Journal of Sport Psychology in Action

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Preparing for the European Championships: A Six-

step Mental Skills Training Program in Disability
Sports

Carsten Hvid Larsen

To cite this article: Carsten Hvid Larsen (2014) Preparing for the European Championships:
A Six-step Mental Skills Training Program in Disability Sports, Journal of Sport Psychology in
Action, 5:3, 186-197, DOI: 10.1080/21520704.2014.971989

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 Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 5:186–197, 2014
Copyright © Association for Applied Sport Psychology
ISSN: 2152-0704 print / 2152-0712 online
DOI: 10.1080/21520704.2014.971989

Preparing for the European Championships:

A Six-step Mental Skills Training Program
in Disability Sports

CARSTEN HVID LARSEN

Institute of Sport Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark,
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Odense, Denmark

This article presents a case example and six-step mental-skills train-

ing program for high-performance athletes in disability sports. Start-
ing out with a basic description about applied sport psychology in
disability sports, the author proceeds to describe the mental skills
training program with the woman’s national goalball team in Den-
mark (high-performance athletes with visual impairment). The au-
thor provides a detailed description of six steps from initiation of
the program, group sessions, and action plans, to on-court train-
ing and evaluation of the program across six months, and finishes
with reviewing coach and player reflections on the application of
the mental-skills training program.

KEYWORDS applied sport psychology, intervention strategy, Par-

alympics, sport psychology service, team development

Nowadays, people’s attitudes towards disability sport are positive and people
are more accepting and encouraging, resulting in increased opportunities for
people with disabilities to play sport (Dieffenbach & Statler, 2012). Alongside
technology and medicine, researchers have begun exploring sport psychol-
ogy in disability sports (e.g., Martin, 2012; Martin & Malone, 2013; Martin,
Malone, & Hilyer, 2011). In order to keep up and stay competitive on national
and international levels, there is a need to recognize athletes’ psychological
skills in performance, in able-bodied as well as in disability sports (Dief-
fenbach & Statler, 2012). Both coaches and athletes in high-performance

Address correspondence to Carsten Hvid Larsen, Institute of Sport Science and Clini-
cal Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark.
E-mail: [email protected]

186
 Applied Sport Psychology in Disability Sports 187

disability sports indicate the high value of the use of mental skills (Mar-
tin, 2012; Martin & Malone, 2013), as well as the benefit of working with a
sport psychology consultant (SPC) in preparation for the Paralympic Games
(Dieffenbach & Statler, 2012; Dieffenbach, Statler, & Moffett, 2009).
Although Perreault and Vallerand (2007) suggest that athletes with dis-
abilities may benefit from mental skills training (MST), there are also concerns
regarding how to apply sport psychology in disability sports. Following these
lines, other researchers furthermore denotes that athletes with disabilities are
interested in learning more about the field and how to apply sport psychol-
ogy effectively (e.g., Dieffenbach et al., 2009; Kirkby, 1995). However, MST
has been a popular focus of SPCs over the past four decades (Holland,
Woodcock, Cumming, & Duda, 2010) but the delivery of sport psychology
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in disability sports is a complex process (Hanrahan, 2007). Few authors so

far have discussed how a sport psychologist may work with athletes with
disabilities (Hanrahan, 1998) and most of the literature focuses on the de-
velopment of specific mental skills (Martin, 1999). With regards to working
with any population, the SPC needs to be aware of several issues when de-
livering sport psychology services such as sport specific and organizational
culture (e.g., Larsen, 2013), dominating theories and research trends (e.g.,
Henriksen, Stambulova, & Roessler, 2011; Lane & Corrie, 2006), professional
philosophy (e.g., Fifer, Henschen, Gould, & Ravizza, 2008) as well as indi-
vidual perspectives in order to develop effective relationships with athletes
with disabilities (e.g., Dieffenbach & Statler, 2012). Supporting these per-
spectives, Schinke and Moore (2011) furthermore suggest that personal vari-
ables (e.g., disability, gender, race) “impact the nature of the relationship,
intervention strategies, and intervention outcomes with athletic clientele”
(p. 284). SPCs need to be aware of athletes in different disability categories
(whether it is amputee, cerebral palsy, wheelchair, visual impairment, or
les autres) and how these categories would impact a specific intervention
strategy or method (Martin, 1999).
The purpose of the present article is to provide SPCs, coaches, and
applied researchers with applied perspectives and a detailed description of
a six-step MST program and case example with the Danish women’s na-
tional team in goalball (comprised of high-performance athletes with visual
impairment) in their preparation for the European Championships and qual-
ification for the Paralympics. The article highlights the special concerns that
practitioners need to reflect upon when working with athletes with profes-
sional athletes in disability sport and presents relevant processes when work-
ing with professional athletes with visual impairment. Specifically, working
with athletes with visual impairment transcends interventions in able-bodied
sports. An example could be that traditional coach–athlete (or SPC–athlete)
behavior of non-verbal gestures or coaching cues (e.g. during the match)
are impossible in goalball because athletes cannot see the coach or each
other for that matter. The author is a trained SPC and Ph.D. with eight years
 188 C. H. Larsen

of experience in applied sport psychology in able-bodied sport and well as

disability sport.

GOALBALL IN DENMARK

Goalball is a dynamic and intensive team sport for people with a visual
impairment. Goalball is played worldwide and was introduced at the Par-
alympics in Toronto in 1976. Goalball is played on a court 9 × 18 meters
with a target of 9 meters at each end of the court. There are two teams each
consisting of three players. Matches are 2 × 12 minutes and played with a
ball with bells that weigh 1,250 grams. The ball must be moved along the
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floor in order to score a goal, and for the opponents to hear and move in
the direction to prevent the other team from scoring. Players use their entire
body to defend the goal. Denmark has achieved international results and the
men’s national team has won Paralympic gold in both 2000 and 2004, and
women won bronze in Beijing in 2008 (Goalball, 2013).

THE MENTAL-SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM AND PARTICIPANTS

The participants in the program were the woman’s national team (six players)
and two national coaches (males) in Denmark. The players (age 23–28)
were all experienced goalball players on a national level (about 10–15 years
of experience on club level) as well as international level (2–10 years).
However, previous to the program the players did not have any experience
with a SPC besides basic courses in sport psychology in the federation. They
train and practice at their local clubs but regularly participate in national
training camps once or twice every month depending on the season.
The six-step MST program was conducted during 6 of 8 training camps
in 2011. Total time from the start of training camp 1 to camp 8 was 6 months.
Each training camp was two days long. The SPC met players twice a day
(two sections) for five hours on 12 of the 16 total days available, for a total
of 60 contact hours. The MST program was implemented during camps 1, 3,
4, 5, 6, and 7 out of 8 camps, and not during camps 2 and 8 due to logistical
reasons. The six steps correspond to the six training camps, so that Step 1
was the first training camp and Step 2 the third training camp, etc. Sessions
were held the first day of the training camp and consisted of two sections:
(1) a group session (off the court) targeting the players and focusing on
performance preparation for the European Championships (2 hours); and
(2) a psychological training session on the court designed to facilitate the
transfer from group sessions to actual on-court performance (3 hours). These
were generally followed by time for evaluation.
 Applied Sport Psychology in Disability Sports 189

The off-court sessions progressed in logical order (e.g., from basic

knowledge about communication to know-how about communication on
the court) and each session followed a similar protocol, however varied in
content. Each session contained a short reflection regarding the theme of
the previous session aiming at creating coherence between the sessions. In
order to share experiences (e.g., team cohesion or communication; see Car-
ron, Hausenblas, & Eys, 2005), these sessions were dictated by a personal
disclosure mutual-sharing approach (Windsor, Baker, & McCarthy, 2011), as
the purpose was to make the players reflect and listen to each other’s tales
and stories about performance, arousal or motivation, and the like. Due to
the athletes’ visual impairment, no visual aids, non-verbal communication,
or PowerPoint presentations were part of the delivery of the program, and
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therefore verbal communication was important for the process and content
of the group sessions. Furthermore, the sessions were informed by social
exchange theories (Sullivan & Callow, 2005) conceptualizing exchange of
activity (e.g., communication) between at least two persons; the intent was
to create a process based on positive and constructive communication aim-
ing at an accumulation of valued resources (e.g., information) in the team
(Sullivan & Callow, 2005).
In each of the on-court sessions, the topics were practiced to create
a “bridge” between theory and praxis. After each training camp, and in
agreement with the players, the SPC provided feedback to the coaches in an
e-mail delineating the headlines of the sessions and new focal points for the
team. These principles and theories served as guidelines for the following
description of the six-step mental skills training program.

