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Applied Research
The Effect of Cognitive Strategies on the Free Throw Shooting Performance of Young Athletes

The Sport Psychobgist, 1989, 3, 95-104

Craig A. Wrisberg University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Mark H. Anshel University of WoUongong

This study examined the relative effectiveness of various cognitive techniques on the basketball free throw shooting performance of young athletes. Forty boys (ages 10.2-12.4 years) who were subjectively rated as good free throw shooters by staff members at a 6-week summer sports camp were randomly assigned to one of four training conditions. All initially perfonned 20 baseline trials of the free throw shot with a 45-sec intershot interval. After the last baseline trial the boys in each group received instructions and practiced their respective preshot techniques. The next day they received a second instructional period followed by a series of 10 free throws. During the last 15 seconds of the 45-sec intershot interval on these trials, subjects engaged in their respective preshot activity. An analysis of covariance was used to determine group differences in free throw percentage during the test trials, with free throw percentage during baseline trials used as the covariate. The results suggested that mental imagery combined with arousal adjustment is a useful preshot cognitive strategy that young athletes may use to enhance their free throw shooting performance. Advances in the field of applied sport psychology have particularly benefited the elite athlete, with a variety of cognitive techniques presently being employed to enhance perfonnance (e.g., Orlick, 1986). Mental training programs are now a part of the Olympic experience for athletes in many countries. In addition, athletic departments at a number of major universities in the United States are welcoming the services of sport psychologists for intercollegiate athletes/teams (Petruzzello, Landers, Linder, & Robinson, 1987). Presently a substantial literature documents.

Craig A. Wrisberg is with the Department of Physical Education and Dance, 344 HPER, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-2700. Mark H. Anshel is with the Department of Human Movement and Sport Sciences at the University of WoUongong, WoUongong, New South Wales, Australia.

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96 Wrisberg and Anshel

both experimentally (Burton, 1983; Hall & Erffmeyer, 1983; Kolonay, 1977; Noel, 1980; Seaboume, Weinberg, Jackson, & Suinn, 1985; Weinberg, Seaboume, & Jackson, 1981) and with anecdotal or case study reports (Fenker & Lambiotte, 1987; Hamilton & Fremouw, 1985; Heyman, 1987; Suinn, 1972b, 1976), the benefits to elite athletes of systematic application of psychological techniques in performance settings. Of less prominence are investigations exploring the viability of cognitive strategies in enhancing the performance of young athletes. In spite of the suggestion by some (e.g., Gould, 1982) that techniques employed by older athletes might also work with younger performers, there are little data to verify such a possibility. It appears that the young athlete may be particularly open and even eager to leam techniques that would enhance his or her performance. Indeed, research by Gill, Gross, and Huddleston (1983) revealed that younger performers are often motivated to participate in sport because it gives them an opportunity to improve their skills and to have fun. Similarly, Klint and Weiss (1987) found that younger athletes, particularly those who were more competent, rated skill development as the most important reason for their participation in sport. The results of several recent studies suggest that young performers are capable of benefiting from various types of mental training. Kulakova, Bassiyuni, and Chemikova (1980) reported that young male gymnasts (ages 10 to 12 years) were able to leam psychological self-regulation as a result of autogenic training. More recently, Blais and Vallerand (1986) found that young males (ages 10 to 13 years) could leam to relax a specific muscle group (frontalis) through biofeedback training. Their results also indicated that subjects were able to transfer the relaxation effect to a bogus precompetition situation, although their actual competitive performance on the novel task used (i.e., the stabilometer) was not found to be reliably better than that of a control group. More recently, Simek and O'Brien (1988) found that the perceptual discrimination of balls and strikes and the frequency of hits of Little League baseball batters (ages 8 to 12 years) could be improved through an operant-chaining mastery program in which more difficult behaviors build upon the mastery of simpler lead-up skills. Many young athletes devote considerable time and effort to their sport. French and Thomas (1987) found that child experts (ages 8 to 12 years) practiced basketball more hours per week and had more shooting skill and knowledge of the sport than did child novices from the same age range. However, the biggest gains over a season of play for the expert performers in this study were achieved in the knowledge component, with little change observed in the skill components assessed (i.e., controlled dribbling and speed shooting). Thus it was concluded that the young athlete may acquire knowledge/game strategy faster than the motor skills needed to achieve quality performance. Taken together, these results suggest that the additional practice that more highly skilled young performers voluntarily engage in might be supplemented by cognitive strategies designed to enhance the quality of their responses. A number of studies exploring the efficacy of mental training programs with older athletes have focused on the effect of cognitive strategies on the performance of closed (self-paced) skills. Closed tasks are usually performed in a relatively stable environment in which the performer is allowed considerable freedom to prepare and execute the movement (Poulton, 1957). A classic example of a

