Effects of Online Sport Counseling in Adolescent Taekwondo Athletes: Real Match After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Junla D, Mitranun W, Sittiprapaporn P, Yotanyamaneewong S. Effects of Online Sport Counseling in Adolescent Taekwondo Athletes: Real Match After the COVID-19 Pandemic. JEPonline 2023;26(6):1-10. Sixteen participants were selected for this study. Eight engaged in an 8-week online counseling program (Online Group) that involved two 30-minute sessions per week, while the remaining 8 athletes formed the Control Group (CG) and continued their regular practice routines without counseling. The data were collected before their first real match (M1) and again before their second real match (M2). The study focused on evaluating cognitive reappraisal skills and physiological responses related to emotions, including heart rate, blood pressure, and neurological signals. Comparing the Online Group to the Control Group, the results revealed no statistically significant differences in cognitive reappraisal skills, diastolic blood pressure, beta wave activity, and alpha wave activity. However, the Online Group did demonstrate significantly lower diastolic blood pressure and heart rate at a significance level of 0.05. These initial findings suggest that online sport counseling did not lead to improvement in cognitive reappraisal skills but did have a notable impact on reducing diastolic blood pressure and heart rate. Thus, the intervention may influence the athletes' responses during moments of acute stress but may not affect the specific skills they employ during intense real matches.