PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS OF PROFESSIONAL SOCCER PLAYERS ACCORDING TO NATIONAL TEAM APPEARANCE
E. KONTER
Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Buca Eğitim Fakültesi, İzmir
Keywords: Psychological skills, professional soccer, national team appearance, exercise
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate psychological skills (imagery, peaking under pressure, commitment, coping with stress and competitive anxiety) of professional soccer players according to appearance in national teams (none, 1 to 5, and over 5). The population of this study consisted of 451 soccer players in 18 professional soccer teams affiliated to the Turkish Soccer Federation South Anatolia Region. A total of 313 players participated in the study. Soccer psychological skills scale-16 (SPSS-16) and a questionnaire were administered to the players and data were gathered. Reliability coefficients of the scale are as follows: 0.66 for imagery, 0.73 for performance under pressure, 0.62 for commitment, 0.68 for coping with stress, and 0.63 for competitive anxiety. One-way ANOVA results revealed no significant differences for measured psychological skills according to national team appearance (p>0.05). Only for the peaking under pressure variable the difference approached a significant level [F; (2) 2.53, p<0.08]: international players had better peaking under pressure skill than the non-international ones.