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closed sport skill is the basketball free throw. Regardless of where the game is played or the circumstances under which a free throw shot is attempted, the performer always stands the same distance from the goal and shoots the ball to a target of fixed height and diameter. Studies examining the effectiveness of cognitive strategies on the performance of the free throw shot have typically involved the teaching of relaxation and/or imagery techniques to subjects, followed by an incorporation ofthe leamed technique widiin the performer's preshot routine. Several investigators have explored the effectiveness of a mental approach developed by Suinn (1972a, 1972b) that combines visual imagery and relaxation. The technique, termed visuomotor behavior rehearsal (VMBR), presumably allows the athlete to achieve high levels of performance under stressftil situations by first relaxing the muscles and then imagining successful execution of the movements. Kolonay (1977) found significant improvements in free throw perfonnance for a group of male college basketball players who received VMBR training prior to each of 15 team practice sessions but not for groups who learned relaxation alone, or imagery done, or who covertly rehearsed nonsense information that they were told would clear their minds of negative thoughts. Hall and Erffmeyer (1983) reported more improvements in free throw shooting percentage for female collegiate basketball players when VMBR training included the viewing of a videotape model of a successful free throw shooter prior to imagery ofthe "perfect" foul shot than when subjects imaged without first seeing the model. More recently, Ziegler (1987) compared the effectiveness of various imagery conditions on the free throw shooting of female college players. During each of nine training sessions, a passive imagery group imaged 20 repetitions of the free throw shot while an active imagery group imaged the shot and then physically repeated the free throw motion (without the ball). A third imagery condition passively imaged the free throw and then attempted an actual shot. The most improvement in free throw shooting percentage following the training period occurred for the latter two groups, both of which demonstrated significantly more improvement than did those in control conditions who actually shot free throws during the training session or who rested. The results of these studies suggest that imagery and/or relaxation training may be successfully used to enhance the free throw shooting of adult athletes. Whether similar cognitive interventions would facilitate the free throw shooting skills of younger performers has not been demonstrated. That more highly skilled young basketball players have been shown to spend more time playing than their less-skilled counterparts, yet show no more improvement in performance over the course of a season (French & Thomas, 1987), suggests that a strategic supplement to mere physical repetition may be beneficial. Ziegler's (1987) finding with adult athletes that imagery training, when introduced as an adjunct to physical practice, resulted in more improvements in free throw percentage than physical practice alone is certainly consistent with this notion. Gould (1982) has challenged investigators in the field of sport psychology to conduct research with younger athletes to determine the practical significance of cognitive strategies for that population. However, recent work by Hellstedt (1987) suggests that young athletes may not be interested in mental training that they do not perceive as useful. Hellstedt studied the reactions of young elite skiers

98 Wrisberg and Anshel (ages 12 to 18 years) to a sport psychology program at a ski academy. Considered most usejul by these athletes were what they viewed as practical skills which included imagery and relaxation. Activities rated least usefiil were those involving the development of conceptual skills (the relationship between thoughts and images, goal setting, etc.). Thus it appears that younger athletes are receptive to leaming and applying cognitive strategies as part of their training regimen as long as they feel the strategies will enhance their athletic performance. The purpose of the present study was to explore the potential benefit of various types of mental training on the free throw shooting perfomiance of young basketbdl players who were participants at a summer sports camp. The cognitive strategies selected for instruction were relaxation and imagery.

Method Subjects
Forty boys ranging in age from 10.2 to 12.4 years (Af=11.6 years) participated in the study. They were registered in a 6-week coed sports camp, the purpose of which was to teach a variety of sports skills in a competitive environment. Each participant was skilled in basketball free throw shooting prior to the study, as detennined by an assessment by his group counselor and his own evaluation of basketball shooting skill.

Equipment
All equipment and dimensions of the task were within the YMCA guidelines for boys' competitive junior basketball. A Wilson junior-size rubber-covered basketbaU with a circumference of 27.5 in. (69.85 cm) and weighing 17.5 oz (496.12 g) was tossed to a target from a distance of 12 ft (3.35 m). The target consisted of an adjustable Hi-Lo Goal (Model No. BB068M-4, Wolverine Sports, Ann Arbor, MI) set at a height of 8 ft (2.44 m). A stopwatch (Wolverine Sports, Model No. TL028P-4) was used to regulate the length of between-trial intervals, during which time a cognitive task was practiced.

