Study Topic 2 ‘Sport psychology: insights and applications’, Study Topic 3 ‘Psychological skills training’
Word limit: 1500 words
This assignment has three tasks related to the case study, below. Read the case study, which introduces you to Viktoria, a county-level wheelchair tennis player, and then complete all three tasks.
Case study Viktoria
Viktoria is a county-level wheelchair tennis player competing both as an individual and in pairs competitions. She is a strong player and is respected particularly for her accurate and powerful serve. This has allowed her to feel confident when serving. Two seasons ago she won a major event in Bath, and she is hoping to defend her title and win again at the end of next month. Her training has been going well and both her coach and strength and conditioning coach are happy with her progress. However, in recent tournaments she has started very poorly, consistently hitting the net with her first serve. She has now started to doubt her ‘go to’ powerful first serve choice and opts for a safer option, which is extremely unusual for her.
Her coach has questioned her about her serve, and in a recent meeting with her and her training and pairs partner, Adeline, she explained that she is struggling with her form, particularly on her serves. She told them that as the start of the game draws nearer, she starts to get really nervous, experiencing ‘butterflies in my stomach – and sweaty palms’, tightness through her shoulders and having doubts about her ability to perform. She explained that she is concerned about getting beaten by some of the new players to the circuit and is worried about maintaining her top 15 ranking, and what they will think of her if she loses.
Adeline tells Viktoria how, when she was having a difficult time in competition, she saw a sport psychologist, which really helped. Based on this, and with the support of her coach, Viktoria has said she is happy to accept the additional support of a sport psychologist.
Task 1 (200 words, 15 marks)
Explain the process that a sport psychologist would follow to design an appropriate intervention programme for Viktoria, highlighting the importance of professional boundaries associated with this delivery of sport psychology services.
Task 2 (500 words, 30 marks)
Drawing on appropriate theoretical content, discuss the psychological issues that may be affecting Viktoria.
Task 3 (800 words, 55 marks)
Evaluate the psychological interventions that would be most appropriate for Viktoria and which would help her to manage her emotional states. For each intervention that you choose, provide a supporting rationale.
