watch them back, I usually can put in a bit more detail than if Im
relying on the website to score players/teams behaviours,
because the website commentary focuses only on either the batter
or the bowler.
For a TV analysis, I create an Excel sheet with columns (lets say

its a ODI, ie. so I have 50 rows per innings for a 50 over game,
with a separate sheet for each batting team) and have columns for
Over Number, Description of Team As behaviours, Colour Code
for batting side, Colour Code for fielding side, Description of the
Team Bs behaviours, and I have separate sheets for each sides
batting innings.
I decide at the end of each over which team has won the
psychological momentum in that over depending upon their
actions in that over - either by creating pressure (indicated by a
dark colour) or limiting pressure (indicated by a light colour).
Wickets are signified in an over by a yellow star. Below are a
couple of screenshots of my Excel file of the West Indies batting
innings in an A match in the 2009 World Cup, played in South
Africa, and Australias batting innings.

Michelle Pain, PhD

It seems to me that in the first innings, either the teams were better
at creating pressure than limiting pressure (because there are
fewer light coloured blocks), or Im not very good at picking
behaviours which limit or negate pressure. (Error in the analysis
should always be considered an option!)

Michelle Pain, PhD

In the second innings (with the West Indies batting), the West
Indies appeared powerless against the Aussie attack and could
neither create their own nor limit Australias pressure (see over the
page).
In this match, it became apparent that both teams were not evenly
matched (the West Indies lost one of their star batsmen due to
injury, so Australia only needed 9 wickets for victory).

Michelle Pain, PhD


Michelle Pain, PhD

In the final of the 2009 World Cup, with New Zealand batting first
(scoring 5/200), the Australian bowlers effectively limited pressure
(see next diagram). In the Aussie innings, New Zealand were able
to create pressure for the first 15 overs, but then Australia were
effective at limiting their pressure and began creating their own
pressure.

Michelle Pain, PhD

What is clear is that creating changes in momentum doesnt lead

to immediate change on the scoreboard. Momentum needs to be
sustained over time.
If you wanted to test your ability as a sport psychologist/researcher

investigating psychological momentum shifts, Id recommend
identifying behaviours that create your own (or your teams)

Michelle Pain, PhD

pressure, or limit your opponents pressure. Then find a way to

measure the behaviours over brief periods of time (say, over 5 to
10 minute intervals). Then you would look for patterns during
periods of play.
I would suggest that, instead of looking at teams, perhaps you
might be interested in looking at an individual players role within a
team, to see if they are maximizing their efforts to create or
overcome pressure. Presenting the results to an individual player
might be a very powerful motivator to improve aspects of their
game.
Motivation
Being motivated occurs when an athlete sees the benefit in
striving for something currently not attained. As a sport
psychologist, when I see the word motivation, I often
automatically think of goal setting as a solution to the issue, but
sometimes motivation can be lost due to factors outside the athlete
so well look at a few of those.
Losing as a de-motivator

Its no fun to be an athlete or team that is on a losing streak with
no end in sight. Apart from running the risk of being ridiculed, or
worse, being felt sorry for, losing should indicate being out
performed (not that youve given up). This can go either of two
ways it might spur an athlete or team to have a good, hard look

Michelle Pain, PhD

at themselves and evaluate what they are currently doing right or

wrong, or it might cause an athlete or team to not try so hard (as a
defence mechanism for the future loss, so they can point to the
fact that they werent trying too hardbut if they did, the result
might have gone a different way).
If you are planning to play sport at the pointy end (ie. the elite end
of the pyramid), youve got to be prepared to keep evaluating your
progress and make hard decisions about the way forward. This
might mean cutting non-performing players (in a team), or thinking
about retirement, or having an operation to finally treat a niggling
injury with the respect it deserves.
The role of confidence

A coach of a team on a losing streak ought not to be immune from
having his or her role (and those of the support staff) evaluated to
determine if there is a better way to deliver services to the team,
but assuming that is all in place, what more can a coach do to
motivate the team or athlete? Assuming the team or athlete is
competing in the correct grade or standard, a coach would be wise
to emphasise the skills the athlete (or players) already do well.
Its the ol back to basics training session. The reason this session
works is because if the team or athlete can already do the skill
it builds confidence. A team or athlete without confidence is a team

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or athlete who is already defeated in their own mind and thats

not good for creating optimal performance!
Think of teams or athletes known to you who perform with

confidence. They look invincible. They look like they always had
that skill, and their skills are never going to leave them. But they
didnt always have that level of skill, and inevitably, that aura of
invincibility will leavebut that might take some time. By taking
skills back to basics until the team or athlete feels confident, and
then building upwards taking little steps, the confidence will allow a
team or athlete to suddenly be right back where they belong. Its a
bit like a roller coaster a little bit of a push and away we go
again!
Team culture
For teams who are perennially at the bottom of the ladder (usually
it is teams, because athletes who have lost their mojo for some
period usually just retire), a change in culture is required. This
comes from a clean slate, or a line in the sand being drawn,
where something new occurs. Committees may lose patience with
a coach of a losing side, and decide to cut their losses and recruit
a new coach. But it doesnt have to be that way. An existing coach,
with the support of the players who understand change needs to
occur, may recreate a different culture (eg. back to basics, new
team rules, change in strategy), or a change in team members.

Michelle Pain, PhD

It is my opinion that there needs to be a critical mass of personnel

with the requisite skill and willpower to be part of the new culture.
Having one marquee player may get the supporters excited (eg.
Chris Judd coming to Carlton), but the team will still languish
unless there are a core group of players who can support that
marquee player.
I dont know of any research as to the size effect of the critical

mass, my best guess is that a team needs at least a third of the
team to become effective core players (obviously you want as
many as possible!) in order for the team to start to benefit from a
marquee player. With an effective core group, the whole team can
start to push onwards. They will develop more faith in themselves
individually and as a team, because fewer errors are being made.
As well as having a total number of core players, the critical mass
ought to be present in critical positions as well (ie. forward and
defensive positions as well as in the centre of the ground) in order
for the whole team to learn and move forwards.
Retirement
Choosing when to retire from sport is really difficult, so (if you are
an athlete considering retirement) expect to go through a grieving
process, particularly if you were in the sport for a long time or you
reached an elite level. You are especially lucky if the retirement
issue is yours to make, or if retirement is chosen when you are at

Michelle Pain, PhD

the top of your game. There is far less psychological trauma if you
feel in control of the timing of that decision.
For athletes who retire due to injury, or players retiring because

the team doesnt want them to play on any more, the retirement
process may be tinged with anger and feelings that their destiny
hasnt yet been fulfilled. As a sport psychologist, I want all my
athletes to feel as though they have left their sport when they know
they had the opportunity to display all of their talent and ability, but
sadly, not everyone is so lucky. Feelings of anxiety about
retirement may be lessened, too, if the athlete has been planning
for retirement for some time, and they have a plan for the future to
look forward to (eg employment, a holiday, leisure time etc).
To start you thinking about future career options, I highly
recommend the book What colour is your parachute? by Richard
Nelson Bolles. Its been a best seller since the 1970s and is
revised every year, and although written by an American author
and is not sport-based, it has excellent practical information in it
to start you thinking about your own network around you, your own
strengths and weaknesses, and other job possibilities.
Burnout
Burnout is a condition where an athlete feels mentally and
physically exhausted in playing a particular sport, and it doesnt

