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

September 8, 2025 updated by: Merve Burcu Güler

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

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.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

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.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

32

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Konya
      • Yozgat, Konya, Turkey (Türkiye), 66100
        • Yozgat Municipality Bozok Sports Club

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male adolescent football players
  • Age between 12 and 14 years
  • Licensed players of Yozgat Municipality Bozok Sports Club
  • Regular attendance at training sessions
  • Written informed consent obtained from both player and parent/guardian

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Withdrawal of consent at any time
  • Health problems arising during the intervention that prevent participation
  • Irregular or insufficient attendance at training sessions
  • Female athletes (not available in this age category at the club)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Guided Imagery Training
Participants in this arm received guided imagery training in addition to their standard football practice. After each 60-minute technical training session, a 15-minute guided imagery session was conducted, three times per week for 12 weeks (36 sessions total). The program included relaxation, visualization of technical movements, and reinforcement of confidence and motivation.
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.
Other Names:
  • Mental Imagery
  • Sport Imagery
Active Comparator: Standard Football Training
Participants in this arm received only standard football training, three times per week for 12 weeks (36 sessions total). To balance contact time, they attended 15-minute team evaluation meetings after each training session, but no imagery training was provided.
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.
Other Names:
  • Technical Training Only

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Shooting Accuracy Test (10 m and 15 m)
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks (post-intervention).
Change in football shooting accuracy measured with a standardized Shooting Accuracy Test at baseline and after 12 weeks. Players performed 10 shots with their dominant foot at distances of 10 m and 15 m, and the number of successful hits was recorded. Higher values indicate better shooting accuracy.
Baseline and 12 weeks (post-intervention).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sport Imagery Questionnaire for Children (SIQ-C) Total and Subscale Scores
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks (post-intervention).
Change in total score and subscales (Specific Cognitive-Motivational, General Cognitive, and General Motivational-Mastery) of the Sport Imagery Questionnaire for Children (SIQ-C), a validated 21-item self-report questionnaire assessing imagery ability in children and adolescents. Each item is rated on a Likert scale from 1 to 5, resulting in total scores ranging from 21 to 105. Higher scores indicate greater imagery ability.
Baseline and 12 weeks (post-intervention).

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Merve Burcu Güler

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Merve Burcu Güler, MSc in Psychology, Selcuk University, Vocational School of Health Services
  • Study Director: Ayşe Avcı, PhD, Çağ University, Institute of Social Sciences
  • Study Chair: Hayrettin Gümüşdağ, PhD, Yozgat Bozok University, Faculty of Sport Sciences

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 30, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

May 30, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 2, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 8, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

September 9, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

September 9, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 8, 2025

Last Verified

September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IMAGERY-FOOTBALL-2020
  • 350-50 (Other Identifier: Çağ University, Institute of Social Sciences Ethics Committee)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified data will be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request after publication.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

De-identified individual participant data will be available beginning 6 months after publication of the main results and will be accessible for 5 years.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data will be shared with qualified researchers for academic purposes. Requests should be directed to the corresponding author (Merve Burcu Güler) via email. Access will be granted after review and approval of a reasonable request, and data will be shared in electronic format.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Adolescent

Clinical Trials on Guided Imagery Training

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Estonia

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe