EFFECTS OF A 5-WEEK MINDFULNESS TRAINING PROGRAM ON SPORT

ANXIETY, GENERAL MINDFULNESS, AND COGNITIVE INTERFERENCE

ON DIVISION I WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS
____________________________________

A Thesis

Presented to the

Faculty of

California State University, Fullerton

____________________________________

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Science

in

Kinesiology
____________________________________

By

Chelsea Rodriguez

Thesis Committee Approval:

David Chen, Department of Kinesiology, Chair

Lenny Wiersma, Department of Kinesiology
Andrea Becker, Department of Kinesiology

Spring, 2017




ProQuest Number: 10275521




All rights reserved

INFORMATION TO ALL USERS
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.

In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed,
a note will indicate the deletion.






ProQuest 10275521

Published by ProQuest LLC (2017 ). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author.


All rights reserved.
This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.


ProQuest LLC.
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346
 ABSTRACT

Mindfulness, defined as deliberate and nonjudgmental attention to one’s present

experience as it unfolds, undergirds successful sport performance. The purposes of this

study included developing a five-week mindfulness training program consistent with

Eastern meditation-based traditions and testing its effect on the level of sport anxiety,

general mindfulness, and level of cognitive interference. Fifteen female Division I

women’s volleyball players from the same team volunteered to participate in the study.

After two one-hour training sessions each week, athletes were provided with an audio

recording of that week’s training and required to do it at least once a week on their own.

Three instruments, including The Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS),

Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2), and Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport

(TOQS) were administered six times during the five weeks. Separate 6x3 (time x

subscales) repeated measures ANOVAs were performed on the scores from the six

administrations of SAS-2, and TOQS and one way repeated measures ANOVA was run

on MAAS data. ANOVA of MAAS scores did not show significant findings, however,

analyses of SAS-2 and TOQS scores revealed significant main effects of time and

subscales effects. No interaction between time and subscales was identified. General

mindfulness was found to be enhanced, albeit not reaching the level of .05.

ii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... ii

LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... v

LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... vi

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................. vii

Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1

Definitions ............................................................................................................ 7
Mindfulness ................................................................................................... 7
Anxiety........................................................................................................... 8
Cognitive Interference ................................................................................... 8
Limitations ............................................................................................................ 8
Delimitations......................................................................................................... 9

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................................... 10

Mindfulness .......................................................................................................... 11
Sport Stress ........................................................................................................... 14
Anxiety and Emotional Control ............................................................................ 16
Cognitive Interference .......................................................................................... 18

3. METHODS ........................................................................................................... 20

Participants............................................................................................................ 20
Instruments............................................................................................................ 20
Procedures ............................................................................................................. 23
Mindfulness Workshop .................................................................................. 23
Audio-Guided Meditations ............................................................................ 24
Debrief ........................................................................................................... 25
Data Analysis ................................................................................................. 26

iii
 4. RESULTS ............................................................................................................. 27

Quantitative Results .............................................................................................. 27

Mindfulness Training Adherence ......................................................................... 29
Qualitative Results ................................................................................................ 29

5. DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................... 32

Limitations of the Study and Directions for Future Research .............................. 35

Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 37

APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 39

A. BACKGROUND QUESTIONNAIRE .......................................................... 39

B. MINDFULNESS ATTENTION AWARENESS SCALE (MAAS) ............. 40
C. SPORT ANXIETY SCALE-2 (SAS) ........................................................... 42
D. THOUGHT OCCURRENCE QUESTIONNIARE FOR SPORT (TOQS) .. 43
E. POST-INTERVENTION SURVEY .............................................................. 45
F. MEDITATION SURVEYS ........................................................................... 46

REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 56

iv
 LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Means and Standard Deviations Based on the Three Instruments for

Pre-Intervention and Post-Intervention Time Periods ......................................... 28

2. Sub-Themes of Reported General Utility ............................................................ 31

v
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. Changes in Level of Mindfulness, State Anxiety, and Cognitive Interference

as of a function of Training Phases ...................................................................... 29

vi
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

What a journey this project has been! I want to sincerely thank the Chairman of

this thesis, Dr. David Chen. Without his wisdom and knowledge of the topic of

mindfulness and meditation, I don’t know how I would have successfully pulled this off.

You are an amazing mentor to learn from and I hope to continue learning from you for

the rest of my career. To my committee, Dr. Lenny Wiersma and Dr. Andrea Becker, I

thank you for your patience with me and with this project. It was something none of us

have ever done before so I thank you for being patient and for providing your input and

suggestions to make this as wonderful as it turned out to be. You two are amazing human

beings who I will forever look up to. Thank you also to Briana Hubbard for helping me

during the meditation sessions in any way you were available to. Your presence was

enjoyed!

To my sister, Frankie, for letting me drive to her house and cry on her couch

repeatedly when I didn’t think I could do this. And for gathering her family at the

kitchen table to listen to me present and practice. You have no idea how much you mean

to me. To my mom who continually pushed me and told me I could do anything I wanted

to do. Thank you for being another set of eyes in the execution of this paper and thank

you for helping me in any and every way you could. To my dad, your support throughout

life and especially grad school has been a huge part of why I succeeded. Even when I

told you I didn’t want to hear “You aren’t a quitter, you can do this”, I still heard it. I

vii
love you. And to my dog, Gus. You know you are my rock. To my best friends in the

entire world, Brea and Maggie, thank you for letting me be a “third roommate” for so

long so I could work endless hours on this without having to drive all over Southern

California to sleep. I really, honestly, don’t think I could have survived grad school and

the entire process of doing a thesis without your couch. I love you to the moon and back.

viii
 1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Athletes are, by nature, very competitive and strive to perform at higher levels

day in and day out. An important part of competitive athletics is the need for athletes to

perform under pressure. To succeed in sports such as volleyball requires mental training

as well as physical training. Athletes thus often develop mental skills to aid in the mental

preparation for competitive performance such as improving competitive focus, self-talk,

goal setting, refocusing plans, self-confidence, among others (Gould, Eklund, & Jackson,

1992; Weinberg & Gould, 2011). Traditional sport psychology literature has

demonstrated strong support for sport psychology interventions based on traditional

approaches mentioned above, however, existing research has caused many researchers to

question methodological flaws of current widely used interventions (Birrer & Morgan,

2010) and even challenge the fundamental assumptions underlying the interventions

(Gardner & Moore, 2006).

Mindfulness-based interventions have emerged as an alternative approach to

enhancing sport performance under pressure. Instead of trying to control internal states

such as anxiety and worry through traditional sport psychology methods, mindfulness-

based interventions allow athletes to develop skills in present-moment awareness and

acceptance (Gardner & Moore, 2006; Kaufman, Glass, & Arnkoff, 2009). This approach

is based on the notion of mindfulness rooted in Buddhist tradition. According to

 2

Kabat-Zinn (1994), mindfulness can be defined as “paying attention in a particular way,

on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” Mindfulness can be trained in

meditation practices such as sitting meditation, walking meditation, standing meditation

or mindful movements (Chen, 2017). Hölzel et al. (2011) surveyed a large number of

studies on mindfulness meditation and extrapolated four components of how mindfulness

meditation may work: (1) attention regulation, (2) body awareness, (3) emotion

regulation (including reappraisal, exposure, extinction and reconsolidation) and (4)

change in perspective on the self. Hölzel et al. (2011) paper serves as a basis for the

development of the intervention program in the current study.

Relating mindfulness to conscious and intentional regulation of attention is

associated with switching attention and inhibition as an important element of the

construct (Bishop et al. 2004). Conscious regulation of cognition (i.e., deliberate use of

inhibition and attention switching as it relates to mindfulness) directly refers to

metacognitive skills (Jankowski & Holas, 2014). Metacognition came about through

theory and research in cognitive and developmental psychology (Solem et al., 2015).

Metacognition was originally defined as knowledge or beliefs about thinking and

strategies used to regulate and control thinking processes (Flavell, 1979). Metacognition

refers to cognition applied to cognition, or thinking applied to actual thinking.

Mindfulness training may also facilitate metacognitive insight (Bishop et al., 2004). This

represents a transition toward viewing thoughts as brief mental moments, rather than a

direct representation of reality. This gives practitioners the chance to distance themselves

from problematic thoughts and emotions, allowing the practitioner to address thoughts

and emotions consciously, rather than merely reacting to them (Chambers, Chuen Yee
 3

Lo, & Allen, 2008). To practice mindfulness is to be aware of what is going on in the

present moment. It is the opposite of acting on “autopilot” (Solem et al., 2015), or

mindlessly. Metacognitive insight may result in a greater level of acceptance (Brown &

Ryan, 2004) of emotions and physical states. Reduced reactivity to anxiety and other

negative emotions allows exposure to thoughts and emotions that would possibly bring

about cognitive defense (Baer, 2003). The idea of not reacting and having awareness of

doing so provides a space for all thought processes to be examined in a less biased

manner (Chambers et al., 2008).

Many athletes are faced with the challenge of negative emotional cognitive

distractions and if not effectively addressed, these emotions have the ability to distract an

athlete from optimal performance. Mindfulness training enables an athlete or coach to

experience their thoughts for what they are and not a narrative that is being perceived. In

order for an athlete to experience thoughts for what they are, while practicing

mindfulness, there is a period of acceptance of said thoughts. The acceptance portion of

mindfulness combats current habits of avoidance. Having control over thoughts, which

can lead to a calmness independent of external circumstances, helps the athlete to lower

their levels of anxiety (Birrer, Rothlin, & Morgan, 2012). Acceptance has been defined

as “taking a stance of non-judgmental awareness and actively embracing the experience

of thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations as they occur” (Hayes, Strosahl, Bunting,

Twohig, & Wilson, 2004, p. 7). Athletes are encouraged to observe involuntary thoughts

as they arise, allowing these thought patterns to become a large part of their emotional

landscape (Baltzell, McCarthy, & Greenbaum, 2014).

 4

Athletes are frequently faced with the challenge of negative emotional and

cognitive distractions. There are many debilitative emotions athletes can experience in

the competition process such as fear, anger, embarrassment, and/or frustration (Baltzell et

al., 2014). It is important for a volleyball player to regulate their emotions during play

because proper emotion regulation will allow the athlete to concentrate and remain aware

and in the moment in order to execute a play properly.

“Emotional regulation refers to any process that influences the onset, offset,

magnitude, duration, intensity, or quality of one or more aspects of the emotional”

(McRae, Ochsner, &Gross, 2011, p. 187). A great amount of literature exists supporting

the idea that emotion regulation is important for individual (Lane, Beedie, Jones, Uphill,

& Devonport, 2012), and team (Tamminen & Crocker, 2013) performance in sport. The

benefit of using a mindfulness meditation practice to regulate emotions in performance

involves attentional regulation. Mindfulness incorporates elements of both attention-

regulation and an open, accepting orientation to experience. It begins by bringing

awareness to current experiences while observing and attending to the changing field of

thoughts, feelings, and sensations from moment to moment by regulating the focus of

attention (Bishop et al., 2004). Wagstaff (2014) found in his study on emotional

regulation and sport performance that when participants suppressed their emotional

reactions to a video played for them, they completed a 10-km cycling time task slower,

generated lower mean power outputs, reached a lower maximum heart rate, and perceived

greater physical exertion than when they were given no self-regulation instructions. In

mindfulness, the breath is used as a focal point when distractions arise. The practice of

turning attention to the breath when emotions rise can further be translated into having
 5

the ability to clearly focus on an opponent, on the ball, and more importantly, the play of

the game as it unfolds.

There has been a growing interest in mindfulness and its effects on sport

performance over the last decade. Positive relationships between dispositional

mindfulness and flow in sport (Kee & Wang, 2008), mindfulness and most dimensions of

flow (Kaufman, Glass, & Arnkoff, 2009) and between mindfulness and in-game free

throw percentages of Division I men’s basketball players (Gooding & Gardner, 2009)

have been reported.

Baltzell, Caraballo, Chipman & Hayden (2014) followed seven members of a

Division I varsity women’s soccer team to track their experience of a 12-session (six

weeks) Mindfulness Meditation Training for Sport Program (MMTS) to test the effects it

had on their performance during games and in practice. At the end of the 12-session

intervention, the study revealed an increased ability to recognize and experience a

different relationship with emotions both on and off of the field. The athletes found it

easier to step back and observe their feelings and the situations they were in before

reacting, making it easier to deal with typically difficult emotional experiences. This may

have led to better perception of enhanced ability. However, the overall findings of the

study left room for improvement due to the limited number of participants (n = 7). There

was no quantitative research to show the effects of the MMTS on actual performance.

Some athletes had a misconception of meditation, leaving them feeling “bad” about

meditation, therefore Baltzell and associates found it important to address how to cope

with a critical mind and explain what meditation is in order to maintain participation

retention in future research.

 6

In a study using Mindfulness Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE) on

mindfulness for long distance runners, De Petrillo, Kaufman, Glass, & Arnkoff (2009)

found a significant decrease in sport anxiety related worry and a significant increase in

awareness (an aspect of mindfulness), but no significant differences between the control

groups and experimental groups in mile running time or average running distance after a

four-week intervention. Worthen & Luiselli (2016) created a nine-week mindfulness

training program combining aspects of MMTS (Baltzell et al., 2014), MAC (Gardner &

Moore, 2004), and MSPE (DePetrillo et al., 2009) for high school soccer and volleyball

players. The program included one 30-minute session each week for nine weeks

covering the four components of mindfulness and integrated them into practice in a

physical and visual way instead of traditional meditation practice.

Despite the development of interest in mindfulness-based approaches to

enhancing sport performance, there is a scarcity of research on this new approach,

especially mindfulness-based interventions in Division I volleyball related to anxiety and

performance. In the current study, a mindfulness training program was developed in light

of the Vipassana meditation traditions (Thatcher, 2008) and based on the notion of

mindfulness training developed by Kabat-Zinn (1994) and work of Hölzel et al. (2011) to

help volleyball players become in tune with their emotions and thoughts. Volleyball

players were informed about the nature of mindfulness training with the assumption that

feelings of emotions such as anxiety, stress, and frustration are natural events that can be

observed and accepted without having to react to them. Because the participants came

from a Division I volleyball team and due to the level of skill required in order to play at

this level, it was assumed each participant had been subject to intense competition
 7

environments that may have fostered a situation where sport anxiety may have occurred.

Due to a lack of participant availability, this study did not have a control group.

Participants were assessed on a pre-and-post basis. Also, although performance data were

obtained from the university website, their use and interpretation rendered them unusable

for this study because the results varied tremendously due to the different playing

positions and the amount of time each participant played. Since the effect of the

mindfulness training was only reflected in the self-evaluations of the participants during

their post-training interview, the factor of performance would not constitute a major

factor of investigation. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to examine the

effect of a five-week mindfulness training program on sport anxiety, general mindfulness,

and cognitive interference. The duration of the five-week training program was inspired

by similar studies in mindfulness for sport research (e.g., Baltzell et al., 2014; DePetrillo

et al., 2009). The experimental hypothesis was that the mindfulness training would

decrease participants’ sport anxiety and cognitive interference and increase general

mindfulness. It was also hypothesized that the mindfulness training would have enhanced

self-reported volleyball performance. Our logic is that these measures would cover all the

major components of mindfulness as defined from the Vipassana meditation traditions

(Kabat-Zinn, 1994).

Definitions
Mindfulness

The ability to be aware of thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations as a tool to

stay in the present moment while practicing or competing. It was measured by using the

Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) (Brown & Ryan, 2003).

 8

Anxiety

When an athlete feels no control over feelings of worry, thus experiencing

disruption in concentration and physical sensations such as tense muscles and an upset

stomach. Sport anxiety was measured using the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) (Smith,

Smoll, Cumming, & Grossbard, 2006).

Cognitive Interference

Unnecessary thoughts both related and unrelated to performance that may get in

the way of practicing or competing at the highest capability of the athlete. Cognitive

interference was measured using the Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport

(TOQS) (Hatzigeorgiadis & Biddle, 2000).

Limitations

The current study did not have a control group. Because we chose to use one

team, it would have been difficult to assure those participating in meditation didn’t tell

the others on the team who were part of the control group about their training so it was

decided there would only be one group doing mindfulness meditation training. On the

other hand, we could also argue the study was conducted in an ecologically valid

environment. The study also suffers because of low levels of adherence of its participants

to the intervention protocol in regard to the audio-guided meditation portion of the

intervention. No objective performance data measures were used in the study to

demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention on performance because the availability

of data varied from individual to individual as a function of a players’ position on the

team and amount of playing time. The sample size of the study was small. As it is typical

to use a larger pool of participants, the sample size of 15 was a significant limitation in
 9

the current study. The Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale was not a sport-related

measure so it may lack the sensitivity to measure changes in mindfulness in a sport

situation.

Delimitations

The conductor of the study chose a female Division I volleyball team, therefore,

the results have limited external validity because the results cannot be directly related to a

general population. Also, because of possible researcher bias in delivering the

mindfulness training, internal validity may be compromised. The experimenter of the

study permitted the participants to choose whether they preferred to sit on a yoga mat or

on a padded folding chair for meditation. Time constraints were specific to the study

because other studies on mindfulness effects have been delivered from four weeks up to

12 weeks. The study was conducted for five weeks to test the effects of a different period

of time than other existing mindfulness training programs in hopes that this period of

time would produce significant changes in the participants.

 10

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Performance anxiety and interventions based on mindfulness training have

become increasingly popular research topics in the sport psychology domain. Traditional

performance enhancement skills such as imagery, goal setting, and self-talk are typically

used to help the athlete suppress or control unwanted negative thoughts or emotions to

improve performance (Birrer, Röthlin, & Morgan, 2012). Researchers have found

inconsistent results for said performance enhancement skills, yet many athletes, coaches,

and sport psychologists use them to minimize the amount of negative thoughts that arise

in order to improve athletic performance (Craft, Magyar, Becker, & Feltz, 2003).

Focusing on controlling or eliminating negative thoughts and emotions, however, may

not be as beneficial as once assumed. Placing such an intense focus on controlling one’s

thoughts triggers a monitoring process that searches for negative or unwanted thoughts,

bringing the athlete to a level of awareness that could lead to self-and task-irrelevant

focus, which can negatively impact performance (Kaufman, Glass, & Arnkoff, 2009).

Being mindful gives the athlete an opportunity to be aware of their thoughts, positive or

negative, and to move in a forward direction with those thoughts. There have been many

studies done to show the effects of mindfulness in a clinical application, as well as sport

applications, proving that being in the moment will help people with mental disorders and

performance anxiety overcome cognitive obstacles. The following review of relevant

 11

literature will cover major studies grouped under the topics of mindfulness, sport stress,

anxiety and emotional regulation, and cognitive interference.

Mindfulness

Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as “the awareness that emerges through

paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the

unfolding of experience, moment by moment (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Mindfulness lives at

the principal basis of the teachings of the Buddha and is traditionally described by the

Sanskrit word dharma, which carries the meaning of lawfulness as in the “laws of

physics” or simply “the way things are” (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Being able to be in the

moment and nonjudgmental about thoughts and feelings going through the body are the

keys to being in a mindful state. Mindfulness has been suggested to represent the

nonjudgmental observation of the ongoing stream of internal and external stimuli (Baer,

2003). It can be achieved through instrumental meditation, a discipline that allows us to

cultivate, refine, and deepen our capacity to pay attention and to dwell in present-moment

awareness. The more instrumental meditation is practiced the more likely one is to

become more stable in their ability to focus on objects or situations that arise in the realm

of needing to be fully aware and in the moment (Kabat-Zinn, 2015). The idea of being

mindful is about being in the present moment and acknowledging when a negative

thought or emotion arises, making your body aware of the fact that it is there and then

moving forward. It has been found that the practice of mindfulness helps reduce stress

symptoms (Baer, 2003; Grossman, Niemann, Schmidt & Walach, 2004), improve well-

being (Brown & Ryan, 2003; Carlson & Brown, 2005) and physical health in general

(Grossman et al., 2004).

 12

A regularly used approach to treating patients with chronic pain (Kabat-Zinn,

2003), stress, and self-efficacy (Chang et al., 2004) is the Mindfulness Based Stress

Reduction Program (MBSR). “The primary intention for MBSR is to see if it is possible

to create a vehicle for the effective training of medical patients in relatively intense

mindfulness meditation and its immediate applications to the stress, pain, and illnesses

people were grappling with in their lives,” Kabat-Zinn (2003) stated in his review of past,

present, and future mindfulness-based interventions. Mindfulness training in sport started

with Kabat-Zinn, Beall and Rippe’s mindfulness meditation training for collegiate and

Olympic rowers at the World Congress in Sport Psychology in Copenhagen, Denmark in

1985. Some of the Olympic rowers noted that the mindfulness-based practice contributed

to their performance. Baltzell and colleagues (2014) reported a positive effect of

mindfulness on the ability to accept typically emotionally difficult internal experiences

and an improved focus on the task at-hand. It has been suggested that athletes who are

capable of focusing on task-relevant cues and contingencies experience greater levels of

performance than those who engage in self-focused attention and therefore are not fully

“in the moment” during the competitive situation (Gardner & Moore, 2004). Formal

mindfulness practice with bare attention, the intention to self-regulate, and a

nonjudgmental and accepting attitude will enhance the disposition to act with more

attention and a nonjudgmental attitude in everyday life, which if practiced correctly and

with intention, will translate into performance (Birrer, Röthlin, & Morgan, 2012).

Present moment focus seems to increase the likelihood of successful performance as such

strategy ensures that unnecessary distractions linked to past events or future events are
 13

momentarily suspended. Such a strategy enhances concentration on the task at hand and

would in turn lead to better athletic performance (Kee & Wang, 2008).

Hölzel et al. (2011) identified four components of mindfulness: (1) attention

regulation, (2) body awareness, (3) emotion regulation (including reappraisal, exposure,

extinction and reconsolidation) and (4) change in perspective on the self. These

components serve as the basis for developing the intervention as these components

combined have been shown to be related to each other and have shown to be part of a

more complex framework than in previous mindfulness research (Brown & Ryan, 2003;

Carmody, 2009; Baer, 2003; Brown et al., 2007). Attention regulation, specifically

conflict monitoring, is important in the beginning stages of mindfulness practice as it

requires a level of regulation needed in order to stay engaged in meditation by bringing

attention to one object such as the breath (Holzel et. al., 2011). Body awareness in

mindfulness research shows a subset of brain regions (particularly the insula and

temporo-parietal junction) relate to improved empathic responses and compassion

attributed to meditation training (Shapiro, Schwartz, & Bonner, 1998). Hölzel et al.

(2011) also includes emotion regulation as a component of mindfulness by demonstrating

a growing body of research that suggests mindfulness practice improves emotion

regulation through peripheral and physiological findings (Ortner et al., 2007; Feldman,

Greeson, & Senville, 2010), neuroscientific findings (Creswell, Way, Eisenberger, &

Lieberman, 2007), psychological disorders (Monk et al., 2008; Etkin et al., 2004), and

appraisal/reappraisal exposure (Garland et al., 2011). Lastly, change in perspective of self

occurs when meditators report that they can observe mental processes with increasing
 14

mental clarity (MacLean et al., 2010). The framework for these components describes a

comprehensive process to advance the field of mindfulness.

Gardner and Moore (2004) presented two case studies showing the effectiveness

of their mindfulness-based intervention program called the Mindfulness Acceptance

Commitment Approach (MAC). This approach facilitates the acceptance of thoughts,

feelings and sensations as they arise before and during competition versus trying to

suppress them. They state that training in the form of scheduled self-regulation of present

moment awareness, which includes mindful awareness of breath and bodily movements,

enhanced their participants’ athletic performance and showed increased enjoyment

(Gardner & Moore, 2004).

Sport Stress

The nature of competitive sport requires athletes to be faced with a number of

stressors. Acute stress experienced during sport contests refers to one or more short-

term, time-limited events perceived by the participant as taxing one’s resources. Previous

research has shown that the inability to cope with acute stress is detrimental to both the

performance and satisfaction of participating in competitive sports (Anshel, Kang &

Jubenville, 2007, 2013). Studies have focused on identifying the stressors encountered

by performers (Noblet & Gifford, 2001), understanding the appraisals and/or coping

strategies employed by athletes when experiencing stressors (Holt & Hogg, 2002;

Dugdale, Eklund, & Gordon, 2002), and the ensuing emotional response to appraisals

(Uphill & Jones, 2007). Mellalieu, Neil, Hanton, & Fletcher (2009) examined the

performance and organizational stressors encountered by elite and non-elite athletes in a

competition environment. It was determined that prior to competing, sport performers

 15

encounter more stressors pertinent to performance than those coming from the

organization. These observations make us more aware that all of the demands faced by

athletes should be considered when preparing and applying interventions to manage

competition stress (Mellalieu et al., 2009).

Since mindfulness has become a more relevant topic in sport psychology, many

different approaches support the impact mindfulness can have on sport performance and

stress. The Mindfulness Acceptance and Commitment (MAC) approach has been used in

sport in various case studies in which athletes experienced less anxiety and enhanced

performance (Gardner & Moore, 2004). The Mindfulness Sport Performance

Enhancement (MPSE) approach showed athletes experiencing more flow, a mindset that

typically occurs when an individual perceives a balance between the challenges

associated with a situation and his or her capabilities to meet those demands and a

decrease in sport anxiety related to worry (Kaufman, Glass, & Arnkoff, 2009). In 2009,

Bernier, Thienot, Codron, and Fournier tested the effects of a new (unnamed)

psychological skills training program based on mindfulness and acceptance approaches

on performance achievement and on the mental skills of young golfers. They discovered

after their roughly six-month training program that all of the golfers in the mindfulness

and acceptance group improved their national ranking, while only two golfers in the

control group did so. Lastly, Baltzell et al. (2014) created the Mindfulness Meditation

Training in Sport (MMTS) in which athletes reported a more productive relationship to

negative on-field emotions.

 16

Anxiety and Emotion Regulation

Anxiety is an emotion that has been proposed to have considerable bearing upon

an athlete’s performance (Hanton & Jones, 1999). The premise that an individual

athlete’s experience of anxiety symptoms may not necessarily be interpreted as

detrimental to performance was based on the work of Burton (1990), Mahoney and

Avener (1977), and Parfitt et al. (1990) who proposed that anxiety related symptoms

could be perceived by some athletes as necessary for mental preparation and performance

(Hanton, Neil, & Mellalieu, 2008). In 2008, Hanton, Niel, & Mellalieu provided a

review of recent developments in competitive anxiety direction and competition stress. It

was concluded that there are two types of anxiety, facilitative and debilitative anxiety.

By definition, facilitative anxiety is beneficial to performance while debilitative anxiety

is detrimental to performance. However, it is debatable on whether facilitative anxiety is

beneficial to performance as anxiety is typically a negative reaction to competition stress.

By labeling anxiety as either positive or negative, there is a conflict in mixing positive

emotions with negative ones. Since this debate, researchers have argued that anxiety

symptoms can be interpreted in either a facilitative or debilitative manner, in relation to

performance. Many athletes believe anxiety can sometimes have a positive effect on

performance depending on where their individual arousal levels need to be in order to

perform well. Hanton & Connaughton (2002) revealed that perceived control of anxiety

was the concluding factor in the directional interpretation of anxiety. Symptoms

perceived to be under control were interpreted to have facilitative effects for

performance. It was found if the cognitive and somatic symptoms of anxiety were
 17

perceived as under control, it consistently leads to a positive directional relationship to

enhanced performance (Hanton & Connaughton, 2002).

In their review, Hanton et al. (2008) also found within studies on competitive

anxiety, hardiness, and psychological skills showed those high in hardiness and

psychological skill usage interpreted anxiety as having a positive effect on their

performance. It has also been discovered that athletes who viewed anxiety as having a

positive effect on performance used more problem-focused coping strategies and less

negative emotion-focused coping strategies (Hanton et al., 2008).

Theories of anxiety in sport such as the Inverted-U Hypothesis (Yerkes &

Dodson, 1908) and Hardy’s Catastrophe Model (1996) indicate that athletes need a

certain amount of anxiety in order to perform at optimal levels (Woodman & Hardy,

2001). Mindfulness practice offers a platform with which an athlete can be in the moment

and aware of anxiety levels in order to perform more consistently. Interventions such as

the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach (Gardner & Moore, 2004)

and mindfulness practice work for emotion regulation by essentially decreasing reactivity

to internal experiences such as thoughts and emotions, which may produce feelings of

anxiety, may hinder performance if levels of anxiety reach a certain level (Hardy, 1996).

This occurs by way of an increased tolerance of the emotional or cognitive state by

creating a task-relevant focus of attention (i.e. moment-to-moment awareness) (Baltzell,

2016, p. 29). Mindfulness strategies encourage an athlete to experience emotions they

may otherwise avoid in order to foster change in the way the emotion, such as anxiety, is

perceived and where it is coming from. Allowing the athlete to sit with the emotion and

be in the moment so the experience can become more comfortable and physiological
 18

sensations that arise from anxiety can become more tolerant as opposed to most exposure

techniques that require an athlete to avoid or modify reactions to specific cues (Baltzell,

2016, pp. 38-39).

Cognitive Interference

In an effort to help athletes and performers understand how competition stress and

performance is related, sport psychology research in previous years has examined affects

and cognitions experienced during competition (Hatzigeorgiadis & Biddle, 2000, 2001).

“Disturbances in concentration while executing a task due to distracting thoughts not

related to the task execution itself are known as cognitive interferences” (Perez-Encinas

et al., 2016; Sarason, Sarason, & Pierce, 1990). Hatzigeorgiadis and Biddle, (2000)

suggest there are three types of thoughts that occur in an athletes’ cognition before and

during competition: performance worry, situation-irrelevant thoughts, and thoughts of

escape.

Cognitive and somatic anxiety states of an athlete can change during competition

based on pre-competition anxiety (Hatzigeorgiadis & Biddle, 2001). In an early attempt

to examine cognition during competition/performance, Gould, Eklund, and Jackson

(1992) examined thought occurrence in elite wrestlers. Thoughts related to strategy and

technique, or a perceived absence of thought were reported by wrestlers with successful

performances. The wrestlers who had unsuccessful performances reported thoughts of

self-defeating and negative in nature thoughts that were irrelevant to the task. In a study

measuring test anxiety to performance (Sarason, 1984), test anxiety positively related to

cognitive interference in the second out of three studies conducted. It was concluded that

cognitive interference and decreased performance are closely related to thoughts that
 19

reflect fears of failure (performance worry) compared to others who experience thoughts

that are irrelevant to the situation. Perez-Encinas et al. (2016) also found a link between

interfering thoughts and performance in two separate elite female field hockey teams.

The two separate groups were given the Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport and

the Self-Talk Questionnaire at the end of major international competitions. Results

showed the players most often experienced frequent performance worries and irrelevant

thoughts. It is believed after these results that players who are able to better control

interfering thoughts may be less internally disturbed and therefore better able to

experience a high-quality sporting performance (Perez-Encinas, et. al, 2016).

There is a scarce amount of research on volleyball related to cognitive anxiety,

however, one study conducted by Hatzigeorgiadis and Biddle (2001) showed volleyball

players whose interfering thoughts got in the way of their concentration during

competition resulted in a decreased effort among those with low goal attainment

expectations. Since a component of mindfulness is thought labeling and is essentially a

form of thought interference, this is valuable because if the meditation training program

is effective and can reduce cognitive interference, performance quality should increase.
 20

CHAPTER 3

METHODS

Participants

Fifteen female Division I women’s volleyball players (M = 19.89 and SD = 1.17)

from the same team volunteered to participate in the study. The players had been on their

current team for 1.53 years and played volleyball for an average of 9.23 years.

Participants were excluded from the study if they have had any previous mindfulness or

meditation training (i.e., attended a meditation retreat, regular practice with videos, or

regular attendance at a meditation center). However, participants who actively practiced

yoga as a part of their workout/meditation routine were permitted to participate.

Instruments

Background Questionnaire (See Appendix A): This questionnaire was used to

obtain demographic and background information about the number of years they have

played volleyball, number of seasons on their current team, age, and ethnicity.

Performance Inventory: Statistics from each game during the training program

were logged for comparison. Blocks, kills, serves and digs were used to track

performance changes.

Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) (See Appendix B): The Sport Anxiety Scale

(Smith, Smoll, & Schutz, 1990) was originally a 30-item self-report measure of cognitive

(worry and concentration disruption) and somatic trait sport anxiety developed and cross-
 21

validated using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Items are rated on a 4-

point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much so), with subscales for

somatic anxiety, worry, and concentration disruption. The SAS has been shown to have

good construct and validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability (Smith, Smoll,

& Schutz, 1990). The second version of the SAS (Sport Anxiety Scale-2) will be used in

this study due to the investigation Dunn, Dunn, Wilson, and Syrotuik (2000) conducted

on the factorial composition of the three subscales. It was found that two items did not

load as expected on the concentration disruption subscale. In response to this

investigation, Smith, Smoll, Cumming, & Grossbard (2006) created the Sport Anxiety

Scale-2 that does not include these two items. The SAS-2 is a 15-item self-report

measure which utilizes a 4-point Likert Scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much

so). Higher scores on the SAS-2 indicate higher levels of sport anxiety.

Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) (See Appendix C): The validated

Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) (Brown & Ryan, 2003) was used to

measure participants’ degree of mindfulness. This scale includes 15 items of self-report

measures of mindful attention and awareness. The MAAS utilizes a 6-point Likert scale

to rate how often participants have experiences such as “I forget a person’s name almost

as soon as I’ve been told it for the first time,” or “I find it difficult to stay focused on

what’s happening in the present.” The Likert scale ranges from 1 (almost always) to 6

(almost never). Higher scores indicated higher degrees of mindfulness.

Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport (TOQS) (See Appendix D): The

TOQS (Hatzigeorgiadis & Biddle, 2000) assesses the cognitive interference or thought

disruption athletes may experience during competition. It was created to bridge the gap
 22

between measures of general abilities related to cognitive interference and measures

geared toward cognitive interference in sport. At the time the instrument was created,

there was a lack in attention being given toward the content and nature of specific

thoughts that may go through an athletes’ mind (Hatzigeorgiadis & Biddle, 2000). This

measure was created from the original instrument, the Cognitive Interference

Questionnaire, Thought Occurrence Questionnaire (TOQ). In order to make the

instrument applicable to sport situations, investigation of the measurement took place in a

four stage process: Stage 1: interviews with athletes; Stage 2: assessment of interviews

from sport psychology consultants using content analytic method to determine face

validity; Stage 3: exploratory factor analysis to test the factor structure of the instrument;

Stage 4: re-testing of exploratory factor analysis results through CFA, while

simultaneously testing discriminant and concurrent validity. The TOQS utilizes a 17-item

self-report measure, each of which is rated on a scale from 1 (almost never) to 7 (very

often). The original measure included three subscales: Task-Related Worries, Task-

Irrelevant Thoughts, and Thoughts of Escape. While developing the original Thought

Occurrence Questionnaire, Sarason et al. (1990) concluded performance is debilitated by

“the effects of interfering thoughts distracting attention from task-relevant cues and using

up cognitive resources that could be better used for task-processing” (Sarason, 1984).

Hatzigeorgiadis & Biddle (2000) changed “task-related worries” to Performance Worries

because analysis of the original scale among athletes “demonstrated fit indices that failed

to reach acceptable levels” (Hatzigeorgiadis & Biddle, 2000). Therefore, the three

subscales in the TOQS are (a) Performance Worries, characterized to demonstrate

thoughts associated with perceived failure to attain performance goals, (b) Task-
 23

Irrelevant Thoughts, characterized by thoughts no associated with competition, (c)

Thoughts of Escape, characterized by thoughts related to removing oneself from the

situation. Analyses have suggested that the TOQS has adequate validity and internal

consistency (Hatzigeorgiadis & Biddle, 2000).

Post-Intervention Survey (See Appendix E): The questionnaire was developed

by the creator of this study and was handed out on the last day of meetings after the final

questionnaires were handed in. Each questionnaire was comprised of six questions

asking participants to fill in their answers as desired. Questions like “what did you like

about the training program?’, “what did you dislike about the training program?”, “did

you find information given to you in the training program useful?”, “in what way have

you applied what you have learned to your volleyball practice or competition?’, “do you

feel your volleyball performance has improved?”, and “will you continue to practice

meditation on your own?”

Procedures
Mindfulness Workshop

The first meeting was to provide informed consent and information about IRB

policies pertaining to the study. At the conclusion of reading and making all participants

aware of the informed consent form, participants received their first set of questionnaires

to assess a baseline measure. The questionnaires were given to each participant on the

first day of each week to assess any changes throughout the program. After the second

set of questionnaires were administered, and for the following weeks after, the order of

distribution of the questionnaires was different each week as well as the order of the

questions within the questionnaire. This was to prevent participants from getting used to

filling out a certain number for their answer and required the participant to actively pay
 24

attention to each question so it was accurately filled out. The Mindfulness Attention

Awareness Scale, Sport Anxiety Scale-2, and Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for

Sport were given out at the beginning of each weeks’ sessions.

After the second meeting of the twelve, participants were asked to follow five 20-

minute audio recordings on their own time. Participants were required to do one for each

week at least once a week. The first official week together was a lesson in anchoring

(breath). No questionnaires were administered in the first week as they were already

completed during the first meeting. During the second week, at the start of the first

meeting of the week, the participants were given the three questionnaires and asked to fill

them out according to what reflects their performance. Next, participants learned

awareness of bodily sensations along with how to label a technique. Labeling allows the

athlete to name their physical sensations, emotions, and/thoughts with a word or a short

phrase. The third weeks’ focus was to take the participants through learning to be

mindful of their emotions and how to label them. At the start of the first meeting this

week, participants were given the three questionnaires and asked to fill them out

according to what reflects their performance. The fourth week was devoted to training

awareness of thoughts and a label associated with those thoughts. Once again,

questionnaires were administered at the beginning of the week to assess any changes

between each component. The fifth week was used as an integration week where

participants were instructed to be mindful of strong physical sensations, emotions, and

thoughts while still focusing most of their attention on the breath. At the start of the first

meeting during the fifth week, participants were given the three questionnaires and asked

to fill them out according to what reflects their performance. The purpose of integration
 25

was to allow the athlete to feel an emotion, experience a thought or bodily sensation and

then make a choice as to what to do with it.

Participants were asked to meditate for a total of three days a week (two in-person

sessions during the meetings and one on their own time) for 20 minutes each. They were

required to participate in at least 3 of the 5 weeks of the meditation in order to remain in

the study. Participants who had been formerly trained or have attended any sort of

meditation retreat were disqualified.

Audio-Guided Meditations

At the conclusion of the beginning of each training week, an audio-guided

meditation (created and provided by the administrator of the training program) was

uploaded to Dropbox. All participants were required to take part in the audio-guided

meditations on their own, for a minimum of one time a week (See Appendices F-J).

Debrief

After the conclusion of the fifth week, a final meeting during the sixth week to

take the final questionnaires and fill out the post-intervention survey took place. Because

meditation may enable deep emotions or thoughts it was important to make sure each

participant was mentally sound enough to carry on with their life after the completion of

the study. Therefore, the debrief was an opportunity to allow each person to voice

anything they felt necessary or talk about any experiences they may have had within the

group or in private. Referral to a free counseling program was available to participants if

needed.
 26

Data Analysis

IBM® SPSS® Statistics version 23.0 was used to perform statistical tests. One

way repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were performed on the scores

from the six administrations of MAAS, SAS-2, and TOQS to determine the effect of time

(within-subject independent variable: levels = pre-intervention, post Week 1, post Week

2, post Week 3, post Week 4, and post Week 5) on the level of mindfulness, state anxiety,

and cognitive interference. The statistical level of significance was set at .05
 27

CHAPTER 4

RESULTS

Quantitative Results

Separate 6 x 3 (Time x Subscales) repeated measures ANOVAs performed on

SAS-2 and TOQS data and a one-way repeated measures ANOVA was performed on

MAAS data. Repeated measures ANOVA on SAS-2 data revealed significant main

effects of time (F(5, 70) = 13.163; p < .0001; η2 = .485) and subscales (F(2, 28) = 26.92;

p < .0001; , η2 = .658), but did not identify any significant interaction between time and

subscales, F(10, 140) = 1.736; p =.078; , η2 = .110. Bonferroni post-hoc tests on time

showed that state anxiety experienced a significant decrease during Week 3 and onward.

Repeated measures ANOVA on TOQS data revealed significant main effects of

time (F(5, 70) = 10.022; p < .0001; , η2 = .417) and subscales (F(2, 28) = 11.401; p < .0001;

η2 = .449), but did not identify any significant interaction between time and subscales,

F(10, 140) = 1.569; p = .122; , η2 = .101. Bonferroni post-hoc tests on time showed that

cognitive interference experienced a significant decrease during Week 3 and onward.

Repeated measures ANOVA on MAAS data did not reveal any significant

finding, F(5, 70) = .781; p = .567; , η2 = .053. Post-hoc tests suggested that SAS-2 and

TOQS scores significantly decreased from the pre-training level at Week 3 and remained

unchanged till the end (see Table 1 and Figure 1). These results suggested that the

meditation training began to take effect after fundamental guidelines for mindfulness
 28

were introduced and they are in turn conducive to reducing cognitive interference and

sport anxiety.

Table 1. Means and standard deviations based on the three instruments for pre-
intervention and post-intervention time periods

Time
Pre- Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5
Intervention Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean
Trait Measures Mean (SD) (SD) (SD) (SD) (SD) (SD)
SPORT 31.00 28.80 26.73 21.00 23.27 22.20
ANXIETY (7.11) (6.38) (8.10) (8.34) (7.54) (5.83)
8.73 8.33 7.53 5.73 6.67 6.00
Somatic anxiety
(2.52) (1.68) (2.23) (2.12) (2.47) (1.31)
14.47 13.13 12.67 9.93 10.67 10.33
Worry
(3.44) (4.39) (5.19) (5.81) (5.12) (4.67)
Concentration 7.80 7.33 6.53 5.33 5.93 5.87
disruption (3.37) (1.59) (1.25) (1.95) (1.38) (1.30)
COGNITIVE 77.13 68.47 60.87 44.53 48.27 48.27
INTERFERENCE (29.30) (27.09) (18.91) (18.31) (14.04) (8.17)
Task-related 27.33 23.26 21.07 16.20 14.80 15.80
worries (7.76) (7.85) (8.94) (8.40) (6.25) (4.80)
Task-irrelevant 29.93 29.1 24.73 17.13 19.07 20.00
worries (14.34) (15.11) (10.11) (8.07) (5.23) (7.54)
Thoughts of 19.87 16.0 15.07 11.20 14.40 12.47
escape (11.84) (9.70) (7.39) (6.44) (8.67) (4.37)
57.80 61.40 58.60 61.47 66.46 61.93
MINDFULNESS
(15.72) (14.97) (10.35) (21.65) (14.51) (17.97)

Note: For the above analyses, n = 15.