Michelle Pain, PhD

feel worth the effort to train for that sport any more. These feelings
can sneak up on an athlete, so that at the end of one season the
athlete feels ready to continue in the sport, but by the beginning of
the next season they realise that they feel disengaged and
uncaring toward the sport.
Athletes who are burned out feel like they have given everything
they can, but no longer find the sport enjoyable or the competition
satisfying. The trick for an athlete is to retire before they get to this
state. The symptoms of burnout may be similar to other
psychological problems (like depression), so it is important to be
aware of the symptoms and treat them seriously. Physical
symptoms of burnout include feeling tired and drained most of the
time, lowered immunity, frequent headaches or back pain, or a
change in appetite or sleeping patterns. Emotional signs of burnout
include a sense of failure and self doubt, feeling helpless, trapped
or defeated, detachment, or feeling alone, increasingly cynical or
having a negative outlook, feeling decreased satisfaction. The
behavioural symptoms of burnout include withdrawing from
responsibilities, isolating yourself from others, procrastinating,
using food, drugs or alcohol to cope with life, taking out your
frustrations on others, or skipping out of commitments early.
Strategies for recovering from burnout include:
1. Slow Down
Take a break, and cut back on commitments to look after
yourself. Be gentle on yourself and understand that it is time to
look after yourself.
2. Get Support

Michelle Pain, PhD

When burned out, your first thought may be to isolate yourself,

but it is better to turn to loved ones for support. Share your
feelings.
3. Re-evaluate your goals and priorities
Burnout is a sign that something in your life wasnt working as
well as it could be, so it is time to re-evaluate your hopes and
dreams. This time can be an opportunity to rediscover what you
really want to do with your life.
4. Acknowledge the losses
By changing your life, you may need to deal with the loss of the
dream you had when you entered your sport. Or it might be the
loss of identity that goes with being an athlete or team member, as
well as the loss of friends, sense of community, or sense of
mastery that goes with being at that level of sport. Life can still be
meaningful and worthwhile, but it will be in a different way to the
way it was in the past, and it may take some time to develop.
Personality Assessment
The best personality test I know is The Attentional and
Interpersonal Style (TAIS) inventory, by Nideffer (1996). It was the
research instrument used in a very large study of AFL players,
back in 1999 and 2000 by Alex Bartsch and myself. The TAIS was
also the instrument I introduced at the 1997 AFL Draft Camp, and
it is still used to this day. In the past, I have assisted some AFL
Clubs in compiling a list of potential players (based on
characteristics particular clubs wanted from their players, ie. who
would fit in with the teams culture and the coachs style).

Michelle Pain, PhD

The TAIS is scored and each of the 21 subscales is given a score.

The relative height (on the profile) tells the story of the athletes
preferred style. Here is what a blank profile looks like (over the
page).

Michelle Pain, PhD


Michelle Pain, PhD

Attentional abilities
There are a set of six subscales (three sets of two: BET-OET, BITOIT, and NAR-RED) on the TAIS profile that, together, indicate
where the athlete is attending (ie. to messages inside their head or
to the cues around them), as well as their effectiveness. The
relative position on the profile of the athletes scores on the first
pair of subscales indicates how well an athlete can read the play
(which is vital in all ball sports). The second pair indicates how well
the athlete can strategise (ie. think up other solutions), and the
third pair indicates how well a person can swap between reading
the play or strategising (as the situation calls for it), or whether
they stick with just one style as a preference.
Interpersonal abilities
The subscales (going from left to right, after the first six attentional
subscales) are to do with information processing (INFP, whether a
player prefers a fast-paced environment or slow moving/stable),
and the athletes control of behavioural impulses (BCON, where a
high score often indicates a player likely to take risks, making them
perhaps prone to injury if the attentional subscales show errors of
judgement are likely, or the inability to follow doctors instructions
in rehabilitation, or following a coachs directive).
The next two subscales, control (CON) and self esteem (SES) are
used in conjunction with the depression (DEP) subscale, to give a

Michelle Pain, PhD

measure of Leadership potential. Then comes an indication of the

athletes responsiveness to physical challenges (P/O) and their
preference for making decisions quickly (OBS). You can imagine
this might give an indication of a players ability to get rid of the ball
before getting caught by an opposition player (looking at OBS and
the attentional subscales).
Then the next subscales are extroversion (EXT, the degree to

which the athlete likes to be with others) and introversion (INT, the
degree to which the athlete likes to be apart from others). This
says nothing about their ability it is just a preference. I would not
compare INT and EXT to Reversal theorys Telic and Paratelic
subscales if an athlete has answered questions in a sport setting
(eg. using the T/PSI or T/PI) because these are preferences
expressed by the athlete whereas the TAIS questions are based
on everyday life preferences, which may or may not give the same
responses as for sport preferences. (Knowing the number of
people who have answered the T/PSI as a life type questionnaire,
about 50% say that it is not how they are with sport, so I would
say there is not much correlation between them unless the athlete
answering the TAIS has be asked to do so referring to their
behaviours in a sport setting.)
Lastly, of the subscales drawn on the profile, are three subscales
to do with verbal expression. They are intellectual expression (IEX,
the degree to which an athlete feels inclined to share their ideas
with others), positive affect expression (PAE, the degree to which
an athlete offers encouragement or praise to others) and negative

Michelle Pain, PhD

affect expression (NAE, the degree to which an athlete offers

negative feedback criticism, constructive or otherwise) to others.
The original version of the TAIS (1976) ended here, but the revised
edition (in 1996) added two new subscales, focus over time (FOT,
referring to a persons willingness to put other distractions away in
order to concentrate on the task at hand) and performance under
pressure (PUP), and these arent drawn on the profile but are
written on the right hand side (along with the depression score). I
imagine that Shane Warne would score high on both these
subscales the number of times his private life was swirling in the
media and yet he managed to play brilliantly for Australia in spite
of it all!
The PUP subscale, I think, is almost the most valuable one there.
In our study of AFL football players, a certain subgroup scored
high on this subscale. They were either (or both) the captains of
the team, and/or players who won or scored high on individual
honours like Brownlow medals, Coleman medals, Rising Star
awards etc. It seems to be an excellent indicator of a champion
player.
Using the TAIS for selection

When Ive worked with a Club or an organisation to help with
selection of potential recruits, Ive had a conversation to discuss
the requirements of the task (ie. what are the qualities the

Michelle Pain, PhD

club/organisation thinks are important), including the relative

importance (ie. ranking and quantity of that characteristic
compared to others) and I then find combinations of TAIS
subscales that measure that quality.
For instance, if youre looking to recruit a midfielder, Id expect that

reading the play (BET-OET) would be a very important skill, and if
you want that person to be able to think laterally and strategise (if
things arent going well), then thinking (BIT-OIT) would be high
too. I would always want a player with a high performance under
pressure (PUP) score (probably more than any other TAIS quality).
If I wanted a good leader who leads by example (High P/O
together with Moderately-High CON minus low DEP), or who leads
by verbal commands and encouragement (High PAE together with
Moderately-High CON minus low DEP), I might look for a
combination of scores.
OK, now have a think about the personality requirements of the

sport you play/coach, specifically, a positional role (if you play in a
team), or for an individual sport. What helps a person excel in that
role? Write down a few characteristics here:
eg. archer who needs to gather lots of information and strategise
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

Now, look back over the description of the subscales and match
the subscale code (INFP, BCON, BET-OET etc) to the personality
characteristic you want to be measured by the TAIS.
eg. archer who needs to calculate wind speed, target distance etc
might need high INFP and high BIT-low OIT
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Alright, weve had a go at identifying the relevant personality

characteristics, but sometimes a role requires more of one quality
than another (ie. they are not equally important). In that case, there
are a few more steps...
I would prioritise these desired qualities, and then identify the
range of scores on each TAIS subscale (for each quality) that
classified a particular performer as being ideal (given a score of
5), excellent (a score of 4), good a score of 3), satisfactory (a
score of 2), not satisfactory (a sore of 1) and not at all ideal (a
score of 0). You should aim to end up with a numerical score that
allows you to compare one individual to another. This is true of
each quality is ranked equally important. If they are not, you ought
to consider a multiplier to influence the importance.

