Analysis of the effects of a psychological intervention programme for young basketball players

Abstract

This study aimed to test the effects of psychological training on young basketball players. The sample consisted in 47 male players who belong to the U-14 and U-16 teams of the same club. The groups were divided into an experimental group (U-14 1 and U-16 3) and a control group (U-14 2 and U-16 4). The athletes had never participated in psychological training programmes before. The instrument used for the study was the Questionnaire of Psychological Features Sports Performance-CPRD. The questionnaire was administered in two stages: at the beginning and the end of the season. Psychological training was applied throughout the season with the experimental groups before the training sessions, in which the players’ psychological abilities were trained. After analyzing the data, the results show that the experimental groups (U-14 1 and U-16 3) showed significant differences in all psychological characteristics between the beginning and the end of the season, whereas in the results of the control groups (U-14 2 and U-16 4), no significant differences were observed in most of the psychological variables. We conclude that psychological training positively influenced the experimental groups.