| Sport competition is becoming more demanding for student-athletes. Bernier and colleagues (2009) stated that optimal performances does not require the reduction of internal states. Mindfulness Meditation training promotes a non-judging awareness, acceptance and focus on the task at hand, which could be serve as a complementary approach to traditional use of psychological skills training for improving performance and well-being. The construct of Mindfulness appears is compatible with flow and peak performance in sport (Birrer, Rothlin, & Morgan, 2012). The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of a Mindfulness intervention on flow, dispositional mindfulness and the intention to suppress unwanted thoughts in college student-athletes. College soccer players were randomly assigned to a Relaxation Response, a Mindfulness Meditation or a Control group and changes across the 4-week intervention period on the psychological variables noted above were evaluated. Results from repeated measure ANOVAs indicated no statistical significance between experimental groups or time points. The lack of athlete compliance with practicing the techniques and low sample size appeared to contribute to these non-significant findings. Qualitative methods, and case studies along with quantitate studies with larger samples are suggested for future research. |
