Use of Psychological Skills by Risk Sport Athletes

Psychological skills can help athletes maximize their physical skills (Smith, Schutz, Smoll, & Ptacek, 1995) and overcome sport-related adversity. These skills may be especially beneficial to athletes performing within natural and unstable risk sport environments. The current study assessed psychological skills among risk sport athletes (N 5 232) and the impact of experience on the use of such skills. Risk sport athletes of varying degrees of experience completed a modified version of the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI; Smith et al., 1995). Risk sport athletes exceeded the midpoint on all of the ACSI subscales, indicating psychological skills usage. Experienced athletes scored significantly higher (p , .05) on three of the subscales and the total score, then leisure and novice athletes. These findings suggest the use of psychological skills within unpredictable and dynamic risk sport environments.