İnvestigation of mental training and courage levels of basketball players and perceptions of struggle and threat in sports

The purpose of this research; The aim of this study is to examine the mental training and courage levels of basketball players and their perception of struggle and threat in sports. The research included 202 males (70.1%) (age=22.92±4.18) and 86 females studying at the Faculties of Sports Sciences and Schools of Physical Education and Sports of universities located in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions and playing in basketball clubs. A total of 288 competitive basketball players (29.9%) (age=21.85±2.75) participated voluntarily. The research was designed in the relational screening model. The personal information form created by the researchers as a data collection tool within the scope of the research was developed by Behnke et al. (2017) and the revision of the Turkish inventory was made by Yarayan and İlhan (2018), the mental training inventory was developed by Rossato, Uphill, Swain and Coleman (2018). The struggle and threat scale in sports adapted to Turkish by Türkyılmaz and Altıntaş (2020) and the courage scale developed by Konter and Johan (2012) were used. In the analysis of the data, first the skewness and kurtosis values were examined for normality assumptions and it was determined that the distribution was normal. In this regard, t-test was used to compare two independent groups, One Way Anova test was used to compare more than two independent groups, and Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the relationships between variables. When the findings obtained within the scope of the research were examined, statistically significant relationships were determined between the mental training level of basketball players and their courage, struggle and threat level. Based on these results, it has been determined that as the level of mental training increases, the level of courage, struggle and threat will also increase. However, when the statistical analyzes for demographic variables within the scope of the research are examined; It was determined that the variables of gender, level of sportsmanship and years of doing sports created a significant difference between the groups. In conclusion; It has been determined that the value of mental training cannot be denied in sports that require intense physical and mental effort, such as basketball, and it is thought that the mental strength of athletes can make them more resilient not only physically but also emotionally and psychologically. Key Words:Basketball, mental training, courage level, struggle, threat perceptio