 29

100

90

80
Composite Survey Scores
70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Training Phases (Six Weeks)

MAAS SAS-2 TOQS

Figure 1. Changes in Level of Mindfulness, State Anxiety, and Cognitive Interference as

of a function of Training Phases

Mindfulness Training Adherence

After the group sessions of mindfulness training were completed each week,

participants were provided with an audio recording of that week’s training and required

to do it at least once a week on their own. However, despite the reminders sent to the

participants to complete self-administered meditation, the adherence rate was not

satisfactory. The percentages of those who fulfilled the once-a-week requirement for the

five consecutive weeks (starting at week one) are 33.33 %, 13,33 %, 33,33 %, 26,67 %,

and 60.00 %, respectively.

Qualitative Results

On the final day of meeting as a group, the participants were asked to complete a

questionnaire that was designed to serve as a source of social validation for the
 30

mindfulness meditation training program. The questionnaire consisted of the following

open-ended questions: 1. What did you like about the training program? 2. What did you

dislike about the training program? 3. Did you find the information given to you during

the training program useful? 4. In what way have you applied what you have learned to

your volleyball practice or competition? 5. Do you feel as though your volleyball

performance has improved? If so, in what way? 6. Will you continue to practice

meditation on your own? If so, why do you feel like it is beneficial?

Analyses of the answers from the questionnaire yielded themes the researcher

extrapolated from the questionnaire answers after careful examination of each question.

These were based off of any reoccurring themes that were presented (See Table 2). The

first theme is enhanced volleyball performance. Twelve out of fifteen participants

reported that the training program has helped them improve volleyball performance. The

second theme is the general utility of the training. All participants found the information

given during the training to be useful. To further analyze the general utility theme,

several sub-themes were identified and summarized in Table 2. The third theme is what

the participants disliked about the training. All participants said the thing they disliked

about the training program was that the meditations occurred immediately after practice

and it was hard to sit because their muscles would tense up and they would get extra

uncomfortable. A few other responses included that it was hard to sit still for 20 minutes

because they weren’t used to being still for so long. The main reason for disliking the

timing of the training program varied.

 31

Table 2. Sub-Themes of Reported General Utility

Number of Participants
Sub-Themes Reporting Examples

“It helped me with my

Able to let go 3 performance AND everyday life
. . . it is easier to let things go”

“Meditating is really cool. I use

it almost every day now to
Present moment awareness 3
realize the way I’m feeling in the
present moment”

“I can use it to get things out of

my head quicker.”
Mind reset after mistake 10
“I reframe my thoughts when I
make a mistake”

“Learning to breathe as well as

not overthink an error
FOREVER.”
Focus on breath 4
“When I mess up or get angry I
try to just come back to my
breath”

“Not getting too frustrated after

a mistake and to forget about it
Emotional control 9 and reframe it in a positive way”
“I am more calm and able to
control my emotions better”

“I have way more confidence!”

“My performance has improved
Enhanced confidence 2 drastically because my self-
awareness and confidence have
improved”

“I am able to make myself focus

Concentration 2
when I become unfocused…”

“I feel like there were times

where I was good and times
Undecided-performance 2 where I struggled”
“A rollercoaster of
improvements”

“I disliked that it was right after

practice when my mind was
racing and hard to calm down”
“Sometimes I was really
Timing of training 15 exhausted after practice and
wanted to sleep”
“I disliked that it was right after
practice and I was always sore &
tired”
 32

CHAPTER 5

DISCUSSION

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of a five-week mindfulness

training program on sport anxiety, general mindfulness, and cognitive interference in

Division I female volleyball players. The findings of the current study partially support

the hypothesis that mindfulness meditation training can reduce sport anxiety and

cognitive interference and enhance mindfulness. Results indicate that both sport anxiety

and cognitive interference showed a significant decrease after week three, compared with

the pre-intervention levels of sport anxiety and cognitive interference during week one.

The increase in mindfulness levels as measured in MAAS did not reach the level of

significance even though there was an upward trend during weeks two, three, and four,

but decreased slightly during week five. The qualitative results from the post-intervention

questionnaire validated the utility of the intervention. All fifteen participants found the

training to be useful in general and 12 of them found the training to be conducive to their

volleyball performance.

The finding that anxiety levels showed a significant decrease during the

mindfulness training is consistent with the findings from John, Verma, & Khanna (2011)

study on a Mindfulness Meditation Training for sport populations program with elite

shooters. The training program in their study was five weeks long and consisted of a

supine body scan, savasana position, and pranayamic breathing for intermittent periods of
 33

time. The MMT for sport populations supports the current study in that other

mindfulness studies related to anxiety include an MBSR based intervention (DePetrillo,

Kaufman, Glass, & Arnkoff, 2009) or other forms of mindfulness meditation including

mindful movement relevant to a particular sport (Worthen & Luiselli, 2016) instead of

insight meditations similar to Vipassana-style meditations, as MMT is most similar to,

and still produce a decrease in sport anxiety. The intent of the training program was to

keep it simple because student-athletes lead very busy lives. We wanted to find a way to

provide athletes/performers with a tool to cope with anxiety that didn’t require an

excessive amount of equipment and time. Vipassana insight meditations, as exemplified

by the mindful training program in the current study, allow the practitioner to perceive

the mind just as it is while sitting or lying in a meditation stance, in an effort to eliminate

attachment to thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations (Thatcher, 2008). Lower levels

of sport anxiety from mindfulness training are also supported by DePetrillo, et. al (2009)

who studied the effects of a mindfulness for sport performance enhancement training

program on long distance runners. Runners reported that after the four-week training

program, they experienced lower levels of performance anxiety related to worry.

Overall, similar results were found in the current study as were also found in

Baltzel et al. (2014) mindfulness study on Division I female soccer players and DePetrillo

et al. (2009) study with recreational long distance runners in mindfulness for sport. The

current study was conceived from portions of these two previous studies but was tested

on a different sport population. Mindfulness research in the domain of volleyball

performance is still scarce. The current study showed anxiety and cognitive interference

can be reduced with a mindfulness training program in Division I female volleyball

 34

players. This study can be used in conjunction with traditional sport psychology

interventions, or it can be used on its own for athletes/performers with anxiety and high

levels of cognitive interference.

With regard to the qualitative data extracted from the post-intervention survey,

participants showed a perceived feeling of having control over their anxiety and

emotions, which they believe enhanced their performance. Hanton and Connaughton

(2002) conducted a study on elite swimmers and the causal relationship between anxiety

symptoms and sporting performance. It was found that cognitive and somatic symptoms

deemed under personal control lead to a positive interpretation of symptoms, self-

confidence, and a perception that performance would increase. This is in line with the

findings of the current study because the training program in this study was dedicated to

self-awareness in relation to bodily sensations, emotions and thoughts and then

participants were given an intervention to help cope with the symptoms of anxiety and

cognitive interference during performance. Since post-intervention surveys showed

cognitive interference was perceived to be under control after the training, experiences of

perception of increased self-confidence, and a statistically significant decrease in

cognitive interference, the 5-week mindfulness training program aids performers in

coping with perceptions of feeling out of control.

It is important to note that mindfulness did not show significance according to the

MAAS scores, however many factors may have contributed to this, outside of the training

programs procedures. For instance, the mindfulness training program took place

immediately after practice, which as mentioned in Table 2, all participants disliked. It

was reported this made it difficult to pay attention and immediately calm a racing mind
 35

that comes with a practice environment. Most complained of feeling the most tired at the

time of day the training program occurred, since it took place at the end of the school day

and after afternoon practices. Along with this, two participants mentioned it was hard for

them to stay awake at times and they wished they could have laid down during

meditations instead of being required to sit.

Limitations of the Study and Direction for Future Research

There are several limitations that may have weakened the effectiveness of the

current study. The current study did not use a control group treatment. Because we chose

to only use one team, it would have been difficult to assure those participating in

meditation would not tell teammates who may be assigned to the control group about

their training which would defeat the purpose of having a control group and a test group.

Therefore, it was decided there would be only one group doing mindfulness meditation

training. Secondly, the current study was not conducted with a non-randomized

approach. This particular team was chosen intentionally, therefore, no participants were

chosen at random. Members of the team were given the option to opt out of the training

with no consequences, however only two members of the team chose to do so. Thirdly,

obtaining reliable objective performance data was difficult to obtain. There are a number

of variables that go into whether performance was increased or decreased during the

training so keeping game-by-game statistics was not conducive to effective performance

in relation to this study. Mindfulness research in sport has historically proved to be

difficult to find an effective objective way of measuring performance in non-randomized

trials (Sappington & Longshore, 2015). Fourthly, the sample size was small so there

wasn’t a large amount of data to extrapolate changes. Because there was participation
 36

from all but two team members of the team, it is deemed, for purposes of this study, to be

“good enough” and it is plausible that other Division I volleyball players may produce

similar results when given the same training. Fifthly, the Mindfulness Attention

Awareness Scale was not created as a sport-specific measure, therefore it was difficult to

assess changes in mindfulness in volleyball when the elements of the measure aren’t

related to sporting situations. Lastly, the study also suffers because of low levels of

adherence of its participants to the intervention protocol, specifically the audio-guided

meditation requirement.

Future research is needed to assess a longer period of training time and effects on

mindfulness, sport anxiety and sport performance. The goal of choosing a five-week

time period for the current study was to see if a training program longer than four weeks

and shorter than nine weeks as previous studies have tested (Baltzell et. al., 2014;

DePetrillo, Kaufman, Glass, & Arnkoff, 2009; Worthen & Luiselli, 2016), however it

was proven to be difficult to reach significant levels of mindfulness and assess sport

performance effectively. Possibly administering the scales five weeks before the start of

the intervention may give a better baseline score of sport anxiety and cognitive

interference, and may lend greater attribution to any changes to the training program.

Secondly, the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale is not specifically tailored to sport

populations. It would be beneficial to create a similar scale closely related to sport

populations so athletes can relate to the questions more effectively. Mindfulness changes

may be more significant if this were available. Lastly, it was expressed in the post-

intervention survey that it would be helpful to explain to the group each week, in detail,

what mindfulness means and why it is relevant to sport. The current study explained
 37

what mindfulness is in detail during the first week and during the first meeting only.

Otherwise it was only referred to briefly as a reminder.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the current study adds to the body of literature on mindfulness and

sport by demonstrating that mindfulness training can reduce sport anxiety and cognitive

interference in female collegiate level volleyball players. Since reduced anxiety and

cognitive interference are associated with enhanced performance as shown in the research

literature, it could be argued that mindfulness also enhances performance. This point is

validated by the positive self-reports from the post-intervention questionnaire. This study

also showcases a mindfulness meditation training program that can be tailored to

different sports for future researchers. It is important for athletes to be able to cope with

feelings of anxiety during practice or competition. Instead of teaching an

athlete/performer to suppress their emotions or thoughts, this mindfulness training

program gives athletes/performers an avenue to explore themselves using insight and

attentional awareness to cope instead of suppressing them. It has been shown that

attentional awareness and a decrease in cognitive interference will allow the

athlete/performer to acknowledge their thoughts and emotions and “let them go”. The

work from this study was made possible to decrease levels of anxiety in a very simple

form for athletes to use while they are at home or in their sporting environment.

