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Mental Skills Training for Sport and Health

Learn how techniques from sport psychology can be used to enhance your own sports performance or that of your clients.

6,692 enrolled on this course

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Mental Skills Training for Sport and Health

6,692 enrolled on this course

  • 4 weeks

  • 3 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Intermediate level

Find out more about how to join this course

Learn sports psychology to improve physical performance in yourself or others

We all experience changing levels of motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety depending on the situation we’re in.

On this course, you’ll discover exercise and sports psychology and consider its relevance to contemporary issues in sport, health and fitness.

You’ll trace the relationship between the brain and the body in sport and exercise as you explore three mental skills training techniques and their application.

Using psychological knowledge, scientific research, and applied case study examples, you’ll learn how these psychological training techniques enhance athletic performance.

What topics will you cover?

On this course we will be covering three key mental skills training techniques:

  • Mental practice including how the PETTLEP model can inform the delivery of motor imagery/action observation interventions.
  • Self-talk, including the concepts of valence, overtness, motivational interpretation, and function.
  • Goal setting, including the different SMART principles and types of goal.

For each skill, case studies from sport, exercise, and clinical settings will be used to illustrate to learners how each of these skills can be relevant in practical settings.

Learners will also have the opportunity to demonstrate and apply their knowledge of each mental skill training technique in a variety of tasks throughout the course.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Explain three core psychological attributes (motivation, confidence, anxiety) that influence exercise participation and sport performance.
  • Describe three core Mental Skills Training techniques (imagery and action observation, self-talk, goal-setting) that are frequently used in sport and exercise psychology.
  • Explore the relationship between Mental Skills Training and exercise participation/sports performance through the demonstration of applied case studies and scientific research.
  • Discuss the application of Mental Skills Training techniques to different populations, including elite and recreational athletes, and clinical groups.

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone who engages in, or is interested in, sport and physical activity.

It will be of particular interest and use to current or aspiring sport and exercise psychology practitioners, sports coaches, students, and professionals.

This course can be used as professional development training for a number of different disciplines, including sport psychology, health psychology, cognitive psychology, sports coaching, and personal training.

Who will you learn with?

Ben is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is a keen road cyclist in his spare time.

Who developed the course?

Manchester Metropolitan University

Manchester Met University has a driving ambition to discover and disseminate knowledge and make higher education as accessible and beneficial to all those with the passion and ability to succeed.

Ways to learn

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Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$27.99

For the first two months. Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$134/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 25 Apr 2024

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

T&Cs apply.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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