Michelle Pain, PhD

After discussions with the club or organisation about the relative

importance of each characteristic, the most important factor might
be given a 1, while the second and third factors are equally
ranked, and may be multiplied by a factor of 0.8, and the fourth
factor multiplied by 0.65, and the fifth factor multiplied by 0.4), and
then a single score would reflect how a particular potential recruit
compared to another potential recruit. This is the basis of objective
ranking based purely on the characteristics the club/organisation
believes will be important for the recruit to possess.
That is, if you identified five qualities that were important in a

particular role, and one was vital, and the next two factors were
very important (but equally so), and the next was less important
but useful, and the fifth factor was the least important, you might
have an equation like this (using the multipliers we mooted in the
previous paragraph, which are purely arbitrary for this example):
S = (PUP x 1.0) + ((BET-OET) x 0.8) + ((BIT-OIT) x 0.8) + ((P/O +
(CON - DEP) x 0.65) + (PAE + (CON DEP) x 0.4), where S
stands for the selected candidate
If you had to choose one candidate from a pool of 3 potential

players, which one might you select, using the formula we came
up with and given the following ratings for each of the five subscale
combinations?

Michelle Pain, PhD

Qualities
Player 1
Player 2
Player 3
PUP
BET-OIT
BIT-OIT
P/O & CON-DEP
PAE & CON-DEP
Here is the formula again:

S = (PUP x 1.0) + ((BET-OET) x 0.8) + ((BIT-OIT) x 0.8) + ((P/O +
(CON - DEP) x 0.65) + (PAE + (CON DEP) x 0.4)
Calculations:
For Player 1, (3 x 1) + (4 x 0.8) + (3 x 0.8) + (5 x 0.65) + (4 x 0.4)
= 3 + 3.2 + 2.4 + 3.25 + 1.6
= 13.45
For Player 2, (4 x 1) + (3 x 0.8) + (2 x 0.8) + (4 x 0.65) + (4 x 0.4)
= 4 + 2.4 + 1.6 + 2.6 + 1.6
= 12.2
For Player 3, (2 x 1) + (5 x 0.8) + (4 x 0.8) + (3 x 0.65) + (5 x 0.4)
= 2 + 4 + 3.2 + 1.95 + 2
= 13.15
So, based on these calculations, Player 1 would be preferred, then
Player 3, then Player 2. If, like at the AFL Draft Camp, a player
might be selected by another club before your club got a chance to
select them, then that player would be (literally) ruled out, and the
next best available player would then be due to be selected.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Fear of Failure
A fear of failure can drive some people to achieve and persist in
the face of challenge and adversity so that they are thought of as
being a successful athlete, but it can also lead to a lot of self doubt
and is generally an unpleasant state to be in for the duration of a
sporting career. At its most debilitating, fear of failure can cause
an athlete to underachieve in the face of high anxiety, leading an
athlete to a life of learned helplessness, where they dont feel in
control of their performance nor trust their feelings.
Success oriented people tend to be optimistic and they adopt a
proactive and positive orientation to tasks. They respond to
setbacks with optimism and enthusiasm. Failure avoiders are
usually anxious, and motivated by a fear of failure. They live in self
doubt and arent confident their hard work can avoid failure or
achieve success. These people are likely to be adversely affected
by setbacks, as they confirm their doubts about whether they can
avoid failure. Failure avoiders lack resilience. In response to a fear
of failure they may actively sabotage their chances of success (eg.
procrastination, or not trying hard enough, or not putting in the
hard work) so that they have an excuse at the ready if they dont
perform as well as others expect of them (as save face so they
can say that their ability is unchallenged, its just their aptitude that
is at fault). On the other hand, failure accepters are those who may

Michelle Pain, PhD

have started out as failure avoiders but now have developed

tendencies of learned helplessness. They are disengaged from
tasks to the point that they dont even try any more. They are
unmotivated and have no resilience.
According to the above model, with work supported by others,

there are two types of failure fearers. The over-striver avoids
failure by succeeding (as opposed to the success oriented person
who achieves in order to attain success). In an AFL example (and I
want to point out that he has never been a client of mine), I would
suggest that Glenn Archer (ex-North Melbourne Football Club
hard nut) falls into this category. Since retiring, Glenn has been
open about how playing football at the highest level was an
unpleasant experience for him, and that he never felt truly
competent, and was driven by a fear of failure. He says he often
vomited before matches because he was so worried about being
able to perform to the standards expected of him.

Michelle Pain, PhD

If over-strivers do not succeed, failure is seen as proof of their

suspected incompetence, and this leads them to develop selfprotection strategies (eg. blame others, find excuses etc). One way
self protectors avoid the implications of failure is by self
handicapping, where the athlete highlights the obstacles to
successful performance (eg. putting in reduced effort, reducing the
quality of training/practice, or procrastination). The other self
protection method is to set unrealistically low expectations prior to
competition.
So, how do we move toward a success orientation and leave fear
of failure behind? Four factors have been identified which promote
success orientation: Self belief; Value and relevance; Mastery (or
Learning) focus; and, Control. Well look at those in more detail.
Self belief is the athetes belief and confidence in their ability to do
well in the area that they set out to do well in; that they can meet
the challenges as they arise; and perform to the best of their
ability. Its often related to past performances. Those who have
succeeded in the past are most likely to think that success is not
far away in the future. Those high in self belief tend to generate
and try alternative courses of action when they dont meet with
initial success (ie. they have high levels of persistence).
Strategies to build self belief include breaking training up into small
units (chunking) so the athlete can experience small successes
along the way. Learning time management skills helps a person
feel more in control of their life, and thus feel more competent. To
build self belief, one has to remove or challenge negative thinking

Michelle Pain, PhD

(see earlier sections of this book regarding getting rid of your inner
leprechaun!). Finally, one should reduce emphasis on comparing
oneself against others and just use yourself as a yardstick to see
how much you have improved. This, after all, is something within
your own control.
When people see the relevance and usefulness of what they are
doing, they tend to be more engaged in the tasks, and therefore in
a stronger position to achieve. A coach can help here, by stressing
how the training drill is useful for the final skill to be used in
competition. Coaches ought to be a good role model by showing
that they value what they are teaching.
A mastery focus means the athlete is striving to improve by
working hard, learning more, and solving problems. The athlete is
doing a good job for its own satisfaction (not just for a reward at
the end, if they are lucky). Those who are mastery or learning
focused see their involvement in tasks as reflecting more on their
effort than their ability, and failure is viewed as diagnostic feedback
that can lead to later success. Emphasis on the outcome (ie. what
might possibly transpire as a result of success) is not a useful
strategy, as outcome is not always within the athletes sphere of
influence (ie. you cant control how well your opponent has trained,
or your opponents level of ability). It is far more productive to
concentrate on those things the athlete actually has control over,
and these are to do with effort, ability, strategy, and persistence.
Ways to improve a mastery or learning focus within a team is to
have an athlete pair up with another for peer tutoring, or use cooperative learning methods, or even collaborative learning.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Control refers to the extent to which people believe they are able
to avoid failure and achieve success. Those who believe they have
little or no control over the outcomes are increasingly uncertain as
to whether they can avoid failure or bring about success (because
to them it seems random), so they are more likely to engage in
counter productive behaviours (eg. not trying hard enough). A
sense of control is developed when there is focus on the
connection between the athletes effort (and strategy) and the
outcome, and goal setting is where I would start working with an
athlete like this. Finally, feedback that is task-based (ie. saying
specifically how the athlete can improve) enhances perceived
control, and more likely to lead to improvement.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Roles in supporting the athlete

The role of the sport psychologist
The sport psychologist exists in their relationship with the athlete
and coach in very much a subordinate role: the aim of the sport
psychologist is to make the athlete and coach look good (ie. work
with the athlete or coach so that he or she performs to the best
of their potential). You might be secretly very excited to be working
with a particular team or individual but you need to make sure that
excitement or awe doesnt compromise your effectiveness.
How do you know if the sport psychologist is effective?

