CSCCa

1999-2016

SCHOOL

Mental Toughness in Sport

SCHOOL

WORK

Certifications

WORK

1999-2016

WORK

GREEK SPECIAL FORCES

2006-2007

MILITARY SERVICE

Asst. Professor at the Dept. of Sport & Wellness

Coordinator of the Undergrad Program

CURRENTLY

Lab Director

Fellow

at the Institute of Ethics in Public Life

A SOFT SCIENCE

HISTORY

DEFINITION

Numerous inventories

MEASUREMENT

• Cricket Mental Toughness Inventory (CMTI) (Gucciardi & Gordon, 2009)
• Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ) (Sheard, Golby, & Van Wersch, 2009)
• Performance Profile Inventory (PPI) (Loehr, 1986)
• Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ48) (Clough, Marchant, & Earle, 2007)
• Mental Toughness Inventory (MTI) (Middleton, Marsh, Martin, Richards, & Perry, 2004)
• Mental, Emotional, and Bodily Toughness Inventory (MeB-Tough) (Mack & Ragan, 2008)
• Mental Toughness Scale (MTS) (Madrigal et al., 2013)
• Australian football Mental Toughness Inventory (AfMTI) (Gucciardi, Gordon, & Dimmock, 2009)
• Mental Toughness Index (MTI) (Gucciardi et al., 2015)

Q1

Q5

Q4

Q8

Q7

Q2

Q3

What are we prescribing

and is it working?

TRAINING

5 RCTs

2 B-A w/no control group

2 ABA

Conclusion

1) Strong positive effect: MT scores increased by 0.88 SD (95% CI).

2) Limited number of reliable results.

3) Conclusions cannot be drawn.

MT in Strength and Conditioning

• MT: Widely used, widely misunderstood
• Training Strategies: Psychological>Physiological
• Participants: Men>Women, Athletes>Coaches
• SCC Research: Limited
• MSCC: Highest honor in this field

Big12 SCC WBB

MSCC: 2nd part

Present

2016

How would you explain that MSCCs believe MT is a valuable trait but have different conceptualizations?

"... MT is of value in strength and conditioning in this conference. The findings confirm conclusions of previous research, which indicated that –although MT is reported to be widely used– at the same time, it is a very unclear term.

More education of the coaches is necessary, especially in regards to the key components of MT, MT training, and MT measurement..."

If MSCCs aren’t sure how to measure MT, how do they know if their interventions work?

1. Definition, 2. Measurement, and 3. Training

PURPOSE

To investigate, using a quantitative design, the effectiveness of offseason strength and conditioning protocols in regards to MT in a NCAA team.

GOAL

Move from anecdotally-based to evidence-based MT training protocols

“That's the real question.”;“The question of the day.”

“Subjectivity rules the day with MT evaluation.”

“We can only hope what we do to increase MT is actually working."

“You just see it. I don’t know how you explain it.”

“The art of coaching. You can feel when an athlete begins to ‘get’ it.”

Dr. Eric Robinson

Associate Professor in the Educational Psychology Department and Director of the School Psychology Program

“MSCC's are not educated on the strategies”

“SC are not well educated in regards to psychology”

“We have X number of hours with college athletes by NCAA rules. We have to decide on the best way to get our athletes to get work done at the same time as developing MT.” “Physical training keeps it easier.”

“Time spent teaching ‘self-talk, relaxation, imagery’ can be thought of as ‘wasted time’ in our limited number of hours- especially by the sport coaches, who may decide our future employment.”

“Prepare them physically is our main job responsibility”

Could you please explain why specific psychological strategies (e.g., self-talk, relaxation, imagery) may not be used by MSCCs as much?

APPLICATION

“It’s hard to separate MT from the rest of the training.”

“I put MT in my physical training, but not separately. You don’t necessarily have to dedicated 30 minutes of the workout for MT.”

“They don’t give them scholarships to be weight-lifters. In strength and conditioning, everything they do with us is pretty uncomfortable.”

“Most of the weight training is about MT.”

DEFINITION

“Although it’s so hard for me to define MT, it is very valuable. It won’t make a Division III team beat UConn, but MT can push you over the edge.”

MEASUREMENT

“If you can’t measure it, I don’t know how you prove it”

“There is no objective test that I do”

“No instrument, just body language”

“I’m a very visual coach. I read body language very well”

“It is subjective”

“Body language is huge”

Women's Rowing

As an established practitioner in your field and in regards to Mental Toughness in Sport, what kind/type of research would be useful to you? In other words, what kind of information would help you in the process of your continuous education and development?

Success

Mindset

2017

Emotion Regulation

2015

Success

Mindset

Context Knowledge

So, what can we do tomorrow if we want to participate?

Major NCAA project

MSCC: 1st part

FACTS

What we know

Synopsis

• Increased scholarly and non-scholarly attention
• Associated with various positive psychological traits, more efficient coping strategies, and even positive outcomes in mental health
• Distinctiveness from related construct (e.g., resilience, grit)

Still, need to know

Missing pieces...

Synopsis

• Resolve definitional issues
• Arbitrary metrics
• Longitudinal studies
• Low quality research design
• Lack of evidence-based interventions to increase MT

Questions?

Thank you

?

astam004@plattsburgh.edu

thecoachstam