The role of athletic mental energy in the occurrence of flow state in male football (soccer) players

Abstract

Background: This study examines the determinant role of athletic mental energy on the flow state in professional football (soccer) players. This research fills an important gap in the sports psychology literature by focusing on the interaction between mental energy and flow, a critical component of optimal performance.

Methods: Accordingly, 254 male athletes (Mean age = 23.1 ± 5.4 years) voluntarily participated in the study. This study was designed with the relational survey model, one of the quantitative research models. Athletic Mental Energy Scale and Dispositional Flow State Scale-2 were used as data collection tools. After confirming the validity and reliability of the scales, the data were analyzed. In this study, blank data were first evaluated to check the suitability of the analysis and assumptions. After the structure of the scales was verified, firstly, when the skewness kurtosis values for the normality test were examined, it was deter-mined that the data were suitable for normal distribution as the values were between - 1.5 and + 1.5 and the Q-Q graph did not show deviations from the distribution. In this context, Pearson Correlation Analysis was used to determine the relationship between athletic mental energy and flow state, and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was used to determine the determinant role of mental energy. Mental energy significantly predicted the flow state (β = 0.81, p < 0.05), and the SEM results indicated a good model fit (χ²/df = 2.96, RMSEA = 0.08, GFI = 0.89, CFI = 0.90).

Results: When the findings obtained from the research were analyzed, it was determined that athletic mental energy was a determinant of flow and contributed to 66% of the variance.

Conclusion: As a result, it supports that athletes' mental energy levels play an important role in their performance and contribute to the increase of optimal performance mood. These findings suggest that coaches and sports psychologists should focus on strategies to enhance athletes' mental energy levels, such as incorporating mental skills training into their routines. The study emphasizes the importance of athletes' ability to manage their mental energy levels and the development of strategies to increase optimal performance mood. By providing evidence for the link between mental energy and flow, this study contributes to advancing the understanding of performance optimization in professional sports.