Sport Psychology PYC4812
Assignment 02 17 August 2022
Table of Contents
1. Section A: Initial Contact With Athlete………………………………………………….2
Athlete Background Information……………………………………………..………………..2
Description of the Contact……………………………………………………………………..2
Impression of Athlete’s Reaction to the Meeting …………………………………………….3
Intake Summary……………………………………………………………………………….3
Identified Areas for Intervention……………………………………………………...……….3
2. Section B: Literature Review………………...………………..…………….……………4
Imagery………………...…………………………………………..…………….……………4
Self-talk………………...…………………………………………..…………….……………5
Burnout………………...…………………………………………..…………….………….…6
3. Section C: Intervention……..…………...……………………..………………………….7
Self-talk………………...…………………………………………..…………….……………7
Burnout………………...…………………………………………..…………….……………8
Imagery………………...…………………………………………..…………….……………8
Mental and Physical Monitoring………………...………..………..…………….……………9
4. Section D: Feedback ………………...………..………..…………………...……..............9
Self-talk………………...…………………………………………..…………….……………9
Imagery………………...…………………………………………..…………….……….…..10
Burnout………………...…………………………………………..…………….………...…10
5. Section E: Reflection ………………..………..……………………………...……..........10
6. Works Cited….……………………………………..……….…………...………..……...12
7. Plagiarism Declaration……………………………..…………………...………...……..13
1
, Section A: Initial Contact With Athlete
Athlete Background Information
Dale Staples is a thirty-year-old professional surfer living in St. Frances. He is married to his
wife, Stephanie, and they have recently had their firstborn child. Dale enjoys spending time
with his family and is actively involved in raising his daughter. Dale started surfing at age
seven and has practiced surfing most days since he was ten years old. Given that surfing
conditions fluctuate, Dale has spent a lot of his training surfing unfavourable conditions.
St. Francis is widely known to have some of the best surfing conditions in South Africa.
Nearby, Jeffery’s Bay is celebrated as one of the best surfing locations in the world with one
of the best right-hand point breaks many surfers have had the pleasure of surfing. Dale is
consistently one of the standout performers in these celebrated surf locations.
Dale first started competing in surf competitions at age twelve. He has competed in most
national surf contests for the past two decades. He has also competed in several international
surf contests such as the World Qualifying Series. He has participated in two World Surf
League events as a local “wild card” in the 2010 and 2017 Jeffery’s Bay Billabong Pro. This
is considered to be the highest international level of surfing. Dale ultimately aims to qualify
in the World Qualifying Series to gain entry in the World Surf League’s Championship Tour.
Description of the Contact
I was able to meet with Dale in person in Jeffery’s bay on 12 July 2022, the first day of the
Billabong pro. We met at Santa Fe Coffee Shop and both ordered coffees to drink. The intake
meeting took 45 minutes in total. Dale provided consent for me to record the intake meeting,
so I started recording the discussion when commencing the interview. Once I started
recording, I explained the purpose of my project. I revealed that I have a Bachelor’s degree in
Psychology which I completed in 2013 at Rhodes University and that I am currently
completing my Honours in Applied Psychology through UNISA. I explained that the general
intention behind this meetings is to gain a comprehensive picture of the difficulties and
limitations he is experiencing during competitive sport. I then outlined how this lays a
foundation for interventions to be formed to address those difficulties and limitations.
I then requested that he describe what challenges he was currently facing with regard to his
surf performance in competitions. Given that the ability to practice surfing is dependent on
adequate surfing conditions, Dale’s training schedule usually entails some rest days when the
surfing conditions are not appropriate for training. He indicated that surf conditions were
better than usual these last few months, so he was able to surf every day for three months
straight. He usually surfs two to three times a day and the duration of his sessions is three to
four hours. In addition, he does training on a field or at gym with his coach on weekdays to
increase his fitness and muscle strength. His coach leads exercises such as running, weight
lifting, push ups and star jumps. Coaching sessions are usually two and a half hours long.
