Athletes of all sizes, ages, and genders have at least one characteristic in common. Whether they are professional athletes or beginners, there is a natural sensation before the competition begins. This sensation is stimulated by the athlete’s level of stress, anxiety, and arousal prior to the event. Growing up playing multiple sports there was one piece of advice that every one of my coaches and even my parents gave me. That advice was to not let my nerves get the best of me. Sometimes though, I couldn’t help but fall victim to the level of stress and anxiety I had before the game. As a result of this, my performance decreased and I “choked”. Throughout this paper I will be analyzing what it truly means to “choke”, how coaches can prevent the occurrence of “choking”, as well as providing an example of recent occurrences where even professional athletes have “choked”.
Anshel (2012) stated, “Choking is defined as the inability to perform up to previously exhibited standards.” In other words, the athlete experiences a decrease in performance as a result of the pressure to perform as good if not better than their previous standards. There are three components that have a great effect whether or not the athlete will “choke”. These three components are; stress, anxiety, and arousal (Anshel, 2012). Without proper maintenance of these emotional states, there is a much higher risk of choking for the athlete during a sporting event.
Stress is an integral part of life in general. Whether that’s about taking an exam, achieving life goals, trying to be a good a parent, or sport’s performance, the level of stress can have a huge effect on the outcome. “Stress refers to present bodily or cognitive responses to an environmental demand” (An...
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... York Jets for a playoff spot. In this high pressure situation, the Dolphins under the leadership of their quarterback were only able to score seven points over the course of both games (Strahm, 2013). This means that Ryan Tannehill was only able to throw one touchdown in two games. Throwing the ball and calling the plays to take your team down field and score is the sole responsibility of the quarterback. Ryan Tannehill let his nerves get to him and for that reason he “choked”.
As you can see, any athlete can “choke”. “Choking” occurs as a result of unregulated levels of stress, anxiety, and arousal. Whether that is in beginner sports or even professional athletes, maintenance of these emotions is crucial to performance. With proper implementation, coaches can prevent this occurrence by integrating proper techniques in practice to decrease the risk of “choking”.
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.
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.
The goal of every coach is to create an environment in which his athletes can flourish. Performance anxiety is a coach’s worst enemy simply because it can have a negative impact both mentally and physically on athletes. The mastery approach to coaching is a cognitive-behavioral intervention designed to promote a mastery-involving motivational climate (Smith, Smoll, Cumming, 2007). How a coach handles his athletes is essential for their confidence and ability to overcome any level of performance anxiety. Critical or punitive feedback from coaches can evoke high levels of negative affect in children who fear failure and disapproval, thereby contributing to a threatening athletic environment (Smith, Smoll, Cumming, 2007).
...one unlucky blow to the head could cause a person to change forever. Injuries in physical activities are not the only threat for an athlete to be cautious of, Performance enhancing substances and stress can also take a harmful toll on the body. Substances containing ingredients that are hardly researched are allowed into drinks, powders, and pills to assist athletes. This can be more dangerous than the potential injuries. Stress is also a key factor in one’s health. Too much stress can wear down the body and mind. Consequently, any time an athlete engages in physical activity they are at risk of injury.
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
Due to the nature of sport, athletes will always be faced with the possibility of becoming injured. Empirical research has demonstrated that injury has a psychological impact on athletes (Quinn & Fallon, 1999). Indeed, sports practitioners often witness negative psychological impacts such as depression and in extreme cases suicidal tendencies in the injured athlete (Jevon & Johnston, 2003). Injuries have a dramatic impact upon an athlete’s life (Deutsch, 1985), Crossman (1997) interviewed athletic trainers and established that 47% of respondents believed that every injured athlete suffered psychological trauma. Walker, Thatcher and Lavallee (2007), explain there is a need to advance current knowledge of the way injured athletes psychologically respond, with deeper understanding it would be possible to aid rehabilitation professionals and help the athlete cope better psychologically. Psychological issues have an important role in the athletes ability to recover from injury (Arvinen-Barrow, Penny, Hemmings, & Corr, 2010), understanding how an athlete responds will have multiple practical implications. Ford and Gordon (1997) suggest that if an athlete experiences negative emotions then it will lead to non-complinace of the rehabilitation process. In order to understand athletes psychological responses to injury several frameworks have been suggested. These include the: integrated model of response to sports injury and rehabilitation (Wiese-Bjornstal, Smith, Shaffer, & Morrey, 1998), the Bio-Psychosocial model of sport injury rehabilitation (Brewer, Andersen, & Van Raalte, 2002), the staged-based grief response models (Kubler-Ross, 1969) and the stage model of the return to sport (Taylor & Taylor, 1997).
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 ...
There are three accepted definitions of stress: 1. Stimulus model - Stress is an external stimulus that places demand on the individuals’ physiology. 2. Response model - Stress is regarded as the responses (both external behaviour and internal/ph...
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).
Many basketball games are decided on whether a team will win or lose by how well they perform at the free throw line. A free throw is the only time where the game is being play and the clock is stopped, players stop, and the ball is in an individual’s hand, with them and the basket. Since there are no defenders trying to block or alter their shot most coaches and spectators wonder what makes someone miss a free throw. Research literature shows that both psychological and physical factors play a role. Many athletes have a different way of approaching the line, but believe that accuracy can vary depending on the situation. A person may perform well on free throws during a game where their performance doesn’t determine the outcome of the game, but when the outcome is decided on their performance they tend to not perform well. There have been a lot of studies on what makes a person “choke” when shooting a free throw at the end of game situations, but there are not a lot of studies on whether the use of imagery can help a player feel less pressure at the line.
Suinn, R. M., & Clayton, R. D. (1980).Psychology in sports: methods and applications. Minneapolis, Minn.: Burgess Pub. Co..
No matter what the sport is, athletes get a sudden confidence boost and a spark of momentum on their side. The question is, is momentum a series of events that actually help the athletes during a game? Or is it just a misperception of random sequences? This concept has been up for debate for years in the sports psychology world. Many athletes are aware of the concept of "momentum" during a game, and often try to use it to their advantage whether its home field, a good play, or simply winning by a large margin. However, it is important that sports psychologists still study this topic today because athletes need to know that if momentum is a key factor or not and if it will help them in their advantage. Athletes need to fully understand what will be going on because they can not rely on something that may or may not exist to help them win games. Players and coaches are missing out on valuable information if they do not fully understand what the concept truly holds.
Players become masters at keeping their game faces on all the time, often until it’s too late. ”(Fagan 88.) Athletes are often told all of their lives that they need to put on a brave face and get over whatever they are feeling (most of the time which is regarding to physical pain.) But no one ever thinks about the mental aspect because the athlete is known to be one of the most mentally strong in comparison to others around them. Thus leading to the point when people realize they are not mentally doing well.
However, anxiety only becomes a problem if you are not able to manage it, control it, or when it gets in the way of your daily routine. According to Kremer and Moran (2008) “one reason why we tend to get uptight before competition could be related the pressure of being observed. Spectators of any sport are constantly evaluating the skills of the athletes they are watching, and this can be extremely daunting to those who are not trained to deal effectively with this pressure.” Not wanting to fail in a match or competition can also heap more pressure on an individual when realise they are being watched and the anxiety and stress increases to
Stress is an ongoing dilemma that occurs in each and everyone’s life. It is a factor that is undoubtedly a part of daily living. Due to the trivial problems that occur in people’s daily lives massive amounts of stress can arise. People perceive and manage stress in many different ways. The causes and effects of stress are numerous and one’s ability to manage stress is vital in maintaining healthy living.