Mindfulness training such as the training program conducted here can be done without

instruction and at the convenience of the practitioner. The intention for this training

program is to be used in addition to other sport psychology training methods to give an

 38

athlete/performer a wide range of choices for improving mental and physical

performance.
 39

APPENDIX A

BACKGROUND QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Number of years you have played volleyball

2. Number of seasons on your current team

3. Age

4. Ethnicity
 40

APPENDIX B

MINDFULNESS ATTENTION AWARENESS SCALE (MAAS)

Instructions: Below is a collection of statements about your everyday experience.

Using the 1-6 scale below, please indicate how frequently or infrequently you
currently have each experience. Please answer according to what really reflects your
experience rather than what you think your experience should be. Please treat each
item separately from every other item.

1)- Almost Always (2)-Very Frequently (3)-Somewhat Frequently (4)-Somewhat

Infrequently (5)-Very Infrequently (6)-Almost Never

I could be experiencing some emotion and not be 1 2 3 4 5 6

conscious of it until some time later.
I break or spill things because of carelessness, not
paying attention, or thinking of something else. 1 2 3 4 5 6

I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s

happening in the present. 1 2 3 4 5 6

I tend to walk quickly to get where I’m going without

paying attention to what I experience along the way. 1 2 3 4 5 6

I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or

discomfort until they really grab my attention. 1 2 3 4 5 6

I forget a person’s name almost as soon as I’ve

been told it for the first time. 1 2 3 4 5 6

It seems I am “running on automatic,” without much

awareness of what I’m doing. 1 2 3 4 5 6

I rush through activities without being really attentive to 1 2 3 4 5 6

them.
I get so focused on the goal I want to achieve that I
lose touch with what I’m doing right now to get there. 1 2 3 4 5 6

I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware

of what I'm doing. 1 2 3 4 5 6
 41

I find myself listening to someone with one

ear, doing something else at the same time. 1 2 3 4 5 6

I drive places on ‘automatic pilot’ and then wonder why 1 2 3 4 5 6

I went there.
I find myself preoccupied with the future or the past. 1 2 3 4 5 6

I find myself doing things without paying attention. 1 2 3 4 5 6

I snack without being aware that I’m eating. 1 2 3 4 5 6

To score the scale, simply compute the mean of the 15 items. Higher scores reflect
higher levels of dispositional mindfulness
 42

APPENDIX C

SPORT ANXIETY SCALE-2 (SAS-2)

Before or while I compete in sports: Not very

at all much
It is hard to concentrate on the game. 1 2 3 4
My body feels tense. 1 2 3 4
I worry that I will not play well. 1 2 3 4
It is hard for me to focus on what I 1 2 3 4
am supposed to do.
I worry that I will let others down. 1 2 3 4
I feels tense in my stomach. 1 2 3 4
I lose focus on the game. 1 2 3 4
I worry that I will not play my best. 1 2 3 4
I worry that I will play badly. 1 2 3 4
10. My muscles feel shaky. 1 2 3 4
11. I worry that I will mess up during the 1 2 3 4
game.
12. My stomach feels upset. 1 2 3 4
13. I cannot think clearly during the 1 2 3 4
game.
14. My muscles feel tight because I am 1 2 3 4
nervous.
15. I have a hard time focusing on what 1 2 3 4
my coach tells me to do.
Scoring Key: Somatic: Items 2, 6, 10, 12, 14; Worry: Items 3, 5, 8, 9, 11;
Concentration Distruption: Items 1, 4, 7, 13,
 43

APPENDIX D

THOUGHT OCCURRENCE QUESIONNAIRE FOR SPORT (TOQS)

While performing I think about… Never

very

often
1. How poorly I am doing 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2. What someone will think of me 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3. How I should be more careful 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4. How well others can do on what I am 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

trying to do

5. How difficult what I am doing is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6. Level of ability 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

7. The purpose of what I am doing 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8. How I would feel if I were told how I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

performed

9. How often I feel confused 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10. Other activities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

11. Members of my family 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12. Friends 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13. Something that makes me feel guilty 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14. Personal worries 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

 44

15. Something that makes me feel tense 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
16. Something that makes me feel angry

17. Something that happened earlier in the day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18. Something that happened in the recent past 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(ie: in the last few days
19. Something that happened in the distant past 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

20. Something that might happen in the future 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21. Stopping 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

22. How unhappy I am 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23. How hard it is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24. How I cannot stand it any more 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
25. About quitting
26. Running away 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27. Taking something (ie: pills, a drink) to 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

make it easier
28. Going to bed or sleep 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Scoring: Performance worries: 1-8; Situation irrelevant thoughts: 9-20; Thoughts of

escape: 21-28.
 45

APPENDIX E

POST-INTERVENTION SURVEY

1. What did you like about the training program?

2. What did you dislike about the training program?

3. Did you find the information given to you in the training program useful?

4. In what way have you applied what you have learned to your volleyball practice
or competition?

5. Do you feel as though your volleyball performance has improved? If so, in what
way?

6. Will you continue to practice meditation on your own? If so, why do you feel like
it is beneficial?
 46

APPENDIX F

BREATHING SCRIPT

During the next 20 minutes you will learn how to focus on your breath, helping the
mind to calm and the body to relax. It is key when learning to meditate to try not to
make anything happen. Just observe. There is no right or wrong way to
meditate….so with that in mind, find a position that is most comfortable for you.
One that won’t make you fall asleep. Sitting in a chair, or seated on the floor. If
you choose to sit on the floor, you may sit on a comfortable cushion with your knees
folded underneath you, or with your legs crossed over one another (Indian Style).
To make yourself as comfortable as possible, try putting some cushions under each
knee if you are sitting in the crossed over position. If you choose to sit in a chair or
on the floor, pay attention to your back. Is it straight, but not rigid, allowing air to
flow in and out seamlessly? Or Is it hunched over, preventing you from getting as
much air as possible to flow thru the body? Once you choose a position, stick with
that position. If you start to feel uncomfortable, fight the urge to adjust. Every time
you feel uncomfortable and you adjust, you take your attention away from your
breath and interrupt the flow of your meditation. Like in competition, you have to
pick a play and stick with it until it is complete so as to not to give up an
unnecessary point or mess up the flow of the team

Close your eyes gently. Roll your shoulders slowly back. Allow your muscles to relax as
you bring your awareness to the present moment. Do you feel relaxed or tense? Feel the
cold of the air going in your nostril, and the warm going out of your nostrils.

Notice your breath flowing in and out. Feel your stomach go out as you inhale and back
down as you exhale.

Your mind may have drifted…You may have brought your attention to practice that
happened earlier, an assignment you have due, a pain in your body from days and days
worth of volleyball training, games, and weights. Just bring your awareness back to your
breath and notice the air going in and the air going out.

Notice the completion of a full breath. From the beginning of an inhale…your stomach
pushing out, your chest rising as your rib case expands through your back. To the end of
an exhale…your chest lower and your rib cage relaxes. Your stomach draws back into
your belly button.
 47

Your mind may have wandered again. It’s ok, just bring your focus back to your breath.

On your next exhale, start to wiggle your toes, bring sensation to your fingers. Slowly
open your eyes. Bring your gaze to the ground in front of you. Move your shoulders,
straighten your legs. Sit for a few more moments to acknowledge how relaxed your body
feels. Bring your attention to where your mind is. Feel it return to its normal level of
functioning.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
 48

BODILY SENSATIONS SCRIPT

Welcome back! Continuing where we left off from last week, we are going to focus
on our breathing in this next lesson as well as acknowledging bodily sensations.
Keep in mind this is a practice, just like in competition, and because this is still a
fairly new skill, you won’t be perfect at it right away. I want you to remember this
as we proceed in the next 4 weeks.

With that in mind, find a position that is most comfortable for you. One that won’t
make you fall asleep. Sitting in a chair, or seated on the floor. If you choose to sit on
the floor, you may sit on a comfortable cushion with your knees folded underneath
you, or with your legs crossed over one another (Indian Style). To make yourself as
comfortable as possible, try putting some cushions under each knee if you are sitting
in the crossed over position. If you choose to sit in a chair or on the floor, pay
attention to your back. Is it straight, but not rigid, allowing air to flow in and out
seamlessly? Or Is it hunched over, preventing you from getting as much air as
possible to flow thru the body? Once you choose a position, stick with that position.
If you start to feel uncomfortable, fight the urge to adjust. Every time you feel
uncomfortable and you adjust, you take your attention away from your breath and
interrupt the flow of your meditation. Remember, just like in volleyball, you need to
pick a focal point on a serve, a spot on the court for a hit, or a player to set the ball
for and stick with it. Changing your course could derail your ultimate goal.

Close your eyes gently. Roll your shoulders slowly back. Allow your muscles to relax as
you bring your awareness to the present moment. Are you feeling any sensations in your
body? Do you feel relaxed or tense? Notice your breath flowing in and out. Allow it to
just be. Make no effort to change it.

As you observe your breathing, center your awareness on the physical sensations of the
breathing. Try to remain relaxed and receptive while alert and attentive.

You may feel a tingling in your toes, warmness in your back as you sit up straight, an
ache in your hips. As you maintain the awareness of your breathing, go one step further
to bring the focus of your breath to anything you may feel happening in your body. Stick
with this sensation until it goes away. Then calmly bring your awareness back to your
breath flowing slowly thru your nose and back out of your nose.

If your awareness is on your body and has drifted from your breath, notice the sensation
that makes up this experience. Is it hardness or softness? Warmth or coolness? Tingling?
Pressure? Burning? Tenseness? Throbbing? Is it starting to become stronger or relax as
you become more aware of it?

Continue to use your breath as the anchor when any sensations pass. Notice the
completion of a full breath. From the inhale…to the pause at the top of your inhale…the
slow exhale…to the pause just before you take another breath.
 49

Now it is time to slowly awaken your body. Start to wiggle your toes, bring sensation to
your fingers. Slowly open your eyes. Move your shoulders, straighten your legs. Sit for
a few more moments to acknowledge how relaxed your body feels. Bring your attention
to your mind and feel it return to its normal level of functioning.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
 50

EMOTIONS LABELING SCRIPT

Welcome to Week 3! As we continue to move forward in our practice I want you to

reflect on what you have learned so far and how you have incorporated it into your
volleyball games/practice. Thus far we have focused on our breathing and
acknowledging of bodily sensations. This week we are going to continue to build on
these, and add in labeling of emotion. During a volleyball match or in practice, it is
easy to get emotional. Frustrated, worried, mad, aggravated, excited. I want you
this week, as you focus on your breath and continue to acknowledge sensations
flowing through your body, to also acknowledge the emotion you have when a
thought arises. Label it so you know what that emotion feels like. And bring
yourself back to your breath. Your breath is your anchor. An important part of
mindfulness practice is investigating our relationships to our emotions. Do we cling
to them? Do we hate them? Are we ashamed of them? Do we tense around them?
Are we afraid of how we are feeling? Do we measure our self-worth by the presence
or absence of an emotion? Can we simply leave an emotion alone?

