Date of Award
1998
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Communications
First Advisor
Michael Castro
Second Advisor
Gary Gardiner
Third Advisor
Glen Cerny
Abstract
This thesis will focus on the mental attitude required to succeed in athletics, in particular baseball. Stressing the link between the mind and the body, this paper intends to make practical applications for both coaches and players.
Research as shown that in communication information is transmitted through two primary inconsistent and unbalanced methods: content and emotions . Due to the often interaction of coaches in communicating with their players, there is a large margin of error, lost information, from the transmission by the coaches to the reception by the players. It 1s necessary, thus, to explore the link between the mental and the physical aspects of athletics.
There have been numerous books written by scholars, coaches, and psychologists on the subject of effective communication . They have stated that the most frequent cause of failure to achieve successful dialogue is related to the frame of mind of the individuals . They hold to the opinion that in order to achieve the transmission and reception of information each participant must make a voluntary eff ort t o concentrate on the process.
The purpose of the present study is to investigate the needed development of the single most important skill in effective communication . Specifically, many athletes have experienced the irate coach whom , during intense competition, demonstrate more emotional elements than informational content i n communication . Some athletes will have difficulty focusing on the competitive event or the communication of the coach when the coach's behaviors are inconsistent. Both elements, content and emotions, are important to the communication process but a balance between the two seems to be necessary for effective communication.
The results conclude that improving communication skills is an ongoing process, which requires constant attention and effort on the part of the coach and the athlete . Since communication is probably the most important skill that the coach or athlete can possess, effort should be directed toward developing effective communication patterns which not only involve sending messages, but receiving and understanding messages as well .
Recommended Citation
Nihart, Timothy P., "The Mental Approach to the Game of Baseball: A Handbook for the Player/Coach" (1998). Theses. 318.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/theses/318
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