Step One: Preliminary Meeting with Coaches and Association

Before initiation of the program, the elite coordinator of the association for
disability sports in Denmark contacted the sport psychology consultant (the
author) in terms of working with group cohesion and performance enhance-
ment on the team. Following the initial contact, step one of the program
(camp 1) was a meeting with the national coaches and elite coordinator
in order to arrange the following steps and content of the program aimed
at preparing the team for the European championships on Danish soil. The
coaches identified several issues that needed to be addressed in order for the
team to perform at their best; individually the players needed more effective
routines and better preparation for matches and as a team they needed to
be better at handling adversity on the court and react more constructively
to feedback from the coaches, specifically the coaches highlighted that; the
players did not communicate directly to each other which often led to con-
flicts off the court; two of the players had a conflict and did not talk or
cooperate with each other. Based on these issues the coaches wanted to
 190 C. H. Larsen

work with a new approach for communication on the team, focused on

honesty and an environment in which it is possible to talk about successes
and failures, more constructive communication, and the coaches wanted to
adapt their communication to each player whether responses were positive
or negative. Therefore each step of the intervention was based on the ex-
periences of the coaches and subsequently the SPC provided a description
of the program and the process of each step aiming at creating sessions in
which the players were able to reflect upon and train psychological issues
in goalball.

Step Two: Initiation of the Program

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Approximately one month after the preliminary meeting, the sessions were
initiated as part of camp 3. Each step of the program consisted of a short
meeting in which the coaches informed the players about practical issues
(i.e., about future matches, clothes for the team, transportation to matches
or the specific training camp); an off-court group session managed by the
SPC; an on-court training session integrating focal points and issues from
the off-court group session, and an evaluation of the training camp during
which focal points that needed to be practiced until the next training camp
or international match were discerned.
In each of the six steps of the mental skills training program the SPC
included an off-court session. The purpose of the off-court group session
with the SPC was to create room for the players to address all relevant
issues. Additionally, the coaches and SPC wanted to address issues about
feedback, communication, and conflicts on the team, and thus make the
players familiar with the agreement of talking to each other instead of about
each other. The coaches did not participate in these particular sessions, as
the coaches and the SPC wanted to create “personal room” for the players
in which they did not need to think about responses from the coaches
but sessions addressed for the players individually and as a team. All the
sessions in the program were conducted without any visual instruments (e.g.,
PowerPoint, computer, or non-verbal communication) and therefore the SPC
spent a lot of time preparing questions targeting the theme of each group
session, which emphasizes consultants’ need for strong verbal, preparation,
and process skills when working with athletes with visual impairment in
disability sports.
Following introductions, the first group session started out with open-
ended questions verbally posed by the SPC, such as: “What characterizes
your previous great performances?”; “How do you communicate when you
perform at your best in contrast to your worst performances?”; “How do
you communicate with each other now?”; “What would you like to focus on
in order for communication to support your best performances?”; “What do
 Applied Sport Psychology in Disability Sports 191

you individually need to do, to make this work on and off the court?”; and
“How can you practice good communication on and off the court?” Each
question led to reflections and discussions between the players, which led
to statements from each player and, at the end of the session, team focal
points that the team decided to work on in the following months. During
these discussions, the SPC made sure that all players participated and took
ownership of their focal points. Together, the players agreed upon several
behaviors and actions that needed to be achieved on and off the court for
the team to be successful in the championships. For the process of the pro-
gram to be successful, it is necessary that the players are involved in the
changes that need to be made and actively participate in the program, that
they take responsibility for their own role in the changes, share thoughts and
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feelings, and respect each others’ differences.

In order for them to perform at their best, the team had to be aware
of communication on the court, practice cooperative communication, and
respond positively to feedback; in adversity and if communication breaks
down, they agreed to actively ask about why communication stopped during
the match, and to demonstrate enthusiasm in responses on the court, as well
as off the court (e.g., when on the bench during a match). Positive support
from the bench increases team spirit, and makes the team stick to positive
communication despite adversity, such as by cheering on their on-court
teammates with expressions such as “well played,” “well done, girls,” “let’s
continue,” and “good return.”
Following the group session, the focal points were transferred to the
court. In the following two hours of training, the coaches and the SPC had
designed drills which challenged team communication and individual reac-
tions to adversity. During the training session, we occasionally took short
breaks for players to reflect upon their communication and reaction patterns
in different situations and to consider how they could react more appro-
priately with adversity, and thus anticipate future reactions to adversity. To
provide an illustration of how to work with adversity and communication,
the coaches would play on the opposing team; due to the male coaches’
physiques, they were able to throw harder balls, and thereby push the
women physically to their limits so they would experience adversity—thus
challenging their players’ ability, individually, to stay focused; and, on a team
level, to maintain communication.
After this exercise, the SPC, coaches, and players would evaluate how
the players reacted and communicated under pressure. The evaluation was
about 3–5 minutes in duration, depending on how much the players had
to offer in relation to adversity and communication. Not everyone spoke,
and the breaks were managed by the SPC asking open-ended questions
about communication. Additionally, a number of prepared questions aimed
to explore what the players had experienced, and stimulate reflection and
awareness about the statements and focal points we wanted to train, such as:
 192 C. H. Larsen

“What happened in the game?”; “How did you experience communication

compared to what we talked about in the group session?”; “Can you pro-
vide examples of when you experienced positive communication and what
did you do afterwards?”; and “Were there times when the other team had
momentum and you were in adversity and how did you respond to that?”
At the end of the training camp, the different elements of the train-
ing camp were evaluated in order create an awareness of communication
and to create focal points for each player to work on until the next train-
ing camp. Between Step 2 and Step 3, the SPC provided feedback for the
coaches regarding the focal points of the players and thereby stimulated
team development between sessions.
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Step Three: Maintenance of the Process and Motivation

Step 3 started with an evaluation of the process since Step 2 was imple-
mented during the first camp gathering. In the interim, the team had played
a tournament in Sweden in which they were able to practice the Step 2
focal points in matches, experience adversity, and assess how the team re-
acted in such situations. The players and coaches had experienced the effect
of the program, which had a positive impact on their team cohesion and
performance compared to previous matches. Evaluation of the players’ com-
munication on and off the court was managed by open-ended questions
such as: “What worked regarding the focal points?”; “What did not work
that well?”; and “What should be optimized?” In addition to evaluating the
process, in Step 3 we focused on motivation as a new area of development,
as each player was on her own between training camps, and previously
some of the players had lacked motivation and the discipline to work with
individually tailored training programs designed by the coaches. The SPC
asked questions such as: “What characterizes a motivated player?”; “What
motivates you individually?”; “How do you know if one of your teammates
is motivated or not?”; and “How could you transfer this knowledge to the
court?”
Each question led to reflections and discussions between the players
and, in this session, the team’s focal points regarding motivation and com-
munication were informed by many good experiences from the tournament.
Players agreed: (a) to continue to communicate positively and keep up the
good spirit on the court; (b) to handle conflicts as they arise; (c) to discuss
conflicts after the game; (d) to create an Internet dropbox where they would
submit their training diaries for constructive feedback from their teammates;
(e) to provide positive feedback and a friendly “kick” when needed between
training camps; (f) to clarify how they each prefer to be communicated with
on the day (e.g., individual communication preferences related to mood,
thoughts and feelings). This final focal point was relevant in order for each
 Applied Sport Psychology in Disability Sports 193

player to grasp a hold of and know how the other players felt and thought
as they, due to visual impairment, lacked information about this issue. More-
over, this issue was subsequently clarified before each training camp (and
group session) and prior to each match.

Step Four: Arousal and Preparation for Competition

After evaluating matches, the overall process and clarifying individual com-
munication preferences (new agreement from step three), we subsequently
evaluated their individual progress and the agreements since the previous
training camp regarding motivation, training on their own and keeping a
training diary. The new theme for the group sessions was arousal and
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preparation for matches. The discussion and reflection that followed this
group session focused on the following questions: “What characterizes a
great preparation for a game?”; “What do you individually do to prepare for
games and what are your routines?”; “How do you know whether the others
are nervous about a match or not?”; “What does the team do to be in the
zone and have optimal preparation?”; and “What do you need to know about
each other in order to cope with others’ arousal and routines?”
By this time, the players had become accustomed to the sessions and
the questions, and they had some experiences regarding communication
and cohesion as a team. The players specified that it was important to go
in-depth with individual communication patterns; to talk and clarify how the
individual players on the team feel and think on the specific day (before
training and matches); to clarify expectations, mood, and energy for each
player after warm-up and before practice shots (5 minutes in total); to have
team talks characterized by openness and acceptance; to include social ac-
tivities (e.g., giving one another a neck massage); and to get a bodily sense
of the other players (e.g., there are major differences in how each player pre-
pares for matches and each player needs to accept and respect each others’
individual routines, whether it involves tranquility or loud music before each
match, and to plan accordingly for these differences). Following the group
session, the agreements were transferred to the court. In the two hours of
on-court training that followed the off-court session, the coach and SPC tried
to work with and challenge each player’s preparation for a game and how
she individually coped with arousal.

