AUGUMENTING PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAINING WITH PHYSICAL SKILLS TRAINING FOR PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT AMONG STUDENT ATHLETES

ABSTRACT

Student-athletes often encounter a variety of challenges that extend beyond physical endurance and skill. Psychological factors such as stress, anxiety, focus, and motivation significantly influence their overall performance. Traditional training methods primarily emphasize physical conditioning, but emerging research highlights the benefits of integrating psychological training techniques with physical skills development. This study explores the impact of augmenting psychological training—encompassing goal setting, visualization, self-discipline, mental resilience, and stress management—with physical skills training to enhance student-athletes' performance. Using a descriptive research design, the study seeks to analyze the relationship between mental preparedness and physical execution in sports performance. A structured training program was implemented, combining psychological strategies with standard physical training routines. Data were gathered through direct observations, self-assessment questionnaires, and qualitative feedback from participating student-athletes. The demographic data was analyzed using frequency and percentage. The responses to each item were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The study findings highlight the critical role of psychological factors and skills training in enhancing the athletic performance of student-athletes at the University of Benin. The findings reveal that student-athletes who incorporate both psychological and physical training demonstrate improved concentration, reduced performance anxiety, greater adaptability to pressure, and enhanced overall athletic ability compared to those who rely solely on physical conditioning. The study emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive training model that addresses both the mental and physical aspects of sports. Due to the findings of this research, recommendations were made which include; Psychological training should not be treated as a separate entity but integrated into physical training programs, Periodic psychological evaluations should be conducted to assess athletes’ mental strengths and weaknesses