Because a sport psychologist works with an athlete or coach on
their thinking patterns (ie. it all happens inside their head), its
difficult to demonstrate how effective a sport psychologists work
has been. This is particularly true if youve been given carte
blanche to work with athletes to get them in their best form
possible and the coach is not aware of the exact nature of your
work with a particular athlete (which is usually true due to the
confidentiality of your meetings with an athlete).
Some of my colleagues have recommended using a rating scale
during their session with the athlete. Upon ascertaining the issue
and getting agreement with the athlete as to the direction the
session will take, about 15 minutes before the end of the hour long
session (ie. so they mightve been working on that issue for 20

Michelle Pain, PhD

minutes or so by then), they would ask the athlete to rate whether

they thought the session was on track for addressing the issue (or
if they had been side tracked and are now talking about an issue
that is off topic). This solution might be good for measuring
effectiveness as a sport psychologist with a particular athlete, but it
doesnt really solve the issue of measuring effectiveness within a
team.
I would suggest, if you are hired by a coach or a sporting
organisation to work with a team that you discuss at the outset
what their expectations are for your involvement (including the
frequency and detail required to report during the year and the
level of confidentiality they would expect you to keep with your
clients). If you cannot negotiate a settlement that suits you both,
walk away. You dont need your reputation to be sullied in a very
small marketplace (ie. Clubs who can afford to and are prepared to
use a sport psychologist are small in number!). The important thing
is to be upfront at the beginning, so everything is transparent and
there is no perception of deception. (Perception is reality in many
peoples minds, and it is very difficult to alter a poor reputation,
even if untrue.)
Ive found, when working with a team, that about a third of the
team reckon they know it all and dont really want to talk with the
sport psychologist. About a third of the group are really keen to
see how a sport psychologist can help them, and are enthusiastic
about learning more, and about a third are willing to wait and see

Michelle Pain, PhD

what impact a sport psychologist might have for them. So, the way
I feel is that youve got about two thirds of the team on side, and I
would then try to do things that might educate the other third that
builds rapport and leaves the door open in case they change their
mind!
I would definitely recommend documenting the type of work you do
when working with a team. As a psychologist, I am required to
keep detailed notes on all of my clients, but those are made to be
kept in confidence (ie. for personal reference, and to be provided
in court if there is a subpoena). From those, however, I might want
to list the types of issues covered and their frequency (both
between, and within, individuals). For example, I might see one
athlete three times for an anxiety issue, and another three athletes
once for an anxiety issue (ie. same issue presented 6 times, but
for 4 different clients). Apart from the more clinical type of issues,
I would list the educational sessions I ran with the group, as well
as any other group sessions (ie. mid year or end of year reviews
etc) or specialty services (eg. assisting interpreting data from
personality tests, selection of players or coaching staff) to
demonstrate my value.
The role of the coach

The coach is the boss, as far as I am concerned, and the sport
psychologist works for the coach to help get everyone on the team
(whether were talking about an individual athlete and his or her
informal support network, or the number of players on a team,

Michelle Pain, PhD

other support staff etc) onto the same page. If the team is a large
one, there may be more than one assistant coach, but the head
coach is the boss because the teams performance ultimately rests
on their shoulders.
The coach is responsible for the team (or individual athletes)
technique or skill level, and decisions about strategy (eg. game
plan). Because the coach imparts expertise to an athlete (or group
of players), some of my best work as a sport psych has been to
help the coach frame the message. For instance, some members
of a team may not want to know all the background or reasoning to
a particular strategic decision, and really only want to know their
role and what their key performance indicators are at that time.
Other players may want to know everything. A coach has to pitch
the correct amount of information to a group of people that
satisfies the learning styles of individual players.
The best piece of advice I have is for coaches to keep match day
information to 3-4 points maximum, with perhaps one key work to
sum up each point written on the whiteboard. (By all means,
educate those players who want more information ahead of
match day with all the information they need, but keep it simple on
match day.)
Im not a big fan of the ra-ra type of revving up that might go on
pre-match (but then again, Im an extremely telic person which
youll know what that is if youve read my section on arousal

Michelle Pain, PhD

control), but you have to consider what it is that your team (or
athlete) needs, and pitch the message the way that suits them best
(and which leads to the best performance).
Consider perhaps that some members of the team may need a rara type of message (ie. the paratelics), and others would prefer a
reminder of key performance indicators (the telics). The coach
might deliver the 3-4 points well ahead of the start of the
match/competition (ie. over an hour before) and then the athlete
prepares him or herself in the way they prefer.
The paratelics might have lockers relatively close together, away
from the more telic team members because their style of
preparation will be quite different. Paratelics tend to enjoy more
larrikin behaviour or physical exertion (like bumping) to build
excitement prior to a match, whilst telics prefer to think on task
and be more chilled in their approach. Telics would probably prefer
to listen to their own music on headsets. (If you saw into the rooms
of the New Zealand All Blacks in their semi-final match against
Australia in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, this is exactly what
happened. I find it fascinating to watch the way in which teams
prepare for a major event.)
The role of game day support personnel

Support personnel might include assistant coaches, medical staff
(eg. doctors, physiotherapists, masseurs), trainers, strappers,
video analysts, scouts, team managers, drink runners, runners and

Michelle Pain, PhD

the sport psychologist would normally be part of this group.

Everyone would have a prescribed role to play on match day. For
an important match (like a Grand Final), all of the support
personnel should be making sure they are focused on doing their
job to the best of their ability (and not being caught up in the hype
of the day). Is what you are doing / thinking right now helpful to
your teams performance? is a great message to have up in the
rooms, to remind people to think and act on task and not to be
distracted.
The role of family members

Family members ought to be a cheer squad for an athlete, and
offer whatever material, financial or emotional support they (as a
family) decide they are able. It should be noted though, that many
elite athletes are unable to continue in their sport because their
parents arent able to continue supporting them at that level any
longer due to competing demands for resources (eg. money, time,
presence etc). When resources are scarce, priorities have to be
drawn up and maybe having an elite athlete in the family may not
be as important as all living in the same city together, or putting
food on the table. This is a fact of life, and often the athlete who
wins the championship may not necessarily be the most talented,
but is the one who perseveres the longest (due to the drop out of
his or her competitors) its just a fact of life.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Conflict over roles

Conflict doesnt exist if there is good communication and everyone
is in agreement about what is best for the athlete or team.
Everyone needs to be clear about their roles. If roles change over
time, new agreements ought to be reached so that the assumption
that everyone is happy still doing what they always did (or happy
doing the new role) applies.
I think what worries me more is the parent as coach relationship.
A parents role is to be a cheer squad member and the boundaries
can become blurred when a coach needs to be critical of the
athlete. If a parent is the coach, the child athlete needs to know the
parent is there for them first and foremost, and then the coach.
Other sources of information

Sport psychology techniques may be used in different ways by my
colleagues, so it may be worth Googling (sport psychology
resources) to see some excellent (and sometimes free!) resources
(http://www.appliedsportpsych.org/resource-center;
http://www.peaksports.com/free_newsletter.php although I
personally find this guy a bit too persistent in his marketing;
http://psych.la.psu.edu/undergrad/sports.html; and I like US sport
psychologist Karlene Sugarmans website for clarity
http://psych.la.psu.edu/undergrad/sports.html). One of my
favourites is www.competitivedge.com (and look on the left side for
newsletter sign up and archives). Sign up for the free email

Michelle Pain, PhD

newsletter. It gets sent out less regularly than a decade ago, but
the information in it is gold (and if you ignore all the buy me
prompts, you dont have to purchase anything). I really like Alan
Goldbergs site because he says things I would, so Im happy to
recommend it (even though he is an American!). His newsletters
are usually on a theme, and have three sections: one each for
parents, athletes and coaches based on that one theme. I could
spend ages looking through his archived newsletters theyre a
great resource.
If you are after theoretical (ie. research) topics, a good place to
look is at a journal called Athletic Insight
(http://www.athleticinsight.com/). The issues used to be free, but
now they are sold by subscription, but at least you can see the
Abstract and see who the authors were (and if so motivated, you
could be the detective and Google that author, noting the
institution where they worked, and perhaps you might see the list
of research papers they have published or get an email address to
contact them in person). Look at the Back Issues (left side of
screen) to see the sorts of topics addressed by sport psychologists
from around the world.
A great way to meet practicing sport psychologists in person is to
attend a sport psychology conference. Here, experts gather to
share information about their latest research and practice trends. I
run an annual sport psychology conference thats open to anyone
interested in sport (although it is pitched to practicing sport

Michelle Pain, PhD

psychologists). At the moment, the website is here

http://www.pocketpsychology.com.au/Pocket_Psychology/Confere
nce_details.html but these links get broken over time, so be
prepared to Google Victorian Sport Psychology Conference to
find the details in the future.
Lastly, many of Australias sport psychologists are based in tertiary
institutions (because its difficult to earn a full time living as a sport
psychologist), and they are usually very friendly and approachable
if you make a time to talk with them. I did that when I was at
secondary school, and Dr Christina Lee very graciously spent
about 30 minutes talking with me about the current state of sport
psychology in Australia. Each year, I answer about 30 emails (my
preferred mode of contact) from students from all around the
world, and Im generally happy to give back to the profession.

Michelle Pain, PhD

The dream
Fuel the dream
To get quality results, you have to give your body quality fuel to
live on. You have to get enough sleep, eat the right foods and
drink the right drinks, follow up on rehabilitation recommendations,
and take control of negative thoughts etc. If youre in it for the long
haul, you have to take responsibility for yourself.
I saw this on an email that does the rounds occasionally. I have no
idea who wrote it, but I like the sentiment and imagery.
A science teacher brought a big jar into the classroom and filled it
to the brim with large rocks and asked her class is the jar full yet?
and they thought it was. She then took a bucket of sand and tipped
it into the jar with the rocks in it, managing to put more into the jar
than the students thought possible. She then asked Is it full yet?
and they agreed it was. And then she tipped a bucket of water into
the jar with the rocks and sand, and emptied it into the jar. Now it
was finally full.
If the rocks represented all the things we thought were important to
us (that we need to do), and the sand represents the things we
should do, and the water represents the things that pop up
unexpectedly that we also take into account, we can actually fit a
lot more into our lives than we originally thought. If we fill our jar
with unimportant clutter, we tend to lead unfulfilled lives. Its

Michelle Pain, PhD

important for us to have a jar filled with the things that are
important to us, and the other stuff will either fit in around it, or be
tossed away (because its not as important as we thought it was).
Being an elite athlete is all about making priorities, and paying
attention to the things that matter.
Live the dream

You have the chance to do what you want to do. You spend a lot
of time following your dream (with training and all the associated
activities that go with being a committed athlete, including forgoing
having a normal life) so you need to make sure it is worth it. Enjoy
the process. Its fun being with like-minded, committed athletes
and coaches, all striving for excellence. Its all about the journey
who you meet and have a chance to be influenced by, over the
course of your sporting career. Its not just about the outcome (the
medals or trophies won); if it was, success would be fleeting. It is
about developing into a well rounded person who has compassion
and empathy for those who come after, and respect for those who
have gone on ahead of you.
Dont be overwhelmed by your opponents. They may be further
along the journey that you are, and besides, all you have to do is
be the best you can be, and not score yourself against any other
criteria. If youre getting every gram of talent out of your God-given
ability - that is the true measure of success.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Share your dream

Teamwork is really important. Rarely does a performer work truly
alone. Theres usually a coach, and perhaps there are others who
perform along side you, support staff (like trainers, fitness staff,
physios, psychologist, nutritionist etc) and family have usually
given support along the way too. Success is way sweeter when it
is shared with others. Take the time to let your early coaches know
how you are going, and how you appreciated them working with
you to help you become the athlete you are now. Lots of people
will have done their job well in order for you to have a crack at
experiencing success, and its important for your mental health to
acknowledge their efforts too.
When athletes retire, they often dont remember how they felt at
the time they won a particular trophy or medal. Its a bit of a blur.
But they can describe in great detail the characters they met along
the way their toughest competitors, or their most inspirational
team mates or supporters. Theyll remember that part of the
journal easily. Its the journey thats the most important part of a
persons sporting career, whether they get to be an elite athlete or
not, but its also very satisfying something no-one can ever take
away from you - knowing you are at the pinnacle of performances,
so thats why athletes strive to be the best.

Michelle Pain, PhD

Acknowledgements
I want to acknowledge the people whose shoulders I now stand
upon. I am tall only because of these people. I havent just arrived
out of the blue, and I am conscious of giving recognition to all
those who gave time to help me along the way (and there are
many). This book serves as a bit of an autobiography for me,
because it represents around 25 years experience as a sport
psychologist nearly my entire adult life!
Ive purposely chosen particular people to be around me as

mentors (whether they know it or not), and I recommend you do
the same. Actively seek out people who can help you. They dont
have to be from the same field of study or work people have all
sorts of skills they can offer, and most people are keen to pass on
their knowledge. Finally, be prepared to share your knowledge
because its really rewarding to see improvement in yourself and
others. Thats why were in sport, isnt it?

Michelle Pain, PhD

SISSCGP310A Workbook
Support athletes to adopt principles of sport psychology
Name:
Organisation:
Date __________________
NOTE If you are doing this workbook for assessment (as opposed
to personal interest), where the workbook asks you to use sport
psychology techniques you must base your answers on those of a
competing athlete or coach.
If you want your responses to be assessed for accuracy and/or

completeness by Dr Michelle Pain (for payment), please go to the
website (www.pocketpsychology.com.au) to confirm her availability
for assessing your work, and see the procedure for sending a copy
of your completed workbook. Do not send your original document.

I recommend printing off the SISSCGP310A Workbook so you can

write on the spaces provided. You may want to print up a few extra
of the last page if your answers take up more space than is
provided.

Michelle Pain, PhD

1. How does a sport psychologist work?

1.1 How would you explain the role of sport psychology in helping an
athlete reach their best performance?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Ive seen athletes try so hard they are their own worst enemy. They want it so
badly, and yet their performances are spiralling out of control. They just dont
understand it. No-one wants it as badly as them, yet its just not happening for
them when it matters most. Whats going on? This sort of thing happens
because the athlete has been heaping pressure on him- or herself. They
have a plan, but life just isnt following the plan... They feel out of control
feelings they dont really like, so its scary and it feels like theyll never be
talented again
1.2 What would you do with an athlete like this? Suggest some
strategies that you think might help them.
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______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

1.3 From your reading of newspapers or watching of television etc, who

do you think might benefit from talking with a sport psychologist?
Please give three names of athletes/players (and the sport/club) and say
why you think they might benefit from seeing a sport psychologist.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
1.4 Choose one of your examples of an athlete who would benefit from
working with a sport psychologist (above) and, from your reading of
Sport Psychology Tools for Every Coach and Athlete, suggest a couple
of strategies (if you were the sport psychologist) that you would you
employ in the treatment of this athlete? (ie. identify the methods of
psychological preparation you think might help them)
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

1.5. How would you know if an athlete was feeling unmotivated? What
sorts of behaviours might they exhibit? Who might encourage an athlete
feeling unmotivated to talk with a sport psychologist?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________
1.6 What could a person say to an athlete that might encourage them to
speak with a sport psychologist, if they (or the athlete) felt there was a
problem?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
1.7 What qualifications must a person go through in order to be called a

sport psychologist in Australia?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

2. Communication
2.1 Give an example of how positive feedback has helped your
performance. Why did it affect you that way?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2.2 Give an example of how positive feedback has hindered your
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2.3 Give an example of how negative feedback has helped your
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2.4 Give an example of how negative feedback has hindered your
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2.5 Regarding communication style, describe how an athlete and coach
should discuss the athletes strategy for playing in a match or
competing in an event.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2.6 What would the coach do or say to make the communication

inappropriate to the setting? Give two examples.
______________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

2.7 If you were the sport psychologist for a team, how would you
encourage a nervous player to speak to the coach if the player wasnt
sure of their long term future at the club?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
2.8 The only way to know if an athlete should see a sport

psychologist is by asking that athlete. True or false? Give
reasons for your answer.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
2.9 What an athlete says is more important than how they say
it. True or false? Give reasons for your answer.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
2.10 The sport psychologist suggests strategies to the athlete without
regard to the athletes personal situation (eg. strengths and
weaknesses). True or false? Give reasons for your answer.

