Mental Training: A Study Concerning the Effects of Mental Training on NCAA Division III Swimmers at Goucher College

Abstract

This purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of mental training on 9 Division II swimmers ages 19-22. A one group pretest-post test design was used and found that racing time was not improved by mental training. A self-evaluation questionnaire that measured positive or negative mental states did reveal that positive item responses were correlated modestly with swimming performance and did increase after mental training. A swimmer’s feeling of security and confidence become stronger following mental training. There was a similar pattern of relationships among negative item responses on the questionnaire indicating that swimmers’ performance became less tied to their negative feelings after they received mental training.