Abstract
There are several important factors that determine the extent to which a professional or an amateur elite athlete achieves sporting excellence. Most important among these are physical skills (coordination, agility, speed), the degree of physical fitness (strength, endurance), and technical skills related to the sport in which the athlete participates (kicking, catching, foul-shooting). In team sports, an athlete’s performance also depends largely on team cooperation skills (blocking, being given the ball when a good opportunity arises, unselfish play). One factor that is now becoming increasingly recognized as critical to individual and team performance is the athlete’s mental approach (attitudes, skills). Coaches and athletes alike in all sports are learning that talented athletes and winning teams who finish first have a mental approach that is different from athletes who never quite make it, teams that finish second.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bell, K. F. (1980).The nuts and bolts of psychology for swimmers. Austin, TX: Keith Bell.
Bell, K. F. (1983).Championship thinking. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Desiderato, O., & Miller, I. B. (1979). Improving tennis performance by cognitive behavior modification techniques.Behavior Therapist,2, 9.
Ellis, A. (1962).Reason and emotion in psychotherapy. Secaucus, NJ: Lyle Stuart.
Ellis, A. (1973).Humanistic psychotherapy: The rational-emotive approach. New York: McGraw- Hill.
Ellis, A. (1979). The theory of rational-emotive therapy. In A. Ellis & J. M. Whitely (Eds.),Theoretical and empirical foundations of rational-emotive therapy, (pp. 33–60). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Ellis, A. (1982). Self direction in sport and life.Rational Living,17, 26–23.
Ellis, A., & Abrahms, E. (1978).Brief psychotherapy in medical and health practice. New York: Springer.
Ellis, A., & Becker, I. (1982).A guide to personal happiness. North Hollywood, CA: Wilshire Books.
Ellis, A., & Grieger, R. (Eds.). (1977).Handbook of rational-emotive therapy. New York: Springer.
Ellis, A., & Harper, R. A. (1975).A new guide to rational living. North Hollywood, CA: Wilshire Books.
Gallwey, T., & Kriegal, B. (1977).Inner skiing. New York: Bantam.
Gologor, E. (1979).Psychodynamic tennis. New York: Morrow.
Gravel, R., Lemieux, G., & Ladouceur, R. (1980). Effectiveness of a cognitive behavioral treatment package for cross country ski racers.Cognitive Therapy and Research,4, 83–89.
Jacobson, E. (1942).You must relax. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kauss, D. R. (1980).Peak performance: Mental game plans for maximizing your athletic potential. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Klinger, E., Barta, S. G., & Glas, R. A. (1981). Thought content and gap time in basketball.Cognitive Therapy and Research,5, 109–114.
McCluggage, D. (1977).The centered skier. New York: Bantam.
Meyers, A., Schleser, R., Cooke, C., & Cuviller, C. (1979). Cognitive contributions to the development of gymnastic skills.Cognitive Therapy and Research,3, 75–85.
Nicklaus, J., & Bowden, K. (1974).Golf my way. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Nideffer, R. M. (1976).The inner athlete: Mind plus muscle for winning. New York: Crowell.
Nideffer, R. M. (1977).Test of attentional and interpersonal style. San Diego, CA: Enhanced Performance Associates.
Orlick, T. (1980).In pursuit of excellence. Ottowa: Coaching Associates of Canada.
Orlick, T. Beyond excellence. (1982). In T. Orlick, J. T. Partington, & J. H. Salmela (Eds.).Mental training for coaches and athletes. Ottowa: Coaching Association of Canada.
Rushall, B. S. (1979).Psyching in sport. London: Pelham.
Shelton, T., & Mahoney, M. (1978). The content and effect of “psyching up”: Strategies in weight lifters.Cognitive Therapy and Research,2, 275–284.
Simek, T. C., & O’Brien, R. M. (1951).Total golf. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
The Diagram Group. (1982).The brain: A user’s manual. New York: Berkley.
Tutko, T., & Tosi, U. (1976).Sports psyching. Los Angeles: Tarcher.
Unestahl, L. E. (1982).Better sport by IMT: Inner mental training. Orebro, Sweden: Veje.
Waitley, D. (1979).The psychology of winning. Chicago: Conant, 1979.
Weinberg, R., Gould, D., & Jackson, A. (1980). Cognition and motor performance. Effect of psyching up strategies on three motor tasks.Cognitive Therapy and Research,4, 239–245.
Wessler, R. (1980). How to play golf under pressure.Rational Living,15, 21–24.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1985 Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bernard, M.E. (1985). A Rational-Emotive Mental Training Program for Professional Athletes. In: Ellis, A., Bernard, M.E. (eds) Clinical Applications of Rational-Emotive Therapy. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2485-0_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2485-0_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9506-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-2485-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive