Hours before a match, athletes in all corners of the world tend to freak out due to all the psychological factors that accompany performance in sports. Stop for a quick second and imagine becoming a Manchester United Striker or a Denver Broncos Wide-Receiver. For those who did not know already, these two positions are among the hardest in the sports world to play. Not only must the person assigned to these positions stay up until the early hours of the morning studying plays and formations so they might better assist their team come match day, but they also act as the main way the teams they play for get any points. If the expectation of being the team’s top scorers isn’t enough, they must also act as an inspiration to every other teammate that plays alongside them. Even though most people say psychological factors have no effect on an athlete’s performance in sport, athletes are negatively affected by the psychological aspects because of pre-game jitters they may experience, the relationship each athlete has with the stadium crowd, and the toll each match has on the athletes’ bodies.
To begin, almost any athlete in the world today experiences pre-game jitters. These can be thoughts, hallucinations, or other things that can play with your mind and bring yourself into a state of depression. According to Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices by Paul R. Lawrence and Nitin Nohria, Lawrence describes pre-game jitters as “a combination of nerves, anticipation, adrenaline and excitement experienced by athletes all over the world. Some people experience this type of anxiety so strongly they are nearly unable to play (Lawrence 189). Early in his book, Lawrence identifies that pre-game jitters are in fact a humongous problem...
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... What Ferraro is saying is that after a match an athlete tends to separate themselves from their loved ones.
Many outside the sports world never will know about the “real” things involved in sports. Sports are not just competitions between two opponents trying to claim they are more supreme than the other. There is more of a psychological aspect that most people miss all together sometimes. It is clearly evident with the information given that there is some sort of psychological aspect behind sports. Whether it may be the pre-game jitters the athletes may experience, the relationship each of them has with the stadium crowd, and the toll each match has on the their bodies. Sports psychology in general can be a difficult concept for many to understand. Before you diverge into that world however, one simple question remains “Are you tough enough to handle it?”
However, what this argument does not take into account is that athletes have an abundance of pressure put on them that most non-athletes don’t ever experience. Hence, the saying, “go hard or go home”. A recent study emphasizes this fact as McClatchy notes, ”The researchers monitored mood levels of 465 collegiate athletes over three years and found 6.3 percent of the athletes met the criteria for clinically significant depression and 24 percent were considered ‘clinically relevant’ “ (2016). Studies like these prove that athletes are not blind to the idea of depression, but rather experience this disorder themselves. Anxiety has a huge role in depression. As sportsperson, there is constant effort to become an awe-inspiring player. As the stakes of the game raise, so does the anxiety. Some want a scholarship, some want to show off what they offer to a team that got a scholarship, and some are professionals. Regardless of whether it's grade school sport or a professional sport, failing at personal goals one set is down right depressing. Kearns and Hwang state that, ”While it’s not clear whether the source of challenges to a student-athlete's mental well-being is the same as those non-athletes, collegiate athletes are known to encounter unique stressor that the general population doesn’t have to deal with, such as the demands, relationships with coaches and missed scheduled classes” (2014). Pressure is something everyone experiences. However, athletes experience some of the same pressure that of non-athletes and then some. Being on a sports team is demanding to time and the idea of being “superior”. In athletics, coaches are everything. For example, If a coach likes how a person attributes as a team player, then that person will get a chance to shine. However, if the coach is not very fond of one, then the chances of opportunities are not very
...ntial stressors when competing. According to Nicholls & Polman (2007), the capability to cope with stress plays a significant part in how well an athlete performs during and out of competition. In line with this research, the self-efficacy construct has been found to impact how an individual appraises a situation and the corresponding way in which they cope. Self-efficacy can be defined as an individual’s beliefs about their ability to attain a certain outcome which is further expressed in their views about their capacity to execute a specific behavior or task. Since stress is a consistent and defining variable in sports and life outside of sports, it is crucial that athletes develop ways to successfully cope with stress and effectively implement these methods in order to avoid negative effects in competition and in life (Nicholls, Polman, Levy, & Borkoles, 2010).
As Captain and Coach for the Genesis Touch Team, I have decided to use sport psychological in order to further improve the team’s and my own performance. The key focus areas are imagery and concentration in order to prepare for the State Finals.