Michelle Pain, PhD

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Implementing sport psychology techniques
3.1 Create a relaxation sound file
Lie down, or sit, somewhere comfortably. Take a deep breath, and fill your
lungs more than you usually would in your day-to-day life(wait a second or
two more)then breathe out. Keep breathing slowly as you now tense your
forehead. Squish it right up so you have deep furrows in your brow, and you
are screwing your eyes right up. Hold it like this for a few more seconds.and
now relax. Notice the difference in how your muscles feel right now, now that
they are relaxed. Keep breathing slowly. Now I want you to clench your jaw.
Show your teeth and tense your jaw and neck. Hold it there a few more
secondsand now relaxmove your lips and mouth, roll your head slowly in
a circle, first one way, then the nextnotice how it feels to be more relaxed in
your jaw and neck.
Now I want you to work on your fingers, hands and arms. Make tight fists,
bend your elbows towards you, and tense your biceps, triceps and forearms
all at the same time. Breath slowly and hold it for a few seconds more.and
now un-tense those muscle groups wiggle your fingers - and notice how it
feels to be more relaxed in those muscles.
Keep breathing slowly, and now tense your stomach and lower back
muscles. Hold it a bit longerand now relax.
Continue to breath in and out slowly. Tense your buttocks now.hold it a few
more secondsand now relax those muscles.
Tense your quadriceps (muscles on the front of your upper leg) now, as well
as your calf muscles. Tense them uphold it for a few more seconds.now

Michelle Pain, PhD

relax them. Feel how it should be when you feel relaxed there. Finally, curl
your toes and tense them too. Hold it.and now relax.
Now that youve tensed all parts of your body in turn, take a moment to
analyse what part of your body still feels tension. If you still feel tense in any
muscle group, just tense it consciously, and then consciously un-tense it, so
you feel relaxed there too. Your body should feel a little heavy, but relaxed.
Keep breathing slowly, in and out.
For this project, find a way to record your own relaxation sequence so that
you can play it and listen to it back. You need to make sure you read much
slower than you usually speak. Its meant to be a calming experience, so take
your time and speak clearly.
You may have a recording app on your phone, or you might like to investigate
using a microphone (or headset and microphone) and computer, logging into
the website at Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) or equivalent
software. Save the output so you could put it on your phone, iPod or mp3
player.

Michelle Pain, PhD

4. Dealing with your internal voice

4.1 Countering (General messages)
Youre not good enough to be here (Now you have a go at countering this
message)
______________________________________________________________
Youre only going to stuff it up
______________________________________________________________
Youll never be any good
______________________________________________________________
4.2 Countering (Sport-specific messages)
Create an example for your sport here:
(Original) Negative message
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Now, counter your negative message with something more positive:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
(Optional) If you are in a group right now, turn to the person next to you and
discuss your example and why you think it will be effective. Do they have any
constructive criticism for you to make your words more effective? Is there a
better way to phrase that?

Michelle Pain, PhD

5. Visualisation
5.1 Use your sport, or one known to you, and identify when during the
performance one might use internal visualisation and external
visualisation.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
6. Key words and images

6.1 What skills or qualities would you most like to improve in yourself?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
6.2 Now, what word or picture sums up that skill or quality for you,
which you could recall at appropriate times that would make you feel
more confident and competent (because you imagine having that quality
or skill as a result of saying that word to yourself or imagining that
picture)?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

7. Precompetition routines
7.1 Here is a script that you might adapt for your sport. Its in five phases:
the first and second phases aim to develop a more deeply relaxed frame of
mind; the third phase introduces the skill with the view to rehearsing a
successful outcome; the fourth phase shows the skill being integrated with the
rest of the game; and, the fifth phase uses key words to leave the athlete
feeling empowered. Notice the extensive use of sensations that occur in a
visualisation exercise. For visualisation to appear more real to us (and be
more effective as a tool to help us perform better), we try to incorporate as
many of the five senses (ie. seeing, hearing, taste, touch and smell) as
possible. Look at this example and make a note of where the senses are
brought into the visualisation process.
Phase 1
Close your eyes, and begin by taking three deep breaths. Inhale
deeply, and exhale slowly inhale deeply, and exhale slowly inhale deeply,
and exhale slowly. Good now just relax let yourself go, and no matter
how deeply relaxed you become, you will always be in control and able to
respond to anything that you choose to respond to you will remember
everything
Begin to concentrate on your right arm Raise your right arm so it is in
the air a little open your hand with your palm facing upwards good
Now pay attention to the feelings in your upper arm in your forearm in
your hand in your fingers. Notice any sensations that might be occurring in
your right arm you might notice the weight of your clothing or its texture
where it touches your skin you might have a tingling sensation in your hand
and fingers just observe the feelingsNow, notice the heaviness that
occurs in your right arm as you exhale just relax, and notice the feeling of
comfortable, relaxed heaviness that develops in your right arm as you
exhale
Take your left arm and position it so it is in the air like your right arm
Make a slight bend in your left wrist goodnow pay attention to the feelings

Michelle Pain, PhD

in your left hand. Notice as you inhale how your left hand begins to feel
lighter just relax, and notice as you inhale how your hand begins to feel
lighter, as if it wants to lift upYou can create different feelings in your hands
if you want to all you have to do is find the right images. Do that now Pay
attention to your right hand again. Imagine you have a small weight attached
to your wrist, and the weight is pulling your hand down, making it heavier and
heavier with each breath you exhale and heavier and heavier Just let
yourself goGood take a moment to experience that heaviness (wait 15
seconds). Now, get rid of that image and let the feelings of heaviness
goThis time, pay attention to your left arm imagine you have a helium
balloon attached to your left wrist Imagine that each time you inhale, the
balloon is gently pulling your wrist up a little more, making your arm lighter
and lighter lighter and lighter. Good. Just let yourself go Good take a
moment to experience that lightness (wait 15 seconds). Now, get rid of that
image and let the feelings of lightness go
Phase 2
Good. Now just relax. If your left or right arm has moved, just settle
yourself into a comfortable position. As your arm settles down, you will feel
very comfortable. You can increase this pleasant feeling by counting down
from one to five With every count, you will become more deeply relaxed. No
matter how deeply relaxed you become, however, you will always be in
controlOnerelax all of the muscles in both your arms, in the fingers,
hands, forearms, and upper arms. Just completely relax those
muscles and enjoy the pleasant feeling of heaviness that occurs as you
exhale and sink deeper and deeper. Two relax the muscles in both
legsrelax the muscles in your feet and toes relax the muscles in your
calves relax the muscles in your thighs Just completely relax all the
muscles in both your arms and your legs, and notice how you exhalethe
pleasant sensation of drifting down deeper and deeperinto a deep hypnotic
state. Threerelax all your muscles in your foreheadcheeksand jaw
Let your mouth open slightly as you relax the muscles in your jawFour
relax the muscles in your neck and your shoulders Just completely relax,
deeper and deeper.and deeperFive relax the muscles in your chest

Michelle Pain, PhD

and your back and your stomach. Relax all your muscles and enjoy the
pleasant sensations of being so deeply relaxedFor the next minute or two,
just let yourself gowith each exhale, drift down deeper and deeper That's
good. (wait 30 seconds)
Phase 3
Now, I want you to imagine you are about to _________(insert your
skill here) As you prepare to ________(do this skill), look to ________
(think of somewhere a little distance away that makes sense to your sport eg.
where you want the ball to land; 50m away if crouching for a sprint start etc)
You have soft eyesyou are feeling focused and calmyou know
what you have to do . At the same time, you are aware of everything around
you You can see everything As you prepare, you decide on your
strategy you make up your mind that you are going to _________ (insert
your strategy here), to __________ (insert first part of strategy here)You
feel _________ (insert relevant body sensation here eg. the ball in your hand;
your knee resting on the track etc) you can feel __________ (insert
sensations here eg. the texture and weight of the ball, the sun on your back
etc)You can feel ________ (insert a bit more detail here eg. the seams
where there isn't any fuzz; the smoothness of the leather etc). Notice the
feeling of________ (insert even more detail relevant to your sport eg. your
racquet in your hands as you grip it; the space around your fingers as you grip
the bowling ball etc) Notice how______ (eg. tightly you hold it, how it feels
against your palm) and your fingertips
Pay attention to your bodys weight distributionnotice how ______
(insert body movement that would occur immediately before you start to
perform the skill eg. your centre of mass shifts toward your front foot as you
bounce the ball and prepare to serve; you settle your hips back into the blocks
and lean forward with the weight mostly balanced on your thumb and
forefinger etc) You feel very comfortable and balanced.
Now, as you ____ (insert start of performance here eg. begin your toss;
breath out deeply, waiting for the gun to go off etc), your attention narrows
and you focus on the spot where ______ (insert focus point here eg. you are

Michelle Pain, PhD

tossing the ball; the point on the line between your fingers etc) As your
concentration narrows, you ________ (insert the moment of truth point here
eg. see the ball come into view very clearly; hear the gun go off; feel your foot
making connection with the ball - Put some more detail here eg. You see the
ballit's colour you see it rotate.)
As you _________ (insert start of performance here eg. watch the ball,
start to become upright from the starting position), you ________ (insert the
follow through here eg. feel your racquet coming through; you feel your legs
blast out of the blocks and you smoothly drive and move to upright running
stance etc. Describe the movement and follow through in more detail here.
eg. You can see it make contact with the ball, and you can feel your weight
and your centre of mass transferring, moving forward, coming through at the
moment your racquet contacts the ball) Now you feel _______ (eg. the
follow-through of your racquet, your legs pounding rhythmically).
Quickly, your attention broadens again and you see ______(eg. the
whole court, your competitors around you) and you hear (eg. the roar of the
crowd).
You can feel yourself re-centre as you bring your legs under you. You
feel balanced and centered. You are ready to move in any direction
Phase 4
Good. Now lets just imagine you (performing in your sport) where
things can happen at their regular speedlet your imagination go get
completely involved You will feel and see everything as if you were actually
performing in competition. You will feel confident in control You'll find it
easy to move and get into position, to feel your weight move into correct
positionYou seem to have all the time in the world to prepare you just
know you can do anything you want Just let yourself enjoy all of the feelings
and sensations that come with playing 'in the zone'(wait 30 seconds)

Michelle Pain, PhD

Phase 5
GoodIn a moment, it will be time to leave this pleasant stateBefore
you do, however, you need to know that you can create the feelings that you
have now when you are playing 'in the zone' whenever you want to You will
be able to do this yourself by taking a deep centering breath, inhaling
deeply attending to the expansion of muscles in your abdomen as you
inhale As you exhale,relax the chest, neck and shoulder muscles, and
say "___________ and __________" (insert your two key words here)
Remember, whenever you want to settle yourself down and to improve your
concentration you simply take a deep, centering breath Then, on the
exhale, you say to yourself "___________ and __________" (insert your two
key words here).
Imagine you are going through this process right now imagine you
are about to ______ (eg. kick for goal, serve in a match)you can feel the
pressureyou notice you are a little tight in the neck and shoulders, and that
you are gripping the _______ (eg. ball, racquet) a little too tightlyyou are
worried about _____ (eg. making the distance, your accuracy, coming out of
the blocks cleanly) Feel the pressure Now, look _________ (eg. at the
court, at the goals, across the net, or into the distance) As you look there,
take that deep centering breath and as you breath out you say to yourself
"___________ and __________" (insert your two key words here).
At the end of the exhale, notice that you have soft eyes you see
____ (eg. all the area around you, the whole court)... you feel comfortable
Take one more centering breath and repeat your phrase just before you
____(eg. begin your ball toss, get down on the blocks, begin your run up)
Then, as your concentration narrows you focus on the spot where you are
_____ (eg. tossing the ball, intending on taking your first step out of the
blocks) Just give yourself some time to practice thisfeeling the tension
and taking your deep breath, saying your words, and noticing how much more
calm and confident you feel(wait for 30 seconds).
Alrightit's time to return to your normal activitiesto do that, count
backwards from three to one On the count of three, take a deep breath,

Michelle Pain, PhD

holding it momentarilyOn the count of twostretch your arms and your legs
and exhaleOn the count of one, open your eyes and you will be wide
awake ready to do things you normally do at this time you're feeling
good comfortable. and relaxed.
Ready?threetake a deep breathtwo stretch your arms and
legs and exhaleoneopen your eyes, wide awake.
Go through this script and make changes that are relevant to you and
your sport. Where I have written in normal type, this is for you to add
information relative to your sport (so you wouldnt read that out if you were
reading it back!). It would be a good idea (once your script is in order) to
record your own script again, speaking slowly and clearly, and perhaps if
you are very sophisticated, using relaxing background music playing I the
background! using your devices or through the Audacity website
(http://audacity.sourceforge.net/).
8. Arousal control
8.1. On a rating scale of 1 9 (where 1 represents very telic and 9 represents
very paratelic), circle the number that best reflects your preference for
arousal.
Very Telic
1
Flexible
2
Very Paratelic
6
(Optional) If you are with a team, estimate where your team mates fall on this
scale too. Write their initials below the numbers to signify your estimation of
their arousal preference.
Very Telic
1
Flexible
2
Very Paratelic
6

Michelle Pain, PhD

8.2 Complete the T/PI , following the instructions for answering the
questions, and for scoring the inventory.
Telic/Paratelic Instrument (Pain, 2011)
Instructions: Think back to a time when you performed well, or better than you
expected, and try to think specifically how you prepared yourself for that
competition. Circle the number that best represents how you remember
feeling at the time.
Not at all true of me
Very true of me

1

1


1
1

Michelle Pain, PhD

Use the Scoring Sheet to calculate your T/PI score. Use the position of your
circled response on the Instrument to identify the score for each item, them
total the 12 items to get your T/PI score.
Telic/Paratelic Instrument Scoring Sheet

6


1
6
8.3 What is your score on the T/PI? ___________
8.4 Circle the classification relevant to your score.

Extremely telic
Telic
Paratelic
Extremely paratelic

Michelle Pain, PhD

8.5 Do you agree with your classification? Does it agree with your
ranking?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
8.6 What does this score say about your optimal state of arousal?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
(Optional) If you are with a team, check your team mates scores. Comment
on whether their scores fit your predictions of where they would fit on the 9
point rating scale, and whether they though the T/PI correctly classified them
as being Telic or Paratelic. If it doesnt, suggest why this might be the case.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
8.7 What are the symptoms you might associate with being under
aroused (ie the left side of the Inverted U hypothesis, or the bottom left
side of the Reversal Theory diagram)?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

8.8 Name some songs you might put on a playlist to help you feel more
excited if you recognised that you were under aroused.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
8.9 If you felt you needed to become more motivated, what strategies
could you take to change how you felt (to put yourself in your optimal
arousal state)?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
8.10 What are the symptoms you might associate with being over
aroused (ie the right side of the Inverted U hypothesis, or the bottom
right side of the Reversal Theory diagram)?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
8.11 Name some songs you might put on a playlist to help you feel more
relaxed if you recognised that you were over aroused.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
8.12 If you felt you needed to become more relaxed, what strategies
could you take to change how you felt (to put yourself in your optimal
arousal state)?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

