Second, not good enough: An analysis of the behaviour of athletes after the Olympic games
Matthew Halickman
April 16, 2014
Matthew Halickman
Kimberly Burton
Psychology 102
April 16, 2014
Second, not good enough: An analysis of the behaviour of athletes after the Olympic games
In sports there is a lot of achievements and a lot of disappointments. If we look at the 2014 Olympic winter games in Sochi we can definitely see the disappointment in the US women's hockey team after winning second place to Canada (Wharton, 2014). The US women found it difficult to deal with the fact that they came in second place especially after all the hard work and effort they put into winning gold both before and during the Olympic games (Wharton, 2014). According to Wharton, most athletes are happier with a bronze medal rather than a silver medal (2014). That being said, it can be concluded that if and athlete wins a bronze medal they can be happy due to the fact that they are officially an Olympic medalist but with silver athletes often regret not pushing that extra mile to win gold, even though they may have gave it there all (Wharton, 2014). If we take a look at American gymnast McKayla Maroney in the 2012 Olympic games, she came in second place because she fell on her vault and her smirk of dissatisfaction has now gone viral (Wharton, 2014). However, this is not the case for all athletes. Some athletes are very disappointed with third place or very happy with second (Wharton, 2014). All in all, winning a medal is great no matter what colour it is but sometimes athletes are left with a sense of dissatisfaction with the fact that that medal wasn't gold.
Coming short on goals can often leave people very emotional....
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...nd on pommel hoarse which I was relatively pleased with. Pommel hoarse has always been my demon in the gym and I was super excited that that was starting to change. But I wasn't thrilled with Gold on rings because as much as there is nothing higher than gold I could have always done that routine just a little bit better. Which leads me to the point that for many high level athletes gold isn't good enough because no matter how well you did it, it could have alway’s been just a little better.
References
Ciccarelli, S.K., White, J.N., Fritzley, V.H., Harrigan, T. (2013). Motivation and Emotion. Psychology (2nd Eds.) (352-395). Toronto: Pearson.
Wharton, D. (2014, February 22). Medal game is often a mental one at the Olympics. Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/22/sports/la-sp-sochi- bronze-age-20140223
Since 776 BCE, the Olympics have been a way for people of different cultures to come together and compete in friendly competition. In 1892 the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, although it had been over a thousand years since the last game it still had brought together an assortment of different religions and ethnic groups together. Many factors shaping the Olympic Games reflect the changes that have taken place in our world since the last game in 393 CE in Greece such changes include woman’s suffrage, global economy, world wars, and proving competency.
He didn’t take his sport seriously because he knew he was going to get a trophy anyway, whether he won or lost. Giving a trophy to a kid who maybe didn’t participate in a game but tried his absolute hardest in practice to get better is understandable. However, giving a kid who did nothing in practice to make himself better just shows that child that you don’t need to work for anything in life because either way you will get rewarded. “There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.” And what about those kids who aren’t that great at activities, or they don’t show up to practices? Should they still get a trophy? Are they qualified to sit in the same category as a kid who works their butts off in practice, shows up everyday, and is a good sport? I understand showing that everyone is equal, but there comes a point when you have to show a child that they need to work for what they
In a study by Beamon (2012), the phenomenon of athletic identity and identity foreclosure following the retirement from sports was examined. Athletic identity can be defined as a social role or an occupational self-image incorporated of the social, behavioral, cognitive, and affective, obligations associated with athletic identification. Due to the entertainment nature of our culture, elite athletes are socially reinforced for their physical abilities and success. Unfortunately due to this, a majority of athletes conceptualize their identity and “self...
Do we give kids to much trophies? The kids who work hard for it get the same trophy as the kids who don't try. Will kids lose sight of the real sport and all they want is a trophy? Does losinging help kids learn more and get stronger. Kids should not get participation awards and last place trophies.
Blog.sportssignup.com states, “Why does the player who only makes it to one half of the practices and doesn’t really try that hard during games get the same recognition as the player who worked extra hard this season and improved by leaps and bounds? By acknowledging everyone with the same award we’re actually celebrating no one and even undermining the efforts of those who really deserve to be recognized. Why should a player push his or herself throughout the season when they know that no matter how much or how little they do they’ll get some kind of reward for it? Yes, youth sports should be fun and winning isn’t everything, but celebrating mediocrity and skating by on the bare minimum shouldn’t be what sports teaches our kids either.”
As most athletes, who are dedicated to their sport, practice harder than athletes who just play sports for fun. However, there are disappointments in the sport. Many in which involve record holders (mostly in individual sports). Or some in which involve how state standings and/or championships are viewed. As stated by A.E. Housman, “The time you won your town the race we chaired you through the marketplace; man and boy stood cheering by, and home we brought you shoulder-high.” (Prentice Hall Literature [page 1092 lines 1-4]). As newer generations come into the sport, some are born with a gift unimaginable with great potential, people who set the school/state record cause a sadness in the record holder from the past.
How would you feel if someone rewarded you for everything you did from your first baby steps to getting injured? Well some people feel otherwise. Youth athletes are being awarded participation trophies for just showing up. Awards should only be given to youth athletes who exceed their teammates giving away trophies like water is harmful. On the other hand some parents and coaches believe that whenever you give a youth athlete a trophy, it could inspire them to do more.
Research shows that children who receive ongoing praise aren’t inspired to succeed, instead, it causes athletes to give up. Participation trophies should not be used because failing motivates athletes to keep trying, kids feel cheated when they aren’t known for their accomplishments, and participation trophies don’t help kids improve. Some think participation trophies help motivate young athletes. Although this is true, failing and not receiving an award motivates kids to keep trying so they can get rewarded for individual accomplishments.
“All I have to do is pass: A discursive of student athletes’ talk about prioritizing sport to the detriment of education to overcome stressors encountered in combining elite sport and tertiary education.” Psychology of Sport & Exercise. Mar 2014, Vol. 15 Issue 2, p180-189. Web.
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According to the Article,”How Participation Trophies Are Making Our Children Soft”,“There are no points for second place. Those words may fly at elite military institutions like Top Gun, in moments winning can mean the difference between life and death, but it is not the case in youth sports leagues across America, where kids get points for coming in first, last, and everyplace in-between. A product of the self-esteem movement, parents and coaches today feel obligated to heap praise on children, no matter if they deserve it or
Joel Brenner, a medical doctor, says “the ultimate goat of the athlete should be to promote lifelong physical activity, recreation, and skills of healthy competition that can be used in all facets of future endeavors.” (1243) Various achievement related factors such as perceived competence, effort, and skill mastery are related positively to sport enjoyment. (Scanlan 279) No one would
The margins for success and failure as a world-class athlete can be miniscule. Skiers go wide on the third gate of a downhill race to find they have not only lost the gold medal, but any medal. Members of the PGA, after playing 72 holes, find themselves losing the tournament by one stroke, as a result of the missed three-foot putt on the second day of competition.
Introduction Today, the Olympic Games are the world's largest pageant of athletic skill and competitive spirit. They are also displays of nationalism, commerce and politics. Well-known throughout the world the games have been used to promote understanding and friendship among nations, but have also been a hotbed of political disputes and boycotts. The Olympic games started thousands of years ago and lasted over a millennium.. The symbolic power of the Games lived on after their demise, and came to life again as the modern Olympic Games being revived in the last century. Both the modern and Ancient Olympics have close similarities in there purpose and in there problems.
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