Procedure
Subjects were randomly selected from a list of 68 boys (13 camper groups) in the 10- to 12-year-old age group who were evaluated by their counselor as good or excellent in basketball shooting skill. Prior to the first trial participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: (a) a group that leamed and practiced mental imagery during the treatment phase of the study, (b) a group that leamed and attempted an arousal adjustment strategy, (c) a group that combined imagery with arousal adjustment techniques, and (d) a no-strategy (control) group. Each participant watched a model demonstrate the correct technique for basketball free throw shooting accompanied by verbal reminders about important features of the skill to enhance performance. The boys were then asked to complete a series of free throws as accurately as possible. They attempted 20 tosses with an intertrial interval of 45 seconds. Between tosses they read selected portions of a book entitled Basketball for Young Champions (Antonacci & Barr, 1960) that was commensurate with fourth-grade reading ability. They were told

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that questions would be asked from the material at the end of the 20 trials. Ostensibly, this prevented mental rehearsal of the task. After completion of baseline trials each participant was asked a question from a list of possible questions about the game of basketball (e.g.,' 'Describe the correct technique for the bounce pass," "Name two types of basketball shots"). Boys in the three treatment groups were then taught a cognitive strategy by an instmctor for a period of 15 minutes while those in the control group reviewed additional written information. The experimental treatments included mental imagery (I), arousal adjustment (A), and the combined use of imagery and arousal adjustment (A-I-1). The latter group was first introduced to the relaxation response followed by the imagery technique. Imagery training followed the guidelines proposed by Orlick (1986). While standing at the free throw line the performer was asked to (a) observe the basket for a few seconds, (b) close his eyes, (c) feel confident in making the shot, (d) mentally picture "through the mind's eye" standing at the free throw line (i.e., mentally reproduce what he saw at the free throw linethe basketrather than what he would see if watching another person shoot), (e) concentrate on taking the shot while blocking out other sights and sounds, (f) mentally rehearse making several perfect shots while using the proper form, and (g) feel very confident and happy after each successful shot. Arousal adjustment training involved the leaming of a relaxation response technique (Benson, 1985) that consisted of practice in reducing arousal levels. Emphasis on arousal reduction was given in light of the fact that free throw shooting is typically accompanied by higher arousal associated with nervousness and/or the vigorous physical activity required by the game of basketball. Moreover, participants in this study appeared to be relatively nervous about succeeding in the task. Therefore it was reasoned that reducing arousal, not elevating it, would be a more practical cognitive technique to perfonn prior to basketball free throw shooting. The boys leamed the four steps of the relaxation response: (a) keep the mind free of visual and auditory distractions (Benson, 1985, actually suggests a quiet environment, which of course is not practical in competitive basketball); (b) use a mental device such as a sound, word, or phrase (e.g., "soft hands," "no tension") repeated silently to prevent "mind wandering" and stop distracting thoughts; (c) maintain a passive "let it happen" attitude (Benson suggests that participants not worry about how well they are performing the technique); and (d) assume a comfortable position to eliminate muscular tensionin this case by holding the ball in front of the body with arms fully extended and head tilted forward to relax neck, shoulders, and upper limbs. A second 15-min instructional period was held the following day to allow additional rehearsal of the techniques leamed on Day 1. To examine the effect of selected cognitive strategies on free throw shooting performance, the respective groups practiced the cognitive techniques they had leamed and then attempted 10 free tiirow shots separated by a period of 45 seconds. Between trials all subjects read from the same basketball book described earlier. Participants in the three experimental groups read for 30 seconds and then practiced their assigned cognitive strategy for 15 seconds before attempting the shot. Control subjects read for the entire 45 seconds. To assure that they paid attention to the reading material, all participants were told they would be asked

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a questioti on the history of basketball at the end of the session. To enhance extemal validity and simulate actual basketball free throw shooting conditions, all participants were allowed to engage in what was for thetn normal preshot preparation habits such as bouncing or aitning the basketball. Immediately after the last trial on Day 2, subjects were asked one question about the history of basketball. Experimental subjects were then asked to respond to two questions: "To what extent did you actually use the strategy you leamed always, often but not always, occasionally, rarely, or never?" "If you did not use the technique you were taught, what did you tiiink about?" Control subjects were asked what they thought about while attempting their shots. All participants in the cognitive strategy groups indicated that they "always" used the treatment they were taught. Thus it appeared that the novelty and uniqueness of the learned mental approach facilitated its adherence during the experiment. Three control subjects aiso admitted that they "occasionally" took a deep breath before the shot in order to relax.

