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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1439654
This article is part of the Research Topic Towards a Psychophysiological Approach in Physical Activity, Exercise, and Sports-Volume III View all 11 articles

Exploring the Association of Mindfulness, Confidence, Competitive State Anxiety, and Attention Control in Soccer Penalty Shootouts

Provisionally accepted
Lisi Shi Lisi Shi 1Longjun Jing Longjun Jing 1Huilin Wang Huilin Wang 2*Yang Liu Yang Liu 3
  • 1 School of Physical Education, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, Hunan Province, China
  • 2 School of Business, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China
  • 3 School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Penalty shootouts are a pivotal factor influencing outcomes in soccer matches. Soccer players face the challenge of overcoming physical fatigue and psychological pressure when taking penalty kicks. Instances of low confidence and competitive state anxiety during matches exacerbate the detrimental impact on attention control, particularly in non-target defined features, leading to suboptimal performance during penalty kicks.This cross-sectional survey investigates the relationship between mindfulness and attention control. Convenient sampling was employed to gather a sample of 266 soccer players from sports teams and training bases in Central and South China who had participated in city-level or higher-level competitions. A structural equation model, created using AMOS 26, was employed for hypotheses validation.Results: Findings reveal a positive correlation between mindfulness and confidence, and a negative correlation between mindfulness and competitive state anxiety. Additionally, confidence positively associates with attention control, while competitive state anxiety shows a negative relationship with attention control. Confidence and competitive state anxiety also function as mediators in the correlation between mindfulness and attention control. To elaborate, soccer penalty kickers with heightened mindfulness demonstrate increased confidence levels, reduced competitive state anxiety, and improved attention control.: Mindfulness training positively influences attention control during penalty kicks for soccer players. To boost players' confidence, alleviate competitive state anxiety, and enhance their performance during penalty shootouts, it is recommended that governments increase investment in mindfulness training and talent development. Coaches should enhance their understanding of mindfulness training mechanisms, and athletes themselves should prioritize mindfulness training.

    Keywords: soccer penalty shootout, mindfulness, confidence, Competitive State Anxiety, attention control

    Received: 28 May 2024; Accepted: 30 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Shi, Jing, Wang and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Huilin Wang, School of Business, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.