Application of an innovative performance demand model with canoe slalom athletes and their coach

ABSTRACT

We describe how we used the newly developed Performance Demand Model (PDM) with a canoe slalom coach and three junior athletes preparing for the Junior World Championships. The PDM encourages athletes to think of performance as a process and identifies the psychological demands that must be met before, during, and after competition. It focuses on four Psychological Fundamentals: Mastery Motivation; Decision Making; Execution; and Teamwork, each grounded in Reversal Theory. This article discusses how coaches and athletes applied and benefitted from using the PDM and offers lessons learned for its future use by practitioners.

KEYWORDS:

• Canoe-slalom
• coach and athlete intervention
• performance demand model
• psychological skills training
• reversal theory