Results
In spite of the fact that the boys were randomly assigned to groups and that the basketball ability of all was judged by trained counselors to be between good and excellent, a significant group difference in free throw percentage was obtained on pretraining trials (Table 1). Therefore, in order to assess the effects of the various cognitive strategies implemented by subjects prior to each shot, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed on the posttraining free throw percentage scores using pretraining free throw percentage as the covariate. The adjusted mean free throw percentages for each group on the posttest are shown in Figure 1. The best performance was evidenced by the imagery-plus-arousal-adjustment (A-I-1) group. Results of the ANCOVA revealed a significant groups effect, F(3,35)=3.79,/7<.O1, and subsequent significant,/K.05, pairwise contrasts were found between the scores of the combined group (A-I-1) and those of both the arousal adjustment and the control groups.

Table 1 Free Throw Percentages for Each Group on the Pretest and Posttest

Pretest Group M SD M

Posttest SD

Control Arousal Imagery Combined

38 68 36 63

16 11 19 14

39 57 49 79

25 19 29 10

Effect of Cognitive Strategies 101

80 n

60-

t
O Ui
(/)

40-

20

"^

6R0UPS
Figure 1 Adjusted mean free throw percentages for each group on the posttest.

Discussion
The purpose of the present study was to determine the extent to which various cognitive strategies currently being practiced by many adult athletes could be leamed and effectively used by younger athletes. The results offer empirical support for the efficacy of a preshot strategy involving a combination of relaxation and imagery on the free throw shooting performance of young basketball players. It should also be noted that the design employed in the present study involved a long wait between shots, reducing the possibility that a shooting rhythm could be sustained. Thus it is likely that the test situation represented a challenge to the performers' ability to mobilize concentration for each shot. That the boys were able to acquire and effectively use the combined strategy is particularly impressive in light of the fact that time constraints imposed by the summer camp situation prevented the type of extended practice of cognitive techniques advocated by proponents of mental training (Smith, 1987; Suinn, 1983; Vealey, 1986). However, further research is needed to determine the optimal conditions (e.g., length of practice time, spacing of sessions) under which younger performers may leam and effectively use cognitive strategies to enhance sport performance and whether positive effects can be produced on repeated occasions. The present results are consistent with those of Kolonay (1977), who found that a combination of relaxation and imagery resulted in better free throw performance for male college basketball players than did either preshot technique by itself. While the visuomotor behavior rehearsal method (Suinn, 1972a, 1972b) was not strictly taught to subjects in the combined group, the results are consistent with those of a number of experiments demonstrating the potential of VMBR

102 Wrisberg and Anshel

in enhancing the closed skill perfonnance of older athletes (Hall & Erffmeyer, 1983; Noel, 1980; Weinberg et al., 1981). Why the arousal adjustment group perfonned the poorest during test trials is somewhat difficult to explain. Perhaps arousal was reduced to lower than optimal (i.e., underaroused) levels. If so, additional practice in arousal adjustment techniques may be required for younger subjects. It is also possible that too much attention to the act of releasing muscle tension may have diverted these boys' attention from the cues necessary for optimal performance. As Nideffer (1985) has suggested, it is important for the athlete to redirect attention to a task-relevant cue following tension reduction in order to maximize response productivity. Such a process may have occurred in the preshot preparation of the combined group which included arousal adjustment followed by a focus on performance-relevant cues (e.g., the rim and "seeing" the ball going through the basket). Of particular interest was the anecdotal observation that boys in the cognitive strategy groups appeared extremely receptive and enthusiastic about gaining a mental edge that they felt might enhance their skill perfomiance. Such a response is consistent with the results of studies indicating that young athletes are particularly motivated by opportunities/techniques that promote skiU development (Gill et al., 1983; Klint & Weiss, 1987). In summary, the present study appears to offer support for the notion that young athletes are able to leam and use cognitive techniques to enhance their performance. It remains to be determined whether there is a minimum age at which mental strategies may be effectively leamed and utilized. Cross-sectional studies employing a variety of age groups should help resolve this issue. Further investigation is also needed to determine whether leamed cognitive strategies are generalizable by young athletes to actual game/competition settings.

