Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Selected Psychological Skills Training (PSTs) on the Mental Toughness, Sport Commitment and Dribbling Skills of 13- to 15-year-old Football Players in Mashhad

The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of selected psychological skill training (PSTs) on mental toughness, sport commitment and football dribbling skill of youth football players in Mashhad. They were selected as available samples and participated in the present study, as quasi-experimental research with experimental and control group was done in pre and posttests. Subjects were initially asked to answer mental toughness questionnaires and sport commitment. For eight weeks, the experimental group performed specific football dribbling skill exercise along with selected PSTs, and the control group performed only specific dribbling skills exercises. A mixed-design ANOVA and t-test were used. The findings showed at post-test, the experimental group performed better than the control group in all variables. Moreover, the practice of psychological skills improved football dribbling skills. It shown that PSTs had a significant effect on mental toughness and sports commitment and dribbling skill of adolescent football players