2
Assignment 02 17 August 2022
Table of Contents
1. Section A: Initial Contact With Athlete………………………………………………….2
Athlete Background Information……………………………………………..………………..2
Description of the Contact……………………………………………………………………..2
Impression of Athlete’s Reaction to the Meeting …………………………………………….3
Intake Summary……………………………………………………………………………….3
Identified Areas for Intervention……………………………………………………...……….3
2. Section B: Literature Review………………...………………..…………….……………4
Imagery………………...…………………………………………..…………….……………4
Self-talk………………...…………………………………………..…………….……………5
Burnout………………...…………………………………………..…………….………….…6
3. Section C: Intervention……..…………...……………………..………………………….7
Self-talk………………...…………………………………………..…………….……………7
Burnout………………...…………………………………………..…………….……………8
Imagery………………...…………………………………………..…………….……………8
Mental and Physical Monitoring………………...………..………..…………….……………9
4. Section D: Feedback ………………...………..………..…………………...……..............9
Self-talk………………...…………………………………………..…………….……………9
Imagery………………...…………………………………………..…………….……….…..10
Burnout………………...…………………………………………..…………….………...…10
5. Section E: Reflection ………………..………..……………………………...……..........10
6. Works Cited….……………………………………..……….…………...………..……...12
7. Plagiarism Declaration……………………………..…………………...………...……..13
1
, Section A: Initial Contact With Athlete
Athlete Background Information
Dale Staples is a thirty-year-old professional surfer living in St. Frances. He is married to his
wife, Stephanie, and they have recently had their firstborn child. Dale enjoys spending time
with his family and is actively involved in raising his daughter. Dale started surfing at age
seven and has practiced surfing most days since he was ten years old. Given that surfing
conditions fluctuate, Dale has spent a lot of his training surfing unfavourable conditions.
St. Francis is widely known to have some of the best surfing conditions in South Africa.
Nearby, Jeffery’s Bay is celebrated as one of the best surfing locations in the world with one
of the best right-hand point breaks many surfers have had the pleasure of surfing. Dale is
consistently one of the standout performers in these celebrated surf locations.
Dale first started competing in surf competitions at age twelve. He has competed in most
national surf contests for the past two decades. He has also competed in several international
surf contests such as the World Qualifying Series. He has participated in two World Surf
League events as a local “wild card” in the 2010 and 2017 Jeffery’s Bay Billabong Pro. This
is considered to be the highest international level of surfing. Dale ultimately aims to qualify
in the World Qualifying Series to gain entry in the World Surf League’s Championship Tour.
Description of the Contact
I was able to meet with Dale in person in Jeffery’s bay on 12 July 2022, the first day of the
Billabong pro. We met at Santa Fe Coffee Shop and both ordered coffees to drink. The intake
meeting took 45 minutes in total. Dale provided consent for me to record the intake meeting,
so I started recording the discussion when commencing the interview. Once I started
recording, I explained the purpose of my project. I revealed that I have a Bachelor’s degree in
Psychology which I completed in 2013 at Rhodes University and that I am currently
completing my Honours in Applied Psychology through UNISA. I explained that the general
intention behind this meetings is to gain a comprehensive picture of the difficulties and
limitations he is experiencing during competitive sport. I then outlined how this lays a
foundation for interventions to be formed to address those difficulties and limitations.
I then requested that he describe what challenges he was currently facing with regard to his
surf performance in competitions. Given that the ability to practice surfing is dependent on
adequate surfing conditions, Dale’s training schedule usually entails some rest days when the
surfing conditions are not appropriate for training. He indicated that surf conditions were
better than usual these last few months, so he was able to surf every day for three months
straight. He usually surfs two to three times a day and the duration of his sessions is three to
four hours. In addition, he does training on a field or at gym with his coach on weekdays to
increase his fitness and muscle strength. His coach leads exercises such as running, weight
lifting, push ups and star jumps. Coaching sessions are usually two and a half hours long.
2