References
Antonacci, R.J., & Barr, J. (1960). Basketball for young champions. New York: McGraw-Hill. Benson, H. (1985). The relaxation response. In A. Monat & R.S. Lazarus (Eds.), Stress and coping: An anthology (2nd ed., pp. 315-321). New York: Columbia University Press. Blais, M.R., & Vallerand, R.J. (1986). Multimodal effects of electromyographic biofeedback: Looking at children's ability to control precompetitive anxiety. Joumal of Sport Psychology, 8, 283-303. Burton, D. (1983). Evaluation of goal-setting training on selected cognitions and performance of collegiate swimmers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Illinois. Fenker, R.M., & Lambiotte, J.G. (1987). A performance enhancement program for a college football team: One incredible season. The Sport Psychologist, 1, 224-236. French, K.E., & Thomas, J.R. (1987). The relation of knowledge development to children's basketball performance. Journal of Sport Psychology, 9, 15-32. Gill, D.L., Gross, J.B., & Huddleston, S. (1983). Participation motivation in youth sport. Intemationai Joumal of Sport Psychology, 14, 1-14.

Effect of Cognitive Strategies 103 Gould, D. (1982). Sport psychology in the 1980s: Status, direction, and challenge in youth sports research. Joumal of Sport Psychology, 4, 203-218. Hall, E.G., & Erffmeyer, E.S. (1983). The effect of visuo-motor behavioral rehearsal with videotaped modeling on free throw accuracy of intercollegiate female basketball players. Joumal of Sport Psychology, 5, 343-346. Hamilton, S.A., & Fremouw, W.J. (1985). Cognitive-behavioral training for college basketball free-throw performance. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 9, 479-483. Hellstedt, J.C. (1987). Sport psychology at a ski academy: Teaching mental skills to young athletes. The Sport Psychologist, 1, 56-68. Heyman, S.R. (1987). Research interventions in sport psychology: Issues encountered in working with an amateur boxer. The Sport Psychologist, 1, 208-223. Klint, K.A., & Weiss, M.R. (1987). Perceived competence and motives for participating in youth sports: A test of Harter's Competence Motivation Theory. Joumal of Sport Psychology, 9, 55-65. Kolonay, B.J. (1977). The effects of visuo-motor behavior rehearsal on athletic performance. Unpublished master's thesis. Hunter College, The City University of New York. Kulakova, E.A., Bassiyuni, M., & Chemikova, O.A. (1980). Psychological self-regulation as a means of improvement of sports mastership of young gymnasts. Theory and Practice of Physical Culture, 2, 31-34. Nideffer, R.M. (1985). Athletes' guide to mental training. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Noel, R.C. (1980). The effect of visuo-motor behavior rehearsal on tennis performance. Joumal of Sport Psychology, 2, 221-226. Orlick, T. (1986). Psyching for sport: Mental training for athletes. Champaign, IL: Leisure Press. Petruzzello, S.J., Landers, D.M., Linder, D.E., & Robinson, D.R. (1987). Sport psychology service delivery: Implementation within the university community. The Sport Psychologist, 1, 248-256. Poulton, E.C. (1957). On prediction in skilled movements. Psychological Bulletin, 54, 467-478. Seaboume, T.G., Weinberg, R.S., Jackson, A., & Suinn, R.M. (1985). Effect of individualized, nonindividualized, and package intervention strategies on karate performance. Joumal of Sport Psychology, 7, 40-50. Simek, T.C., & O'Brien, R.M. (1988). A chaining-mastery, discrimination training program to teach Little Leaguers to hit a baseball. Human Performance, 1, 73-84. Smith, D. (1987). Conditions that facilitate the development of sport imagery training. The Sport Psychologist, 1, 237-247. Suinn, R. (1972a). Behavior rehearsal training for ski racers: Brief report. Behavior Therapy, 3, 210-212. Suinn, R. (1972b). Removing emotional obstacles to leaming and perfonnance by visuomotor behavior rehearsal. Behavior Therapy, 3, 308-310. Suinn, R. (1976, July). Body thinking: Psychology for Olympic champions. Psychology Today, pp. 3 8 ^ 3 . Suinn, R. (1983). Imagery and sports. In A. Sheikh (Ed.), Imagery: Current theory, research, and application (pp. 507-534). New York: Wiley.

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Vealey, R. (1986). Imagery training for performance enhancement. In J. Williams (Ed.), Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance (pp. 209-234). Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield. Weinberg, R.S., Seaboume, T.G., & Jackson A. (1981). Effects of visuo-motor behavior rehearsal, relaxation, and imagery on karate performance. Journal of Sport Psychology, 3, 228-238. Ziegler, S.G. (1987). Comparison of imagery styles and past experience in skills performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 64, 579-586.

Acknowledgment
The technical assistance of Edward Howley, Ann Reed, and Susan Ridenour is gratefully acknowledged.

Manuscript submitted: June 21, 1988 Revision received: December 19, 1988