Step Five: Creating a Winning Mentality and a Strong Team

After a mandatory evaluation of the overall process of the program and
clarifying the players’ individual communication preferences, we evaluated
their individual progress and the agreements made since the previous training
camp regarding arousal and preparation. The new perspective of Step 5 was
 194 C. H. Larsen

creating a winning mentality, and the discussion and reflection were dictated
by the following questions: “What characterizes a team or an individual with
winning mentality?”; Which teams in goalball possess a winning mentality
and what do they do?”; “What does it take to get a winning mentality?”; and
“How would I be able to see that you were a team or individual with a
winning mentality?”
At this stage, the team was clearer about their reaction patterns and
started to form an understanding of how they wanted to cooperate on and
off the court. First of all, they discussed that a winning mentality is like a
“glow” and it affects communication on and off the court. Subsequently they
agreed that a winning mentality is: “The will to fight and never give up
and means looking forward instead of focusing on mistakes in the past and
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doing your best whether you are leading or behind.” They agreed that “We
are a team and act as a team when we are together—before, during, and
after matches.” They specified that if there are conflicts between two team
members, the other players should offer their support and help to solve any
problems.

Step Six: Preparation for the Championships

This final session with the players was at the site in which the champi-
onships were held. This session aimed at preparing them psychologically for
the championships. Therefore this step aimed at clarifying individual expec-
tations and ambitions in order to get on “the same page” and work towards
a collective goal of the championships. We evaluated the overall process,
clarified individual communication preferences and thereafter initiated the
preparation for the championships with the following questions: “What are
your individual expectations and ambitions for the championship?”; “What
do you need as a team and as individuals to focus on in order to perform
well at the championship?”; and “What do you need to focus on when you
are in adversity on or off the court?”. The players were united about their
goals for the championships: Gold medal and Paralympic qualification. More
specifically, they agreed that the program had highlighted that they needed
to continue their focus on communication during the championships. The
players agreed upon the following process goals leading to a gold medal
and Paralympic qualification:

• Focus on yourself, your game, and the team—not other teams.

• Look forward and do not underestimate opponents at any level.
• Be in good physical shape (depending on each player’s preparation at this
stage).
• Be aware of each others’ differences on the team.
• Stay open, help and respect each other.
 Applied Sport Psychology in Disability Sports 195

• Take one match at a time and fight to the last second.

• Help and support from the bench during the match.
• Provide positive communication throughout the championships—in adver-
sity as well as in momentum—on and off the court.
• Follow the house rules (e.g., players stayed in the same house during the
championship and the house rules were the process goals).

The SPC emailed the goals to the coaches. Following this final step,
the coaches and SPC met afterwards and discussed the goals and process
for the coaches to make a transfer to and support the goals during the
championships.
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PARTICIPANTS’ REFLECTIONS ON THE PROGRAM:

COMMUNICATION IS STRENGTH

The European Championship was a big event and success for disability
sports in Denmark. The women’s national team won the gold medal and
qualified for the 2012 Paralympics in London. Following the championship
finale, a Danish sport channel interviewed the national players after winning
the finale and one of the players described her experiences of the program
and why they were successful: “We can always hear each other on the court,
and then we are aware of each other and that everyone participates. Com-
munication provides extra security and boosts team feeling when one player
does not doubt whether the opposite wing is 100% present” (due to their
visual impairment). Moreover, she related that opposing teams commented
on the verbal level of the Danish team and she described that: “It must
have made a strong impression and fortunately it’s just a bonus for us” (On-
sport, 2013). Additionally, the coaches expressed similar notions; one of the
coaches described that the players are more aware of each other on and off
the court: “Many of the processes that previously functioned on a more or
less unconscious level, are now explicit and verbal, and this has increased
the understanding of each other in the team. Specifically, this is expressed
by the fact that the girls are better at focusing on the task at hand and have
been better prepared for the matches” (DHIF, 2013).

CONSULTANTS’ REFLECTIONS ON IMPLEMENTATION

OF THE PROGRAM

The aims of the program were to create a series of mental skills training ses-
sions to train psychological skills and to prepare the players for the European
Championships and qualification for the Paralympics. Overall, the program
was successful and the players reached their goal, however there are some
 196 C. H. Larsen

successes and limitations that could be integrated in future projects. Follow-

ing the championships, the players, coaches and federation evaluated the
program and specifically highlighted that the program was successful in ele-
vating group functioning, team cohesion and the team’s ability to cope with
adversity. Especially, the sessions off and transferability of focal points to the
court worked well. These sessions were important for the players to gain
experiences of psychological aspects of performance and ownership of the
program. Despite that the program focused on MST in group sessions, each
player did not effectively learn specific mental skills (e.g., arousal regulation)
due to the length of the program, design and aims of the program (e.g.,
improve communication and cohesion). Therefore, I acknowledge that the
program could have integrated a more comprehensive focus on mental skills
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training through individual consulting sessions (e.g., conducted by the SPC).

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