The Effect of Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE) on Mental Skills, Sport Competition Anxiety and Skill Performance of Teenage Soccer Players

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mindful sport performance enhancement (MSPE) on mental skills, sport competition anxiety and skill performance of teenage soccer players The research was semi-experimental and pre-test/post-test method with a control group. The statistical sample of the research consisted of 30 football players with 12-16 years old age rage, who were selected by available from the football schools of East Azarbaijan province and divided randomly into two experimental (mindfulness) and control groups (15 people in each group). The experimental group received 6 sessions (3 weeks and 2 sessions per week) of 45 mins of mindfulness training, and no intervention was performed in the control group. Both groups were measured in the same conditions and using questionnaires of mental skills, competitive sports anxiety and football skill performance test in the pre-test and post-test stages. The Covariance is used to analysis of statistical data. The findings showed that there was no significant difference in sport competition anxiety between the experimental and control groups, but a significant difference was observed in the mental skills and skill performance of football players. So it can be concluded that the training of mental skills such as mindfulness can be a suitable and affordable way to increase the mental and physical performance of athletes and create the basis for their sports success.