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Adolescent athletes can use psychological skills immediately after being taught, but a dearth of empirical evidence exists regarding whether these skills are maintained over time. A 12-week curriculum (i.e., UNIFORM; Gilbert, 2011) was taught to a high school varsity soccer team with three data collection points: pretest, posttest, 4-week follow-up. Use of several skills was significantly greater posttest compared with pretest as measured by the Test of Performance Strategies (Thomas, Murphy, & Hardy, 1999). Follow-up results were also salient. Relaxation, imagery, and self-talk use in practice was significantly greater than pretest at follow-up; relaxation, imagery, goal setting, and self-talk in competition showed similar results. Descriptive statistics and qualitative data triangulate these results. The UNIFORM curriculum enabled the athletes to use the skills more consistently. This study makes a contribution by measuring the skills at follow-up and providing evidence of their continued use four weeks after the curriculum’s conclusion.

The present study examined a 10-week psychological skills training (PST) intervention called UNIFORM (Johnson & Gilbert, 2004) with a community college softball team. The intervention was based on the transtheoretical model (Prochaska & Marcus, 1994). Results showed that the athletes learned the skills, enjoyed the intervention, and significantly increased their application of relaxation and goal setting during practice and their application of relaxation, imagery, and self-talk during competition as measured by the Test of Performance Strategies (Thomas, Murphy, & Hardy, 1999). Though there were some positive changes, decisional balance and self-efficacy scores (DB-PST, SE-PST; Leffingwell, Rider, & Williams, 2001) were not statistically significant. The UNIFORM approach enabled community college athletes to learn psychological skills and apply them during practice, competition, and in their everyday lives.

Seventy-two college athletic directors (ADs) participated in a survey about (a) previous experience with sport psychology consultants (SPCs), (b) previous exposure to the field, and (c) attitudes toward sport psychology consulting. ADs were confused about appropriate training for SPCs, highlighted by the fact that 66.7% were unaware of any certification for SPCs. Although ADs’ attitudes toward SPCs did not differ based on previous experience with SPCs, there was a statistically significant difference between ADs who were aware of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and those who were unaware. Results demonstrate the need to educate potential employers regarding appropriate qualifications for SPCs. The discussion culminates with suggestions for future research and recommendations for enhancing effectiveness of outreach programs.