Practicing meditation daily or before a game builds mental strength. Scientists have proven that meditation improves many cognitive functions not only in athletes, but in everyday life, “Emerging scientific literature further suggests that mindfulness meditation is a productive method for improving self awareness” (David and Hayes 198) Another way that athletes can mentally prepare themselves is by visualizing the outcome that they would like before an event. This makes that outcome seem more realistic to them and closer in reach. This is called imagery. “Imagery has been described as a mental event that recreates actual experience and is frequently adopted by athletes as a covert rehearsal technique to aid both motoric and psychological performance.” (Parker et al. 22) . If you go into a game or match with the mindset that you are going to lose, you will not play to the best of your
Emotion is a big part of the psychological affect on society. We want to give the reader a framework depicting how the mental training improve their performance. After the testing, the author found (Chris, 2014)There are a number of psychological factors that have the potential to negatively affect an athlete’s ability to perform optimally, for example,anxiety, nerves, poor concentration,and self-doubt (Chris, 2014). And the detrimental thoughts, attitudes also will affect the athlete’s ability. In here i want to talk more about the somatic anxiety. We know anxiety will cause many different physical condition and mental disease. This is very dangerous if we do not use correct methods to treat. One of
Pressure is placed on athletes to perform better. The fierce competitive nature of the real sports world in with the peoples excellence has caused athletes to seek alternative means to ...
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).
During practice optimal motivation and excitement need to be given to players to not only insure they progress in their skill aptitude, but also to make the environment fun, creative, and innovative for all athletes involved. Martens specifically describes the “flow experience” as an “optimal” time where players aren’t too anxious or under motivated to perform (Martens, 108). Coaches can heed this advice by planning light, medium, and intense exercise drills, changing the modes of exercise, changing the environment, or through utilizing the teaching principle called the “games approach” (Martens, 154). If the “games approach” is used then the monotony of training will decrease because fun tactical activities based around in game situations will be used instead of repetitive technique drills that often bore players and inspire them to quit a sport early in season. Shaping of play with different teammates or rules, focusing of play through freeze play drills, and enhancing play through different techniques are all effective ways to utilize the games approach to improve tactical sport awareness (Martens, 156). For instance, instead of practicing soccer free kicks repeatedly, the players could do 3 on 3 games utilizing half of the field, they could limit the game to midfield and freeze at times to see whoever gets the most
I am a young ambitious student who strives to excel in everything I do. I want to study Sport Psychology as I know I possess the right skills to further and develop myself in the career of sports. I have the ability to understand others in sports as I also play sports myself. I have been in high pressured sporting situations which I have used my psychological skills to help increase my performance. What interests me in Sport Psychology is that I can make a big difference to not just my life but the lives of people in sport such as rehabilitating athletes or boosting athlete performance. I am fascinated by how different athletes perform in the same environment and getting practical with the mind, body and brain. Improving performance, consistency and stability in an athlete’s
Confucius once said, "he who does not do well is less guilty than he who pushes too hard." People found that competitive sports are often physically straining and it is detrimental to proper emotional development. This blows away the misconception that competitive sports create a healthy and engaging atmosphere for kids. This and an overly strong obsession with winning create a toxic mix for the child’s wellbeing. People have begun to realize the world of competitive may be doing more harm than good for their children. Parents have also begun to notice that competitive sports often injure their children severely and also make the child feel left out, which in turn is detrimental to the child 's emotional health. Therefore, competitive sports
Sports are an important aspect of society. They help people to strive to reach certain goals and join people together, but they also can divide people and turn a fun game into the main purpose of someone’s life. Taking sports games too seriously can be harmful to both the athlete and the spectator. The attitude of always winning at any cost in sports has managed to distract us from other important parts of our lives, such as health and education. This importance of the value of sports can heavily influence the way that we see ourselves as both the spectator and the athlete by creating a positive self image and distilling confidence and discipline within the player, or by embedding self doubt and inversion.
...ompetition environment. There is increasing recognition by the sports community that supporting athlete mental health is a vital aspect of competitive performance, and is as integral to success as the athlete’s physical abilities. The profession of sports psychology provides a very meaningful contribution to help facilitate athlete wellbeing and maximize the psychological skills required to compete at the highest level of competition.
... together, sharing an emotional bond with people they may never see again. Sports can be a coping mechanism for many people as it simply helps them distress after a hard day in the office. Millions of sports fans across the world develop their schedules around their local team and work their routine primarily around being a fan knowingly or unknowingly. Sport often lures the fanatic out of the realm of reality into its own fairy tale like world, which is a primary finding in a majority of studies. It can also be observed that research can be conducted to include the emotional levels of attachment of sports fans when their teams are both in a successful and unsuccessful sphere, as there is a possibility the levels of emotional attachment differ in one fan itself in these two different scenarios, which may lead to a different perception of the term ‘sports fan’ itself.
Sports teach you to be resiant. They teach that even when there is defeat you must move on to the next opportunity to compete.