Exploring the 4 W’s of self talk within

elite level fast bowlers: Where, When,

What and Why?
Adam Kelly and Matt Johnson

Southampton Solent University

 Aim

To gain an understanding of the current self talk being used by elite level fast
bowlers.

Rationale

Self talk widely being used within elite level sport

Little literature in the area of self talk and fast bowling
 Introduction to Self Talk
Where do athletes use self talk?
• Competition and Training (Hardy et al 2001, Crust and Azadi 2010)

When do athletes use self talk?

• Pre competition (Hardy et al 2001, Thomas et al 2007)

• During Competition (Hardy et al 2001, Gourzi et al 2007)

•

• During Training (Hardy et al 2001, Perkos et al 2002, Papaioannou et al 2004)

What do athletes say to themselves?

• Structure (Johnson et al 2004, Theodorakis et al 2001)

• Task Instruction (Tod et al 2009, Edwards et al 2008, St Clair Gibson and Foster 2007)
• Nature (Van Raatle et al 2006, Harvey et al 2002, Peter and Williams 2006)

• Person (Lantolf 2006, Gammage et al 2001)

 Introduction to Self Talk
Why do athletes say this to themselves?
Cognitive

Skill Execution / Skill Development (Johnson et al 2004, Cutton and Landin 2007)

Motivational
Focus (Hatzigeorgiadis et al 2004)

Self Confidence (Mamassis and Doganis 2004)

Arousal (Conroy and Metzler 2004, Hatzigeorgiadis et al 2009, Crust and Azadi 2010)

Drive (Hardy et al 2001, Kress and Statler 2007, Harwood et al 2004)

 Methodology
Participants (n=15) mean age 28.4 years old
8 ex-international and 7 county cricketers
207 Test wickets in 62 matches
3,971 1st Class wickets in 1,334 matches

Instrument
Aim, Rationale of the study
Consent form
Brief client history
Definition of self talk (Hardy et al 2005)
4 W’s questionnaire (Hardy et al 2001)
Semi Structured Interview
Procedure
Comfortable environment chosen by the participants
Data Analysis
Hierarchal trees and verified with another sport psychologist also a
UKCC level 2 cricket coach
Agreement had to be achieved before inclusion in the study
 Where do athletes use self talk?
Everywhere
(4)

Home (3)
Non sports
related (18)
Gym (3)

Other (8)
Where (49)

Competition
(19)

Sport Training
Related (31) Ground (11)

Subititues
Bench (1)
 When do athlete use self talk ?
All the time (2)
Miscellaneous
(3)
Alone (1)

Pre
Competition
(17)

During
Competition
Competition
When (62) (19)
(37)

Post
Competition (7) ‘analysing past events’

Pre Training (7)

During Training
Training (24) (10)

Post Training
(7)
What do athletes say to themselves?
Perspective (6)

Nature (29) Positive (12) ‘Believe you are better’

Negative (11) ‘Rubbish’

Miscellaneous
(2)
Cue Words (20) ‘Relax’

Structure (69) Phrases (40) ‘Top of off’

What (166)
Sentences (9)

First Person
(10) ‘I’ll get this guy out’
Person (14)
Second Person
(4)

Task
Specific (34) ‘Get the yorker full’
Instruction
(52)
General (18)
Why do athletes say this to themselves ?
 Why do athletes say this to themselves ?

Areas of interest
Cognitive
Specific - Skill Execution ‘Knowing my game’

General - Performance Improvement ‘little tool to help me keep it simple’

Motivational
Mastery - Self Confidence ‘reinforcement of my ability’

Drive - Increased Drive ‘switch on’

 Conclusion
Aim was achieved with an insight into the self talk being used
Similar self talk usage to other sports
Differences could be a result of unique demands of the sport and level

Implications
Educate fast bowlers on self talk
Negative self talk to positive
Increase the use of second person self talk
Feedback from coaches to be positive
Any Questions

?
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