Performance strategies of US Olympians in practice and competition

Abstract

Until recently, no self‐report instruments have examined psychological skills use in both practice and competition. In light of the significant role of practice in sport performance outcomes, a need exists to measure these skills in both domains. This study was designed to investigate differences in performance strategies of US Olympians in both practice and competition. The Test of Performance Strategies was administered to 176 US participants in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Summer Games. Discriminant function analyses demonstrated significant differences between medalists and nonmedalists in both the competition and practice performance strategies. Furthermore, significant gender and age differences were identified for competition strategies only. The 16 subscales of the TOPS, with two exceptions, create an internally stable instrument with moderate predictive ability relative to quality of sport performance, gender, and age in this elite sample of athletes.

Keywords:

• performance strategies
• elite athlete
• psychological skills

Acknowledgment

Supported by a grant from the United States Olympic Committee. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Navy, Department of Defense, or the US Government. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. This research has been conducted in compliance with all applicable federal regulations governing the protection of human subjects in research.