Research has supported the need for strategies to assist elite athletes with transition from full-time athletic activity to the work place. Early intervention with coaches' and peers' support programs have mediated the problems associated with the termination of athletic careers. The present study is a report about 57 prominent Olympians from 12 disciplines spanning 6 0 years of competitive sports. Analysis of the data suggests that focussed efforts early in the athletes' careers assisted preparation for life after the full athletic activity. Mentors not only assist in the athletes' careers but also offer guidance and counsel during later life.

Recent research has focused on the relation of mental rehearsal, specifically visualization, to enhanced performance. Some have suggested that mental practice enhances performance on cognitive tasks more than on motoric ones. The present study describes two waves of survey data from elite track and field athletes before the 1988 US Olympic trials ( n = 633) and those same athletes after the Olympic Games in Seoul ( n = 450). The focus was on several measures of mental practice and visualization, including internal and external perspectives and association with sociodemographic data, prior collegiate experience, coaching influences, and Olympic team selection. Analyses suggest that mental practice may be associated with more successful track and field performance for selected groups of athletes.

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, little is known about the extent to which athletes actually use these techniques (Suinn, 1985). Hence, practicing sport psychology consultants have little information available as to the frequency that client athletes actually use such techniques. Similarly, little is known about the correlates of these techniques among athletes. The present study was designed to help rectify this situation by examining the use of mental practice and associative strategies by a large sample of Masters track and field athletes who participated in a national championship event. Also examined is the association of using these strategies with demographic characteristics, athletic background, other mental training strategies, and motivations for athletic participation.

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