The Mental Toughness Handbook – From Definition to Development
Bigos, Tobiasz; Heim, Alain (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025120432372
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025120432372
Tiivistelmä
In the complex world of sports coaching, small nuances can decide over wins and losses. In recent years, the area of sport psychology has received increasing attention with the aim to develop the mental attributes of athletes. One of those key attributes is mental toughness (MT). Among sports coaches, the term is widely used, yet only few coaches can explain the term or feel like they possess the necessary tools to develop MT among their athletes. Especially among ice hockey coaches, there seems to be a common agreement in the importance of such psychological skills.
This bachelor thesis therefore aims to design and produce the Mental Toughness Handbook – a guidebook targeted towards ice hockey coaches to assist them in their understanding of MT and provide them with strategies to develop the mental side of their athletes. The thesis offers an overview of what mental toughness is and gives some insights into the conflicting definitions among recent scientific literature. With related concepts such as resilience & hardiness being mentioned by researchers, the thesis provides definitions for all these concepts and distinguishes between them. Ultimately, the development of MT according to its definitions is a crucial part of both the thesis and the handbook.
The creation of the handbook followed the theoretical foundation presented in the thesis. With the goal, in mind to bring research findings into ice hockey coaching, the handbook was aimed to be clear and understandable for coaches outside the academic background. The product creation followed a design-based approach, where both existing findings from recent literature and practical implications from coaches were considered and implemented. The content was refined through iterative evaluation to ensure its relevance and usability in real coaching environments.
The final product could be of interest for ice hockey coaches who seek to develop their understanding and practical knowledge of mental toughness. Also, coach developers, federations, athletes, and coaches from other sports might find the handbook a useful source for learning and growing in their particular area.
This bachelor thesis therefore aims to design and produce the Mental Toughness Handbook – a guidebook targeted towards ice hockey coaches to assist them in their understanding of MT and provide them with strategies to develop the mental side of their athletes. The thesis offers an overview of what mental toughness is and gives some insights into the conflicting definitions among recent scientific literature. With related concepts such as resilience & hardiness being mentioned by researchers, the thesis provides definitions for all these concepts and distinguishes between them. Ultimately, the development of MT according to its definitions is a crucial part of both the thesis and the handbook.
The creation of the handbook followed the theoretical foundation presented in the thesis. With the goal, in mind to bring research findings into ice hockey coaching, the handbook was aimed to be clear and understandable for coaches outside the academic background. The product creation followed a design-based approach, where both existing findings from recent literature and practical implications from coaches were considered and implemented. The content was refined through iterative evaluation to ensure its relevance and usability in real coaching environments.
The final product could be of interest for ice hockey coaches who seek to develop their understanding and practical knowledge of mental toughness. Also, coach developers, federations, athletes, and coaches from other sports might find the handbook a useful source for learning and growing in their particular area.