EFFECTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILL TRAINING ON MENTAL TOUGHNESS,MOTIVATION AND ANXIETY AMONG MALE U-17 PROJECT FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN AKAKI KALITY SUB-CITY ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

Psychological skills training program is effective in enhancing athletes’ performance,<br> positively influencing cognitive and affective states. The purpose of this study was to<br> investigate the effects of Psychological skill training on selected psychological variables<br> of male Under 17 football project players in Akaki Kality sub-city Addis Ababa Ethiopia.<br> The methodology of the study employed an experimental research design. Thirty (30)<br> male football player participants in the study were selected for the Mesale football<br> project. The study subjects were randomly divided into two equal groups, the<br> experimental group (n = 15) and the control group (n = 15). The experimental group had<br> taken Psychological skill training intervention for 8 weeks with 3 sessions per week,<br> each lasting 30 to 45 minutes. It consists of goal setting; self-talk, pep talk, imagery,<br> progressive relaxation techniques, arousal regulation, and relaxation response<br> techniques were given through 3 phases which comprise educational, acquisitions and<br> practical phases by sports psychologists. Both groups had taken pre- and post-testing<br> and all the subjects participated to response standard questionnaires: mental toughness<br> was measured using Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaires (SMTQ-14), motivation was<br> measured using the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS-28) and anxiety was measured using<br> state-trait anxiety inventory test. The data collected from the study subjects was analyzed<br> using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS, version 20) software by descriptive<br> statistics, paired t-test and independent t-test at a significant level of 0.05. Results<br> showed Psychological skill training significantly improved the stated variables of mental<br> toughness, motivations and anxiety in the experimental group at (p&lt;0.05). Furthermore,<br> no more significant differences were found in all of the variables in the control group<br> (p&gt;0.05). Based on this finding, it can be concluded that Psychological skill training has<br> a positive impact on the improvement of psychological skill variables. Therefore,<br> Psychological skill training is suggested for adolescent-age football players to improve<br> psychological preparedness for athletic performance.