“Attention and its role in human performance have been subjects of debate and examination for more than a century” beginning in 1890 with William James who described attention as “taking possession of the mind, in a clear and vivid form” (Weinberg & Gould, 2015, p. 364).
In general, most coaches and athletes potentially use the terms “attention, concentration, and focus” inappropriately or interchangeably due to a poor understanding of how they shift and change dynamically in sport. Developing a sound understanding of the terms along with effective exercises should strengthen and enhance the athlete's’ skills of concentrating and focusing, especially when dealing with distractions. Unfortunately, coaches often tell the athlete to concentrate
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When that attention span for a specific event is narrowed, then the athlete is concentrating in preparation for conducting the specific process or movement. When the athlete begins to execute the process, then the attention span is narrowed even more to a very sharply defined “laser beam” like focus in order to aim and execute the process. The purpose of this paper is to provide the details and explanation of how one’s attention span expands and contracts in order to concentrate and focus as demanded by the sport and …show more content…
In the moment requires the athlete to keep their scan and thoughts set on relevant information related to the entire court and what they can control (Ravizza & Hanson, 2016). This prevents distractions (visually, auditory, and psychologically) from the fans and players on the bench, for example. As the athlete’s expertise increases and automated processes for such sport skills as dribbling are realized, the athlete can filter information to decide what is relative to their tactics and game plans. They can sort information in order to make the proper analyzation for making the right decisions. They have the ability to communicate with team members with subtle moves because their relationships are sound and they have experienced life and sport together for a length of time. Having a sound plan of action designed to engage the specific threat (i.e., the other team or a specific athlete) is a must, plus an anticipation playbook based on the expected obstacles (i.e., expected situations based on analyzing the team's past performances) is required as well. And, all of these plans need to be adaptable to dynamic and distracting
Athletic staleness and burnout is a big problem for many of today’s athletes whether they are at the amateur or professional level. The good thing about this problem that ends up in total and complete physical and emotional exhaustion is that it can be recognized when it is taking place. It can also be treated if the recognition comes at too late of a stage of the onset of staleness and burnout. But the best remedy for athletic staleness and burnout is prevention of it in the first place. There are three different models that have been used to explain the causes of athlete burnout.
Attention is “taking possession of the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seems several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought...it implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others” (James, 1898).
Many athletes would agree that they have felt butterflies in their stomach or a sudden rush of adrenaline before an important game. This feeling can either translate into legendary performances or monumental failures. According to Sharon D. Hoar (2007), to fully comprehend anxiety’s effect on performance, one must understand the discrimination between two unique sets of sources: trait and state anxiety, and cognitive and somatic anxiety. Anxiety symptoms are numerous and unique to every athlete. Hoar suggests that athletes might report cognitive symptoms (eg. Inability to focus), somatic symptoms (eg. Sweaty palms), or both. The author discusses a variety of sources of anxiety and argues that it can have both positive and negative effects on performance. Anxiety has a significant affect on athletes and garners numerous research studies pertaining to performance.
Basketball is a "transition game. Players continuously switch between defensive and offensive plays throughout the game. The plays include strenuous physical, such as running/sprinting, cutting, feints, jumps, and landings. Rapid turns and proximity during one-on-one situations increase the possibility of physical contact. Thus, frequent intermittent running and sprinting characterize the action of the game. Motion analysis has shown that depending on individual playing-time; basketball players cover a distance between 4.6 and 5.8 km per game, with mean heart rates between 80 and 90% of individual maximum heart rates (European Network for Sports injuries prevention, 2008). Consequently, players need to rid of highly advanced basic...
Athletes train for weeks, months, or even years for one single event in their sport. They are relentless in their workouts and strength training. They go out and show what they can do for everyone to see. But is there more to it than what the eye can see? Mindfulness is a word used to describe one’s mental strength and concentration. Mindfulness is defined as “state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you carefully observe your thoughts and feelings without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to your current experience, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future.” (Mindfulness). This is becoming a highly discussed practice used by many successful athletes. Lebron James has sworn by meditation before games or high pressure situations, along with Derek Jeter, and Olympic beach volleyball partners Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings. They are only a few of
athletes negatively present off of the playing field. As athletes train to become more aggressive,
The age of overwhelming strength and stamina governing sports is over, and the age of the mentally tough athlete has arrived. Athletes are no longer the superficial jocks and robots programmed to accomplish one goal, victory. Modern athletes ranging from the high school to professional levels are faced with many pressures and temptations, normally outside the realm of their sport. These pressures can inhibit an athlete’s performance substantially; therefore, the pressures need to be dealt with by psychologists. The effectiveness of sports psychology is demonstrated through the fields many theories, applications, and variety of techniques and procedures.
Creative new training methods, developed by coaches, athletes and sport scientists, are aimed to help improve the quality and quantity of athletic training ( Kellmann, 2010, p.1). However, these methods have encountered a consistent set of barriers including overtraining ( Kellmann, 2010, p.1). Due to these barriers, the need for physical and mental recovery in athletics brought an increasing attention in practice and in research ( Kellmann, 2010, p.1).
“The definition of intensity can be described as the quality of being intense, or the measurable amount of a property, such as force, brightness, or a magnetic field” (“Intensity”). Many people have different levels and perspectives of intensity. Children and their parents are sacrificing much of their time and money with youth sports. With kids starting at such a young age playing such intense sports it is increasing the amount of injuries that occur at younger ages. With the intensity increasing, children’s time is decreasing. These children have no more time for themselves or with their families. Going along with the children’s families, the parents of these young athletes are spending large amounts of money to make their kid the best and
Anxiety and Athletic Performance Introduction Athletes today need to be able to cope with the anxiety and pressure that is placed on them in the competitive world of sports. A large deal of research has been done on examining the relationship between anxiety and performance within the field of athletics. This paper is going to show that the mind of an athlete has a lot to do with the result of the particular event. In order to show that anxiety in athletes is a significant problem, this paper is going to be set up in three different areas in order to explain exactly how anxiety affects the athlete. The first section of the paper is going to explain the history and terminology of the study of anxiety in athletes.
Visualisation is the most common and effective technique used within mental imagery in sport (Harmison, 2011). To do this you envision yourself executing physical sequences of the sport (Harmison, 2011). It has been shown that visualization helps the athlete to perform at a higher level, through increasing traits of the ‘ideal mentality’. In the process of visualization your must imagine correctly and successfully all aspect of the motion, going through frame-by-frame and using all senses. Studies looking into visualization have shown that mental practice can increase real strength and performance creating an almost virtual iron aspect. This study by ( ) has also proven that visualization activates the same neural circuits that actual seeing does, visual imagery activates the brains visual cortex therefore through the imagining of movement it actives the motor ...
Sports are often identified to have positive influences on many individuals. The sports industry is growing worldwide, especially the basketball industry, which is regarded in second place behind football. The global prevalence of basketball is unquestionable, especially among the young. Basketball is a dynamic team sport that involves a pattern of alternating, active, and skilled movement activities. There are compound demands that require a mixture of individual skills, team plays, strategies, and motivational aspects.
Sports psychology continues to evolve in order to ensure that comprehensive and evidence-based psychological services are available for athletes and teams. Giving athletes an understanding of their psychological functioning, and building the ability to implement a range of psychological strategies in competition enables athletes to both execute their skills and thrive under pressure as they strive to reach their performance potential.
Know your role and the team’s goals. Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses and what you can contribute to the team.
be able to keep up with your team and you will keep going rather than