ABSTRACT
Athletes use psychological skills such as imagery and relaxation to decrease stress, cope with competitive anxiety, and achieve an optimal state of arousal. There is conflicting literature on how team and individual sport athletes use these skills, with some saying that individual sport athletes have better capabilities and others saying team sport athletes use imagery more frequently. The current study analyzed sport type differences in the use of relaxation and performance imagery among NCAA Division I (DI) athletes. This study included 117 NCAA DI athletes, including team sport (n = 72) and individual sport (n = 45). Participants completed a modified version of The Deliberate Relaxation for Sport Survey through Qualtrics. Results indicated there is a statistically significant difference in the type of relaxation technique used based on the individual's sport type. Team sport athletes used muscle relaxation (p = 0.034), eastern relaxation (p = 0.014), and stretching (p = 0.020) more frequently than individual sport athletes. Additionally, individual sport athletes used performance imagery more often for mental focus than team sport athletes (p = 0.012). There were no differences between sport types in the level of deliberate practice of relaxation and performance imagery. Athletes used a variety of methods to learn both imagery and relaxation skills and have been using these for an average of four years. The majority of participants (n = 67) did not work with a sport psychology professional, but their school has one. This study supports the use of individualized intervention programs to help athletes use relaxation and imagery in the most effective ways for their performances.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Tometz, MJ, Jevas, SA, Esposito, PM, and Annaccone, AR. Validation of internal and external load metrics in NCAA D1 women's beach volleyball. J Strength Cond Res 36(8): 2223-2229, 2022-The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of internal and external load metrics in NCAA D1 women's beach volleyball. Subjects included 13 NCAA D1 women's beach volleyball players (age: 20.3 ± 1.4 years). A total of 578 data points were analyzed from 51 team training sessions, including practice, games, and sport-specific conditioning during the pre-season semester (15 weeks). Data points included Edward's training impulse (TRIMP) (228.0 ± 80.7 arbitrary units [AU]), session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) Load (532.5 ± 232.8 [AU]), distance covered (DC) in meters (2,635.4 ± 884.3 [m]), and daily environmental condition variables {(temperature (76.5 ± 13.7 [°F]), relative humidity (72.5 ± 13.2 [%]), and wet-bulb globe temperature (52.9 ± 19.9 [°F])}. The subjects wore Polar Team Pro heart rate monitors with global positioning system during each session. Subjects completed an sRPE questionnaire after every session. Pearson product moment correlations yielded statistically significant relationships (p < 0.01) between TRIMP and sRPE Load (r = 0.81), TRIMP and DC (r = 0.78), and sRPE Load and DC (r = 0.82). A forward selection multiple regression yielded that sRPE Load could predict TRIMP with the equation: TRIMPTometz = 78.735 + (sRPE Load * 0.28) (p < 0.001). These findings support sRPE Load as a valid alternative to TRIMP when monitoring internal loads in NCAA D1 women's beach volleyball. Session rating of perceived exertion Load may be more practical and accessible for teams. Distance covered should be considered when periodizing and monitoring training loads because of its relationship with internal loads.
