NCT07161934

Guided Imagery Training for Shooting Accuracy and Mental Skills in Adolescent Football Players

A Randomized Controlled Trial on the Effects of Guided Imagery Training on Shooting Accuracy and Psychological Skills in Adolescent Football Players

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 32 (actual)
• Sponsor: Merve Burcu Güler · Academic / Other
• Sex: Male
• Age: 12 Years – 14 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study is designed to examine whether guided imagery training can improve football shooting performance and psychological skills in young athletes. Thirty-two male players aged 12-14 years will be randomly assigned to an imagery training group or a control group. The imagery group will receive guided mental training sessions after each regular football practice for 12 weeks, while the control group will participate only in standard training. The primary outcome will be shooting accuracy at 10 and 15 meters, and the secondary outcome will be imagery ability assessed with a validated questionnaire.

Detailed description

The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the effects of a structured guided imagery program on shooting accuracy and sport-specific psychological abilities in adolescent football players. A total of 32 licensed male players, aged between 12 and 14 years, will be recruited from a local sports club and randomly assigned to one of two groups. The intervention group will receive guided imagery sessions of 15 minutes following each of their three weekly football practices, over a total period of 12 weeks (36 sessions). These sessions will include relaxation, visualization of technical movements, and reinforcement of confidence and motivation. The control group will continue with standard technical training and will participate in short team meetings to match the contact time. The primary outcome will be shooting accuracy, evaluated with a standardized shooting accuracy test at distances of 10 and 15 meters. The secondary outcome will be imagery ability, measured using the Sport Imagery Questionnaire for Children (SIQ-C). The study design is a single-center, parallel-group randomized controlled trial. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institute of Social Sciences Ethics Committee at Çağ University (Approval No. 350-50, January 10, 2020). All participants and their parents will provide written informed consent before the trial.

Conditions

• Adolescent
• Soccer Performance
• Psychological Phenomena and Processes
• Imagery, Psychotherapy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Guided Imagery Training	Participants received guided imagery sessions of 15 minutes after each football training, three times per week for 12 weeks (36 sessions). Sessions included relaxation, visualization of technical movements, and reinforcement of motivation and confidence.
BEHAVIORAL	Standard Football Training	Participants received only regular football training three times per week for 12 weeks (36 sessions). Each session lasted 60 minutes and focused on technical skills. To match contact time, a 15-minute team evaluation meeting was held after each practice.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-02-01
• Primary completion: 2020-05-30
• Completion: 2020-05-30
• First posted: 2025-09-09
• Last updated: 2025-09-09

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)