The Effects of Mindfulness on Anxiety Decrease and Athletic Performance Enhancement of Young Football Players

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of mindfulness trainings on performance and anxiety in young football players. For this purpose, 30 football players were assigned to an experimental group of 15 players (intervention based on Mindfulness) and control group of 15 players. Athletes in the experimental group received 12 30-minute sessions of mindfulness meditation for sport (6 weeks, twice a week). The control group did not receive any intervention. Before and after interventions Sport Anxiety Scale Questionnaire and Shooting Performance Test were used to collect data. The results of MANOVA showed that the reduction of anxiety scale scores and improvement of athletic performance scores were significantly higher in the experimental group than the control group. According to these findings, we concluded that mindfulness training is appropriate to decrease the level of sport anxiety and increase athletic performance of football players.