9. Goal setting
9.1 What are S-M-A-R-T goals?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
9.2 Write down the (SMART) goals you want to achieve that are into the
future (ie 5 or more years away). These are your long term goals.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
9.3 Now, what goals do you want to achieve within 3 years, ones that
you wont complete in the next 12 months? These are medium term
goals.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
9.4 What are the goals you want to achieve in the next 12 months?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Michelle Pain, PhD

9.5 Read over your list of long, medium and short term goals, and put an
asterisk (*) next to any goals listed that are extremely important to you.
9.6 Is there a theme to those youve asterisked? (ie Are they mostly
sport-related goals, or non-sport-related goals, or a mix?)
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9.7 What motivates you to attain your goals?
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9.8 What is the relationship between goals and motivation? (Hint: Think
of the rubber band example, and the benefit of identifying SMART
goals.)
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9.9 How can having (SMART) goals affect performance for an athlete?
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9.10 Identify 8 key performance indicators (KPIs) for your role in your
sport.
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Michelle Pain, PhD

9.11 Put each KPI onto a spoke on the spider web profile and then rate
yourself on each of the KPIs (with a score toward the centre indicating
unsatisfactory and a score toward the outer ring indicating superior).
(Optional) Ask a coach or respected other to rate you on the same

qualities (spokes) and draw up the spider web in different coloured
pens. Comment on the discrepancy (or otherwise) of both scores on a
particular quality.
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Michelle Pain, PhD

9.12 Print off the Achievement Management Plan (over the page).
identify a general sporting goal you may have.
9.13 Break the general skill into its smallest components, and write the
SMART subgoals down in chronological order (ie in the order in which
you carry out that skill), starting from beginning to end. That is, if you
executed each step correctly, youd have a perfect execution overall and the
skill would be one you might see in an elite athlete.
9.14 Divide the small cells with a diagonal ( / ). For each subgoal, pick
out a realistic expected value to start with (based on your current level
of fitness or skill etc), and put the expected value on the right side of the
diagonal ( / E).
9.15 After training has occurred (or competition), evaluate how you went
(ie. to give you your actual value, which goes in front of the diagonal ( A
/ E).
9.16 Look at the difference between the A and E values and create new E
values. If A is equal to or exceeds E, make E a tougher target in the next
round. If A is a little less than E, perhaps consider making E a little tougher, or
keeping it the same in the next round. If A is much less than E, you will need
to reduce your target to make it easier to be attain in the next round. Fill the
page (ie 8 sessions of either training or competition). If you get to 100% in a
cell three times consecutively, you can stop recording that sub-skill in the
future. If you dont have time to do this over a number of weeks in a real life
situation, create a hypothetical (made up) scenario. Include examples where
you havent reached your target for a particular subgoal, or have become
injured, and show how youve needed to modify your expectations.

Michelle Pain, PhD


Michelle Pain, PhD

10. Organisational Policies and Procedures, and

the Sport Psychologist as Support Personnel
10.1 What does confidentiality mean for a sport psychologist?
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10.2 Why is confidentiality an issue when working with an athlete who is
a member of a team?
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Michelle Pain, PhD

10.3 List the types of support personnel that currently work with one of
Australias national teams. What roles do they perform in the support of
the players?
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10.4 Support staff (other than the sport psychologist) might be the first
person to identify that an athlete may have an issue that a sport
psychologist would be best equipped to help with. Give an example
where this might happen.
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Michelle Pain, PhD

10.5 If you worked as a sport psychologist with a team, according to the

teams organizational policies and procedures, who would you be
entitled to speak with about a players fitness to play if you were
treating that player as a client? Tick all that apply:
o
Anyone you wished, with the permission of the player/client
The media
The coach
The players manager (without the permission of the player)
The players family (eg. partner, parents etc)
The players parents (if the client is under 16 years of age)
The players parents (if the client is over 16 years of age)
The medical personnel associated with the team
The opposition
10.6 Give an example of how, if you were working as a sport

psychologist, you might confirm that your athlete/client understood the
strategies you were trying to teach them.
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10.7 Give an example of how, if you were working as a sport
psychologist, you might encourage your athlete/client to clarify the
issue if you were on the wrong tangent.
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10.8 If your athlete/client was very stressed, would you expect them to
remember lots of details of the strategy you (as a sport psychologist)
devised? What could you do about that?
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Michelle Pain, PhD

10.9 Give a specific example of organisational policies and procedures

that might apply for a sport psychologist when working with an athlete
or team:
Code of Conduct (ie team rules)
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Duty of care (first, do no harm)

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Occupational health and safety (ensuring the safety of the athlete)

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Michelle Pain, PhD

10.10 Think of some barriers that might prevent an athlete speaking with
a sport psychologist about an issue (eg. culture, gender, personality)
and choose one to say how you (as the sport psychologist) might
address this, so the athlete felt more comfortable seeking your help.
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10.11 Think of some psychological barriers that might prevent an athlete
speaking with a sport psychologist about an issue (eg. psychological
disorders like depression or anxiety). How would an athlete/client with
either depression or anxiety behave or what symptoms might you
expect them to feel? (You may need to Google this one!)
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Michelle Pain, PhD

10.12 Suggest how you might evaluate the effectiveness of a sport

psychologist.
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Michelle Pain, PhD

11. Sources of sport psychology information

11.1 Choose a sport psychology topic and Google to find out more
about it. Write down at least three different websites where that topic is
discussed (either techniques, or research methods).
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11.2 Referring to your answer to 11.1, what are the authors names and
who are they affiliated with?
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11.3 Identify a podcast with sport psychology content. Chose a topic
that matches the one selected in 11.1. Who is the author (or guest
speaker / expert) of the podcast? How recently was it broadcast? Is it a
regular series, or a one off?
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If you want your responses to be assessed by Dr Michelle Pain (for payment),
please go to the website (www.pocketpsychology.com) to confirm availability,
and see the procedure for sending a copy of your completed workbook.

Michelle Pain, PhD

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Sport

Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 1

Sport Psychology Tools

Michelle D. Pain, PhD

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 2

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 3

ROLES IN SUPPORTING THE ATHLETE ............................................................ 123

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 4

Later, as a qualified postgraduate student, I really appreciated

Being a sport psychologist for over 25 years, I have recommended

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 5

I make no apologies for the conversational style of this text. Im

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 6

If a person wanted to complete the exercises in this book to pass a

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 7

affordable resources may be purchased from my website,

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 8

What is Sport Psychology?

Usually, my clients are happy to see a sport psych. They are

Sport psychologists all the ones I know, at least work mostly

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 9

behaviours (ie. that will lead to improvement in performances and

There is a new movement (since 1999) that is quite attractive to

I have also used a Humanistic approach, when I employed

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 10

So those thoughts reflect my philosophies. My primary aim is to

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 11

Ive seen a saying on a wall that says (something like), if we keep

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 12

of control. They just dont understand it. No-one wants it as badly

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 13

In the next part of the book, Im going to look at a range of

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 14

Mental preparation skills

As a general strategy, I go right back to basics. I teach a person to

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 15

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 16

Continue to breath in and out slowly. Tense your buttocks

OK, so that exercise starts to make the athlete aware of muscle

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 17

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 18

Getting Rid of Negative Messages

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 19

Its difficult to ignore the negative messages, so the best way to

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 20

Now, counter your negative message with something more

The idea is that you (or, in my case, Id instruct my client) sit on a

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 21

trying to do is move the weight in a clockwise direction without

I use a visualisation technique to help me here when I do this

Those people that can achieve clockwise movement might be

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 22

OK, assuming youve got movement without moving your arm or

This example demonstrates the power of the mind. It has

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 23

On a more global scale, the clearly visualised outcome might be

Internal and external visualisation

A lot of research was conducted into these two types of

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 24

I would be using external visualisation (as though I was watching

Imagery for healing

Sport Psychology Tools For Every Coach and Athlete 25

Another area where imagery is very important is in the aftermath of

The golden ball is imagined to be quite large to begin with (eg.