This study determined the perceived impact of psychological Skills and self-confidence among male soccer players in tertiary institutions in Ebonyi State. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study was one hundred and forty (140) respondents (38 Coaches and 102 Soccer players). The same number served as the sample for the study due to smallness of size. A structured questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. The instrument had a reliability coefficient of 0.89. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test was used to test the hypotheses. The result of the study revealed that both self-talk and imagery training impact self-confidence of male soccer players in tertiary institutions in Ebonyi State. The hypotheses tested were significant. Based on the findings, the study concluded that stakeholders in sports development in the tertiary institutions in Ebonyi State should facilitate the provision of environment that would encourage self-talk, and imagery training before and during soccer events.

Background: The performances of athletes in Ebonyi State tertiary institutions were observed to be low. Therefore, the present study explored the psychological determinants of sports participation among athletes of tertiary institutions in Ebonyi State. Methods: This was an institutional based cross-sectional study conducted among 481 students drawn from Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ikwo, and Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. Two research questions and two hypotheses were used to guide the study. Mean scores and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. Results: The findings shows that fear of injury and anxiety was a determinant of sports participation in tertiary institutions in Ebonyi State. It was also found that there was significant difference in the mean response of male and female athletes on the sports participation. This finding implies that sports participation of athletes was determined by psychological determinant. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made, that, government and its agencies should provide adequate infrastructural facilities required for athletes in order to improve athlete’s participation and increase sport development in the country. Also, the school management in collaboration with the host communities should ensure conducive environment for athletes.

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