PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS OF PROFESSIONAL SOCCER PLAYERS ACCORDING TO RELATIONSHIP LEVELS WITH TEAMMATES

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate psychological skills (imagery, peaking under pressure, commitment, coping with stress and competitive anxiety) of professional soccer players according to their relationship levels (good, medium and poor) with their teammates. The population of the study consisted of 18 professional soccer teams and 451 professional soccer players from the ‘South Anatolia Region’ of the Turkish Soccer Federation. All except one professional soccer teams and a total of 312 players participated in the study. Soccer Psychological Skills Scale-16 (SPSS-16) and a questionnaire were applied to the players to gather data. Reliability coefficients of SPSS-16 were 0.66 for imagery, 0.73 for performing under pressure, 0.62 for commitment, 0.68 for coping with stress, and 0.63 for competitive anxiety. The results of the one-way ANOVA and Scheffe tests revealed significant differences between the level of players’ relationship and imagery (F (2) = 72, p<0.05), and coping with stress (F (2) = 4.99, p<0.01). The difference was also found close to significance for the competitive anxiety parameter (p=0.053). Soccer players with good relationships have better imagery, coping with stress and competitive anxiety skills than players with medium and poor levels of relationship. Soccer teams may be encouraged to receive professional advice in this respect.