So with that in mind, find a position that is most comfortable for you. One that
won’t make you fall asleep. Sitting in a chair, or seated on the floor. If you choose to
sit on the floor, you may sit on a comfortable cushion with your knees folded
underneath you, or with your legs crossed over one another (Indian Style). To make
yourself as comfortable as possible, try putting some cushions under each knee if
you are sitting in the crossed over position. If you choose to sit in a chair or on the
floor, pay attention to your back. Is it straight, but not rigid, allowing air to flow in
and out seamlessly? Or Is it hunched over, preventing you from getting as much
air as possible to flow thru the body? Once you choose a position, stick with that
position. If you start to feel uncomfortable, fight the urge to adjust. Every time you
feel uncomfortable and you adjust, you take your attention away from your breath
and interrupt the flow of your meditation. Like in competition, you have to pick a
play and stick with it until it is complete so as to not mess up the flow of the team.

Close your eyes gently. Roll your shoulders slowly back. Allow your muscles to relax as
you bring your awareness to the present moment. Are you feeling any sensations in your
body? Do you feel relaxed or tense? Notice your breath flowing in and out. Allow it to
just be. Make no effort to change it.

Notice how you are feeling right now. Notice the air going in your nose, feel it at the tip
of your nose, and notice it go back out of your nose, feeling the warmth of the air graze
the end of your nose.

Reflect on a losing game you had not long ago and mindfully observe your emotional
reactions arising without judgment or resistance. Usually several difficult emotional
states will appear together. They may include agitation, anger, confusion, regrets. Notice
them and label them silently as if you want to remember them when they show up again.
 51

Continue to label them until you no longer experience this emotion and bring your
awareness back to your breath. Continuing to focus on your breathing, notice the
completion of a full breath. From the inhale…to the pause at the top of your inhale…the
slow exhale…to the pause just before you take another breath.

Picture a day when the game is going so well and when you feel so confident and in
control. Observe mindfully these positive states at present. You may notice such feelings
of calmness, confidence, joy. Notice the predominant emotional states, their level of
intensity, how long they last.

As your mind wanders, are you feeling stress? Frustration? Continue to acknowledge
these emotions. Come back to the rise and fall of your chest as you inhale and exhale as
any emotion no longer serves a purpose.

Now it is time to slowly awaken your body. Start to wiggle your toes, bring sensation to
your fingers. Slowly open your eyes. Move your shoulders, straighten your legs. Sit for
a few more moments to acknowledge how relaxed your body feels. Bring your attention
to your mind and feel it return to its normal level of functioning.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
 52

THOUGHTS LABELING SCRIPT

You have made it to Week 4! Before we work with thoughts, please sit comfortably
and at ease. Let your body be at rest and your breathing be natural. Close your
eyes. Take several full breaths and let each release gently. Allow yourself to be still.
Now allow your focus of attention drift away from breathing. I want you to take a
moment and reflect on what we have learned so far. About the practice of staying in
the moment, returning to your breath if bodily sensations or emotions arise and how
you have applied these to volleyball. In fact, the process of reflecting a mental
activity, consisting of a series of images and/or words. During this reflective activity,
you may notice changes of physical sensations, and/or emotions of joy and agony.
Just acknowledge them and label them if these feelings are strong. Now bring
yourself back to the present moment.

We are going to build on what we have been practicing for the last 3 weeks and this
week add in the idea of labeling your thoughts. Thoughts are going to happen while
you play volleyball. They are to the brain what stomach acid is to the stomach.
Secretions of the brain. They are going to arise. Some thoughts are future plans,
some are experiences that have already happened in the past, some are thoughts of
worry about something you don’t have control over, or some might just be “I need
to get bread at the store.” I want you to label your thoughts as they arise, without
judgment, and breathe them away as you exhale. Do not identify yourself with
thoughts, Just observe them, label them, and let them go away.

Continuing to focus on your breathing, notice the completion of a full breath. From the
inhale…to the pause at the top of your inhale…the slow exhale…to the pause just before
you take another breath.

As your mind wanders, acknowledge your thought. Are you planning for something in
the future, if so label it “planning”, did your mind wander to something that happened in
the past? This is “past”. You can’t control what has happened in the past, or what will
happen in the future. Non-judgmentally label your thought and bring yourself back to the
present moment when it no longer serves a purpose, back to your breath.

As you label your thoughts, notice any emotion that has come up because of these
thoughts. Label it, and return to your breath. Focus on the long inhale through your
nose….now the long, slow exhale out your nose.

When a thought takes your attention away from your breath, acknowledge any physical
sensations that may be happening as a result of that thought. Do you feel tension in your
muscles? Do you feel your shoulders start to relax as you acknowledge the thought?
Label your sensations and bring your awareness back to your breath.

Picture a losing game you had not long ago. Things did not go as you and your
teammates anticipated. Mindfully observe any thoughts and emotions arising without
 53

judgment. Label these thoughts in a tiny voice in your mind. Keep labeling the same
persistent thought until it stops coming back.

Visualize a winning game when all things went well. Observe mindfully any thoughts
and emotions you observe. You may notice such feelings of calmness, confidence, joy.
Notice the predominant emotional states, their level of intensity, how long they last

Now it is time to slowly awaken your body. Start to wiggle your toes, bring sensation to
your fingers. Slowly open your eyes. Move your shoulders, straighten your legs. Sit for
a few more moments to acknowledge how relaxed your body feels. Bring your attention
to your mind and feel it return to its normal level of functioning.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
 54

INTEGRATION LABELING SCRIPT

You’ve made it to the last week of meditations! We have worked through the 4
components of mindfulness, breathing, physical sensations, emotions, and thoughts.
Before you begin your meditations, please sit comfortably and at ease. Let your
body be at rest and your breathing be natural. Close your eyes. Take several full
breaths and let each breath release gently. Allow yourself to be still. Now allow
your focus of attention to drift away from breathing. Take a moment and reflect
what you have learned so far. About staying in the moment. How physical
sensations occur in the body constantly and you may not be aware of them.
Emotions produce specific physical sensations. You have learned how to recognize
an emotion and what it physically does to your body. And lastly, thoughts are going
to happen, and they may produce emotions, bodily sensations, or they may bring
you away from your focus of breath more than you would like. But becoming aware
of what you are thinking can help you to make a conscious in the moment decision
whether to react or not react.

All of these things we have practiced are going to happen while you play volleyball.
They will happen numerous times and sometimes they have the ability to derail you from
your focus on the game or your practice. As you notice these things, physical sensations,
emotions, thoughts, you can investigate them non-judgmentally, but now I ask you to
vigilantly watch it. Ask yourself “what am I going to do with this thought?” If you feel as
though you identify with a thought, replace that thought with another thought. If you are
unable to replace it, try reframing it. Make a positive thought into a negative thought.

Continuing to focus on your breathing, notice the completion of a full breath. From the
inhale…to the pause at the top of your inhale…the slow exhale…to the pause just before
you take another breath.

As your mind wanders, acknowledge your thought. Are you planning for something in
the future, if so label it “planning”, did your mind wander to something that happened in
the past? This is “past”. You can’t control what has happened in the past, or what will
happen in the future. Non-judgmentally label your thought and ask yourself what the
consequence of this thought would be, if any.

As you label your thoughts, notice any emotion that has come up because of these
thoughts. Label it, and return to your breath. Focus on the long inhale through your
nose…now the long, slow exhale out your nose. If a thought continues to arise, notice
the emotions, physical sensations it brings and bring yourself back to the present moment
by bringing your attention back to the breath.

When a thought takes your attention away from your breath, acknowledge any physical
sensations that may be happening as a result of that thought. Do you feel tension in your
muscles? Do you feel your shoulders start to relax as you acknowledge the thought?
Label your sensations and bring your awareness back to your breath.
 55

Picture a losing game you had not long ago. Things did not go as you and your
teammates anticipated. Mindfully observe any thoughts and emotions arising without
judgment. Label these thoughts in a tiny voice in your mind. Keep labeling the same
persistent thought until it stops coming back.

Visualize a winning game when all things went well. Observe mindfully any thoughts
and emotions you observe. You may notice such feelings of calmness, confidence, joy.
Notice the predominant emotional states, their level of intensity, how long they last

Now it is time to slowly awaken your body. Start to wiggle your toes, bring sensation to
your fingers. Slowly open your eyes. Move your shoulders, straighten your legs. Sit for
a few more moments to acknowledge how relaxed your body feels. Bring your attention
to your mind and feel it return to its normal level of functioning.
 56

REFERENCES

Anshel, M. H., Kang, M., & Juhenville, C. (2013). Sources of acute sport stress scale for
sports officials: Rasch calibration. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14, 362-370.

Anshel, M. H., Sutarso, T. (2007). Relationships between sources of acute anxiety stress
and athletes’ coping style in competitive sport as a function of gender. Psychology
of Sport and Exercise, 8, 1-24.

Baer, R. A. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual

empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 125-143.

Baltzell, A., McCarthy, J., Greenbaum, T. (2014). Mindfulness Strategies: Consulting

with Coaches and Athletes: Background and Presentation of the 2013 AASP
Annual Convention Workshop. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 5, 147-
155.

Baltzell, A., Caraballo, N., Chipman, K., & Hayden, L. (2014). A qualitative study of the
Mindfulness Meditation Training for Sport (MMTS): Division I female soccer
players’ experience. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 8, 221-244.

Baltzell, A. L. (Ed.). (2016). Mindfulness and performance (Current Perspectives in

Social and Behavioral Sciences). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Bernier, M., Thienot, E., Codron, R., & Fournier, J. F. (2009). Mindfulness and
acceptance approaches in sport performance. Journal of Clinical Sport
Psychology, 3(4), 320-333.

Birrer, D., & Morgan, G. (2010). Psychological skills training as a way to enhance an
athlete’s performance in high-intensity sports. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine
& Science in Sports, 20 (Suppl 2), 78-87.

Birrer, D., Röthlin, P., & Morgan, G. (2012). Mindfulness to enhance athletic
performance: Theoretical considerations and possible impact mechanisms.
Mindfulness, 3(3), 235-246.

Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Sharipo, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., . . .
Devins, G. (2004) Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical
Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230-241.
 57

Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its
role in psychological wellbeing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
84, 822-848.

Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M. (2004) Perils and promise in defining and measuring
mindfulness: Observations from experience. Clinical Psychology: Science and
Practice, 11(3), 242-248.

