The Effect of a Mindful Meditation Intervention on Self-Confidence and Readiness in Baseball Players

The purpose of the case study was to implement a 2-week Mindfulness-based Intervention (MBI) that emphasized self-confidence and readiness to compete. Participants included baseball players (ages 14-17 years) from one central California travel team, and participated in a mindful meditation intervention. The Sport-Confidence Inventory (SCI; Vealey & Knight, 2002) was administered to measure changes in confidence. T-test analysis showed no significant changes in levels of self-confidence. Participants were interviewed to gain additional insight into their perceptions of mindful meditation, levels of self-confidence and readiness, and on the MBI itself. Although most participants reported a high level of self-confidence at the onset of the study, one athlete reporting low self-confidence perceived the intervention to be beneficial and helped him improve in this area. Mental skills techniques, such as imagery and self-talk have been used extensively to help athletes prepare for competition (Coelho et al., 2012; Kanniyan, 2015; Shweta & Deepak, 2015;), but MBIs present a promising alternative. Recent sport MBIs range from 4 to 10 weeks, and include rigorous coursework (Gardner & Moore, 2004; Kaufman, Glass, & Arnkoff, 2009). However, increases in mindfulness and other performance-related aspects have been found within the first few weeks (Baer, Baer, Carmody, & Hunsinger, 2012; Stankovic, 2015). The current study provides a glimpse into the effectiveness of a more convenient means of practicing mindful meditation.