Unlocking Sports Potential: An Analysis of Current Trends and Future Directions in Sports Psychological Skills Training
Abstract
In competitive sports, athletes' excellent performance depends not only on technology, tactics and physical fitness, but also on their psychological state and psychological skills. As an important part of the scientific training system, psychological skills training (PST) plays an irreplaceable role in improving athletes' competitive performance. This paper employs a multi-method approach, including literature review from CNKI and Google Scholar, expert interviews with coaches engaged with teams, and statistical analysis using SPSS. Data is sourced from articles on athlete psychological training. The results show that psychological skills are one of the key factors for elite athletes to achieve good results in world-class events. At present, relevant research mainly focuses on the effectiveness and training methods of psychological skills training, but there are still many deficiencies in theoretical construction, evaluation mechanism and practical application, such as weak theoretical guidance, the scientificity and systematicity of training effect evaluation need to be strengthened, and the coaches and athletes still pay insufficient attention to psychological training. Looking to the future, research should further deepen the theoretical basis of the psychological skills training system, expand the dimensions of training effect evaluation, pay attention to the maintenance and transfer mechanism of training results, and promote the integration and practical innovation of cross-cultural and localized paths. This paper aims to systematically sort out the current research status, analyze the existing problems, and explore the possible direction of future development, so as to provide theoretical support and practical reference for building a more scientific, systematic and practical sports psychological skills training system. Psychological skills training, as a key link in improving sports performance, should be systematically implemented under scientific guidance to promote the comprehensive development of athletes and the continuous improvement of their competitive level.
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