THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MODEL FOR THE PROVISION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORTTO A NATIONAL SQUAD

The aim of this paper is to describe and appraise two different models used for providing sport psychology support services to the British A mateur Gymnastics Association over the last 6 years. In the first phas e, the sport psychologists assumed the traditional role of experts who evaluated performers' needs and then prescribed educational psycholog ical skills training programs according to the sport psychologists' pe rceptions of individual needs. This approach contained both educationa l and monitoring elements. The second phase adopted a consultancy appr oach in which the coach, performer, and sport psychologist were all as sumed to bring expert knowledge to bear on any problem. In this approa ch, the sport psychologists responded to the expressed needs of perfor mers and coaches, assuming diverse roles. According to the sport psych ologists, this second model was more difficult to operate than the fir st model. However, consultant evaluation data and consultant opinion s uggested the second model operated more successfully than the first.