ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | June 2, 2026
Assessment of Mental Skill Levels in Field Hockey Players: A Comparative Approach
Manoj Kumar, Sarita Tyagi, Anil Kumar Vanaik, Suvo Roy
Page no 131-139 |
https://doi.org/10.36348/jaspe.2026.v09i06.001
Field hockey is one of the fastest moving games played in the modern Olympic Games. The game is a combination of a high level of physical fitness, along with mental skills practicing outmaneuvering one’s opponents. The aim of this research was to investigate and compare the mental skill status in field hockey players based on the level of participation. For the purpose of the present study, a sample comprising 44 field hockey players from various colleges of the University of Delhi was randomly chosen and consisted of 9 national-level players, 16 university-level players and 19 college-level players. A descriptive psychological profile was administered to the players using the Ottawa Mental Skills Assessment Tool (OMSAT-3) on a 5-point Likert scale. There are altogether 48 items in the questionnaire, investigating three main skills, including: foundation, psychomotor, and cognitive mental skills with sub-skills for all. Mean and standard deviation were calculated to explore dispersion of scores, while analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine differences in the athletes’ sub skills across latent constructs by domain. There were no differences between and within groups in core skills of foundation (self-confidence, goal setting, and commitment); psychomotor (activation control, relaxation, fear control, and stress reaction) and for cognitive mental skills (mental practice ability, competition planning, imaginary ability, refocusing attention, and focusing attention). It is concluded that the level of participation has no impact on mental proficiency status among field hockey players. However, mental skills are also important in terms of performance and therefore athletes should be given structured mental training alongside physical and technical preparation to maximize their potential.