Studia Kinanthropologica 2023, 24(2-3):67-75 | DOI: 10.32725/sk.2024.004

Self-talk and its application to competitive swimming

O. Zach
Northern Michigan University, School of Health and Human Performance

Competitive swimming is a discipline that requires full focus and concentration to achieve peak performance. Athletes use various psychological strategies to achieve their full concentration. One of these strategies is self-talk, which has gained more popularity in recent years. Self-talk may be divided such as internal and external self-talk. Long-term self-talk is proven to be the most effective compared with short-term self-talk. Competitive swimmers can create their scripts with their selection of self-talk cues that they have evaluated with their coach as those that need to be improved. Self-talk can help competitive swimmers improve their starting reaction, improve their kinesthetic skills, muscular strength, and kinematics. The use of self-talk may enhance athletic performance through the improvement in learning achievements, improved athletic skills, and self-confidence.

Keywords: self-talk; competitive endurance swimming; sport psychology; mental performance; self-confidence

Received: December 22, 2023; Revised: February 9, 2024; Accepted: February 11, 2024; Published: February 15, 2024  Show citation

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Zach O. Self-talk and its application to competitive swimming. Studia Kinanthropologica. 2023;24(2-3):67-75. doi: 10.32725/sk.2024.004.
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