Author(s): ZHANG, X., LUO, P.2, WANG, H.3, ZHANG, K.4, LI, Y.5, AN, Q.5, CAO, C.1, Institution: TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY, Country: CHINA, Abstract-ID: 2446

INTRODUCTION: Reflective practice involves a purposeful process of stepping back from experience to examine thoughts, emotions, and actions to inform learning and future practice. This study examines how reflective practice was systematically integrated within a psychological skills training (PST) program and how this integration supported athlete learning and development in a Chinese volleyball context. The objectives are to explore how reflective practice was embedded within PST delivery and to examine athletes’ experiences of reflective learning across the program.

METHOD: This study examined a three-year PST program implemented with Chinese professional volleyball players. Reflective practice was embedded throughout the program using a four-stage model adapted from Anderson et al. (2004) and integrated into team workshops, bi-weekly individual consultations, reflective journaling, and post-training and post-competition debriefs. Data included athletes’ reflective journals, session notes, and practitioner reflections, and were analyzed using an inductive reflexive thematic approach.

RESULTS: The analysis revealed several themes describing athletes’ experiences of engaging in a PST program grounded in reflective practice. First, reflection was initially experienced as unfamiliar and challenging, with athletes tending to rely on descriptive accounts of training and performance (Reflection as unfamiliar and effortful). Second, as reflective practice was systematically embedded within the PST program, athletes developed greater self-awareness, with reflection becoming more purposeful and meaningful and supporting deeper emotional awareness and evaluative sense-making (Developing self-awareness through structured reflection). Third, athletes increasingly used reflection to link psychological skills to performance demands, enabling clearer connections between skills such as focus, self-talk, visualization, and planning and their application in training, competition, and team roles (Linking reflection to psychological skills and performance demands). Finally, athletes described increased ownership of learning, improved self-regulation, and an enhanced ability to transfer reflective skills to life beyond sport (Ownership of learning and transfer beyond sport).

CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate how reflective practice can be systematically embedded within a PST program to shape athletes’ learning experiences. Integrating structured reflection within PST delivery may enhance athlete engagement, self-awareness, and development beyond immediate performance outcomes.

Anderson, A. G., Knowles, Z., & Gilbourne, D. (2004). Reflective practice for sport psychologists: Concepts, models, practical implications, and thoughts on dissemination. The Sport psychologist, 18(2), 188-203. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.18.2.188