Brown, K.W., Ryan, R.M., & Creswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical

foundations and evidence for its salutary effects. Psychological Inquiry, 18, 211-
237.

Carlson, L. E., & Brown, K. W. (2005). Validation of the mindful attention awareness
scale in a cancer population. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 58, 29-33.

Carmody, J. (2009). Evolving conceptions of mindfulness in clinical settings. Journal of

Cognitive Psychotherapy, 23, 270-280.

Chang, V. Y., Palesh, O., Caldwell, R., Glasgow, N., Abramson, M., Luskin, F., . . .
Koopman, C. (2004). The effects of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program
on stress, mindfulness self-efficacy, and positive states of mind. Stress and
Health, 20(3), 141-147.

Chen, D. D. (2017). Stress management and prevention: Applications to daily life (3rd
Ed.). London and New York: Routledge.

Chambers, R., Chuen Ye Lo, B., Allen, N.B. (2008). The impact of intensive mindfulness
training on attentional control, cognitive style, and affect. Cognitive Therapy and
Research, 32, 303-322.

Craft, L., Magyar, T., Becker, B., & Feltz, D. (2003). The relationship between the
Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 and sport performance: A meta-analysis.
Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 25, 44-65.

Creswell, J. D., Way, B. M., Eisenberger, N. I., & Lieberman, M. D. (2007). Neural
correlates of dispositional mindfulness during affect labeling. Psychosomatic
Medicine, 69, 560-565.

DePetrillo, L. A., Kaufman, K. A., Glass, C. R., & Arnkoff, D. B., (2009) Mindfulness
for Long-Distance Runners: An open trial using mindful sport performance
enhancement (MSPE). Journal of Clinical Sports Psychology, 4, 357-376.

Dugdale, J. R., Eklund, R. C., & Gordon, S. (2002). Expected and unexpected stressors in
major international competition: Appraisal, coping, and performance. The Sport
Psychologist, 16, 20-33.
 58

Dunn, J. G., Dunn, J. C., Wilson, P., & Syrotuik, D. G. (2000). Reexamining the factorial
composition and factor structure of the Sport Anxiety Scale. Journal of Sport and
Exercise Psychology, 22(2), 183-193.

Etkin, A., Klemenhagen, K. C., Dudman, J. T., Rogan, M. T., Hen, R., Kandel, E. R., &
Hirsch, J. (2004). Individual differences in trait anxiety predict the response of the
basolateral amygdala to unconsciously processed fearful faces. Neuron, 44, 1043-
1055.

Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new era of cognitive-

developmental inquiry. American Psychologist, 34, 906-911.

Feldman, G., Greeson, J., & Senville, J. (2010). Differential effects of mindful breathing,
progressive muscle relaxation, and loving-kindness meditation on decentering and
negative reactions to repetitive thoughts. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48,
1002-1011.

Gardner, F. L., & Moore, Z. E. (2004). A Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment-based

approach to athletic performance enhancement: Theoretical considerations.
Behavior Therapy, 35, 707–723.

Gardner, F. L., & Moore, Z. E. (2006). Clinical sport psychology. Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics.

Garland, E. L., Gaylord, S. A., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2011). Positive reappraisal mediates
the stress-reductive effects of mindfulness: An upward spiral process.
Mindfulness, 2, 59-67.

Gooding, A., & Gardner, F. L. (2009). An investigation of the relationship between

mindfulness, preshot routine, and basketball free throw percentage. Journal of
Clinical Sports Psychology, 3(4), 303-319.

Gould, D., Eklund, R. C., & Jackson (1992). 1988 U.S. Olympic wrestling excellence:
Mental preparation, precompetitive cognition and affect. The Sport Psychologist,
6, 358-382.

Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress
reduction health benefits: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research,
57, 35-43.

Hanton, S. & Connaughton, D. (2002). Perceived control of anxiety and its relationship to
self-confidence and performance. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 73,
87-97.
 59

Hanton, S., & Jones, G. (1999). The effects of a multi-modal intervention program on
performers: II. Training the butterflies to fly in formation. The Sport Psychologist,
13, 22-41.

Hanton, S., Neil, R., Mellalieu, S. (2008). Recent developments in competitive anxiety
direction and competition stress research. International Review of Sport and
Exercise Psychology, 1(1), 45-57.

Hardy, L. (1996). A test of catastrophe models of anxiety and sports performance against
multidimensional anxiety theory models using the method of dynamic differences.
Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 9(1), 69-86.

Hatzigeorgiadis, A., Biddle, J., (2000). Assessing cognitive interference in sport:

Development of the Though Occurrence Questionnaire. Anxiety, Stress, and
Coping, 13, 65-86.

Hatzigeorgiadis, A., & Biddle, S. J. (2001). Athletes’ perceptions of how cognitive

interference during competition influences concentration and effort. Anxiety,
Stress and Coping, 14(4), 411-429.

Hayes, S., Strosahl, K., Bunting, K., Twohig, M., & Wilson, K., (2004). What is
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. A practical guide to acceptance and
commitment therapy, 3-29. New York, NY: Springer.

Holt, N. L., & Hogg, J. M. (2002). Perception of stress and coping during preparations
for the 1999 women’s soccer world cup finals. The Sport Psychologist, 16, 251-
271.

Hölzel, B. K., Lazar, S. W., Gard, T., Schuman-Olivier, Z., Vago, D. R., & Ott, U.
(2011). How does mindfulness meditation work? Proposing mechanisms of action
from a conceptual and neural perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science,
6(6), 537–559.

Jankowski, T., & Holas, P., (2014). Metacognitive model of mindfulness. Consciousness
and Cognition, 28, 64-80.

John, S., Verma, S. K., & Khanna, G. L. (2011). The effect of mindfulness meditation on
HPA-Axis in pre-competition stress in sports performance of elite shooters.
National Journal of Integrated Research in Medicine, 2(3), 15-21.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go there you are. New York: Hyperion.

Kabat-Zinn, J., (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and

future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 144-156.
 60

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2015). Two ways to think about meditation: The instrumental and the
non-instrumental. Mindfulness, 6, 396-397.

Kabat-Zinn, J., Massion, A., Kristeller, J., Peterson, L., Fletcher, K., Pbert, L., &
Santorelli, S. (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction
program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry,
149, 936-943.

Kaufman, K. A., Glass, C. R., & Arnkoff, D. B. (2009) Evaluation of mindful sport
performance enhancement (MSPE): A new approach to promote flow in athletes.
Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 4, 334-356.

Kee, Y. H., Wang, C. K. (2008). Relationships between mindfulness, flow dispositions

and mental skills adoption: A cluster analytic approach. Psychology of Sport and
Exercise, 9, 393-411.

Keng, S., Smoski, M., & Robins, C. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological
health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 1041-
1056.

Lane, A. M., Beedie, C. J., Jones, M. V., Uphill, M., & Davenport, T. J. (2012). The
BASES expert statement on emotional regulation in sport. Journal of Sport
Sciences, 30, 1189-1195.

MacLean, K. A., Ferrer, E., Aichele, S. R., Bridwell, D. A., Zanesco, A. P., Jacobs, T. L.
. . . Saron, C. D. (2010). Intensive meditation training improves perceptual
discrimination and sustained attention. Psychological Science, 21, 829-839.

Mellalieu, S. D., Neil, R., Hanton, S., & Fletcher, D. (2009). Competition stress in sport
performers: Stressors experienced in the competition environment. Journal of
Sport Sciences, 27(7), 729-744.

McRae, K., Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J. (2011). The reason in passion: A social cognitive
neuroscience approach to emotion regulation. In R.F. Baumeister & K.D. Vohs
(Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (pp. 186-
203). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Monk, C. S., Telzer, E. H., Mogg, K., Bradley, B. P., Mai, X., Louro, H. M., . . . & Pine,
D. S. (2008). Amygdala and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activation to masked
angry faces in children and adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder.
Archives of General Psychiatry, 65(5), 569-576.

Noblet, A. J., & Gifford, S. M. (2002). The sources of stress experienced by professional
Australian footballers. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14, 1-13.
 61

Ortner, C. N. M., Kilner, S. J., & Zelazo, P. D. (2007). Mindfulness meditation and
reduced emotional interference on a cognitive task. Motivation and Emotion, 31,
271-283.

Perez-Encinas, C., Fernandez-Campos, F. J., Rodas, G., & Barrios, C. (2016). Influence
of cognitive interference and self-talk functions on performance during
competition in elite female field hockey players. The Journal of Strength and
Conditioning Research, 30(12) 3339-3346.

Sappington, R., & Longshore, K. (2015). Systematically reviewing the efficacy of

mindfulness-based interventions for enhanced athletic performance. Journal of
Clinical Sport Psychology, 9(3), 232-262.

Sarason, I. G. (1984) Stress, anxiety, and cognitive interference: reactions to tests.

Journal of personality and social psychology, 46(4), 929-938.

Sarason, I. G., Sarason, B. R., & Pierce, G. R. (1990). Anxiety, cognitive interference and
performance: Communication, cognition and anxiety. Journal of Social Behavior
and Personality, 5, 1-18.

Shapiro, S. L., Schwarz, G. E., & Bonner, G. (1998). Effects of mindfulness-based stress
reduction on medical and premedical students. Journal of Behavioral Medicine,
21, 581-599.

Smith, R. E., Smoll, F. L., Schutz, R. W. (1990). Measurement and correlates of sport-
specific and cognitive and somatic trait anxiety: The Sport Anxiety Scale. Anxiety
Research, 2, 263-280.

Smith, R. E., Smoll, F. L., Cumming, S. P., & Grossbard, J. R. (2006). Measurement of
multidimensional sport anxiety in children and adults: The Sport Anxiety Scale-2.
Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 28(4), 479-501.

Solem, S., Thunes, S. S., Hjemdal, O., Hagen, R., & Wells, A. (2015). A metacognitive
perspective on mindfulness: An empirical investigation. BMC Psychology, 3(1),
24,

Tamminen, K. A., & Crocker, P. R. (2013). “I control emotions for the sake of the team”:
Emotional regulation and interpersonal emotion regulation among female high-
performance curlers. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14, 737-747.

Thatcher, C. (2008) What is Vipassana. Retrieved from:

http://www.vipassanadhura.com/whatis.htm

Uphill, M. A., & Jones, M. V. (2007). The antecedents of emotions in elite athletes.
Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 78, 79-89.
 62

Weinberg, R., & Gould, D. (2011). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology (5th
ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Wagstaff, C. (2014). Emotional regulation and sport performance. Journal of Sport &
Exercise Psychology, 36, 401-412.

Woodman, T., & Hardy, L. (2001). A case study of organizational stress in elite sport.
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13(2), 2007-238.

Worthen, D., & Luiselli, J. K. (2016). Attitudes and opinions of female high school
athletes about sports-focused mindfulness training practices. Journal of Clinical
Sport Psychology, 10(3), 177-191.