An examination of mental toughness in sport : the case of Singapore soccer

• Main Author: Tan, Bryan Jie Hao
• Other Authors: Mr Mohammed Azhar Bin Yusof
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66582
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Performance of Singapore Men’s Soccer has not fared well for a prolonged period of time (De Cotta, 2015), despite the large amounts of investment invested (Lawrence Wong, 2013). The negative relationship between Soccer performance levels and investment levels suggest that certain key areas have yet to be identified/ addressed to improve performance. Sporting performance encompasses multiple variables. These factors interact in a complex manner (Marko Trninić, Vladan Papić and Viktorija Trninić, 2011). This paper identifies mental toughness as the main factor to examine. Namely, due to its importance over external factors (Marko Trninić, Vladan Papić and Viktorija Trninić, 2011), the higher level of controllability (Sheard, 2013), the recognition of its positive effect in sporting excellence (Orlick & Partington, 1988) and soccer (Cook, Crust, Littlewood, Nesti & Allen Collinsion, 2014), its holistic benefits (Connaughton, Wadey, Hanton, & Jones, 2008) and the little studies done on it in the context of soccer (Cook et al., 2014). This paper aims to assess mental toughness levels of Singapore’s National Men’s Soccer Team, as a stepping stone to improve sporting performances of Singapore Soccer. The Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ) was administered to these players. Results were recorded in SPSS and compared against scores of athletes from the UK using Mann Whitney U test. Although scores were statistically insignificant, the trend was lower Singapore Mental Toughness levels scores. Possible factors for these trend surfaced through a phone interview. These reasons and the trends serve as a good platform for future studies on improving Singapore Soccer. Keywords: Singapore Soccer, Improve Performance, Mental Toughness