The Language of Coaching - Research Paper Example

?Running head: The Language of Coaching The Language of Coaching Insert Insert Grade Insert 30 November The Language ofCoaching Many researchers have found out that there is a relationship between self-talk and sporting performance; for example, an athlete’s performance has been found to depend on not only individual physical strength, mental skills, and determination, but also on the effects of self-talk. Self-talk is defined as the act of a person talking to him or herself and includes all the things that he or she says either silently or loudly through his or her mind. Again, research has shown over the years that self-talk can be positive or negative depending on how the athlete uses it to either motivate or derail his performance (O’Halloren 61). In addition, due to these positive and negative effects of self-talk on athletes performance, a lot of investigation and critical interest has been shown towards the topic of self-talk by various researchers over the last years (Yang, and Mengze 357). Indeed, self-talk may defined simply as an internal dialogue where an individual interprets his or her feelings and perceptions in order to regulate, evaluate and then choose the best strategy to use in motivating and reinforcing himself or herself. Besides, most scholars have argued that self-talk has various physiological and psychological effects on athletes’ performances that usually result into positive performance. Therefore, this paper is going to discuss and analyze the importance and various effects of athletic self-talk, specifically on the rhetorical appeals and patterns of logical argument in which this athletic self-talk mostly relies on (Tovares 273). To begin with, self-talk can be either negative or positive; thus, it is important that athletes should try to mentally train their minds in order to gain self-talk skills that will motivate them to have more improved performance (Newman 4). This can be done through positive thinking that would allow them acknowledge their success and abilities, thereby guiding them on where to put more focus on. On the other hand, unproductive and negative self-talk has been found to be among the dragging and damaging thoughts that mostly distracts athletes’ performances, leading to anxiety and poor results in sports competitions. Due to this anxiety and low performance caused by negative and unproductive self-talk, it is always advisable for athletes to train their minds in such a way that they often reduce negative self-talk messages and replace them with the positive ones (Gi-Yong, Brody and Stephen 148). There are various ways to be used by athletes to develop positive self-talk that will enable them have good performance in both national and international competitions such as in Olympic Games (Newman 4). The first step is to create a self-talk plan that will enable athletes avoid any negative self-talk that can distract their performance. This may involving creating positive words and statements such as “I am feeling strong” or mantas like “I am going to win the race”. These positive self- talk statements should be in such a way that they can be repeated over and over so that athletes can use them to replace negative thoughts as they focus on more positive alternatives. Again, research has shown that the more one uses productive and positive self-talk plan, the more positive results will come out (Yang, and Mengze 357). Secondly, it is important that athletes start creating positive mental images in order to create visual pictures of them doing what they have said. Indeed, the combination of the positive statements and visual images can give them positive results (Epting, et al. 311). Thirdly, it is also important that athletes get involved in the process of letting go of unproductive and negative thoughts. For example, in case they are in a situation of unproductive self-talk, it is important that they apply correct strategy to counteract these negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. This can be done by conditioning one’s mind to act as a computer such that, the moment any negative thought comes to their mind, they only click the delete button and focus more on the more positive and productive thoughts. It is also very important for athletes to increase positive thoughts in order to focus more on their abilities and strengths. This allows them to have more confidence and determination to perform better. In addition, filling their minds with positive and productive thoughts will prevent the negative and unproductive thoughts from entering their mind, hence will not affect their consciousness (Epting, et al. 311). For instance, watching a game of football where a player is shown a yellow card for foul play, one would realize that such a player’s performance on the pitch will nosedive or decline, especially if the said player engages the referee with complaints of unfair cautioning. The result of such decline may be as a result of the mentality the player creates in his mind, which mainly focuses on the unfair treatment rather than concentrating on his game. Besides, research has found out that positive and productive self-talk is very critical and important in athlete’s competitions. Furthermore, it is very clear that when one lets go of negative thoughts, the space in mind that could have been occupied by these thoughts will remain empty and be filled only with positive thoughts to avoid the negative ones from returning to hurt the person (Newman 4). Various mistakes that athletes usually make have a derailing effect on their performance, leading to negative self-talk. To begin with, it is important that athletes should and must always avoid focusing on the past performances as this will make them neglect and hamper their current abilities after training for long (Chiung-Huang, et al 630). Some of these mistakes include dwelling more on errors made during a match rather than on ways to fix the error. Additionally, an athlete may have low self-esteem, which will affect his or her confidence and strength. Moreover, consistent and frequent criticism from trainers or fans may contribute to negative self-talk by the athlete especially when on the field, as he or she will be under pressure trying to think he or she is seen as a failure. Nevertheless, setting unrealistic goals or performance standards will definitely lead to negative self-talk when the athlete fails to achieve those targets. Secondly, focusing too much on the future can also affect athlete’s performance; for example, focusing on how to finish the race instead of focusing on the first best steps to take in order to start the race can sometimes lead to athlete’s poor performance in competitions. Again, during competitions, athletes should and must always avoid negative thoughts and feelings that focus on their weaknesses, as this will lead to poor performances. Instead, these areas of weaknesses can be focused on during training sessions to allow athletes come up with the best strategy to solve them. In addition, athletes should always try to only focus on their abilities and performance and avoid too much focus on uncontrollable factors such as the weather, the type of referee and the condition of the field for competition (Newman 4). Indeed, such factors will only waste their mental energies, since it is very clear that they may do anything to change them; these factors also universally affect all the competitors in the race, hence one does not need to worry about them (O’Halloren 61). Another important strategy that athletes can employ in order to gain and benefit more from self-talk is to avoid unrealistic goals that can have negative impact on their performance. In addition, athletes must also be in the habit of training their minds to master the best positive thoughts that will allow them to have best performance. This can be done through monitoring of their self-talk scenarios and situations in order to come up with the best strategy to use after proper evaluation and assessment of their abilities and strengths (Yang, and Mengze 357). In conclusion, this paper has discussed and analyzed the importance and various effects of athletic self-talk. Generally, athletes performance depends on various factors among them physical strength, mental strength, endurance, talent, and determination. However, self-talk also plays a great role in determining the level of performance of an athlete. Simply put, self-talk may be positive or negative depending on the thoughts one has; however, it is the positive self-talk that has positive impact on athletes’ performance. Although self-talk may be inherent to some extend, an athlete needs to learn and acquire skills on how to engage self-talk. For example, an athlete may be trained on how to engage his or her mind with a winning mentality, which will definitely lead to positive attitude and thoughts entangled in self-talk. Therefore, it is the role of coaches and trainers to incorporate self-talk training lessons in their training curriculum or programmes to be used during training sessions. Indeed, when self-talk is positive, it will boost other skills development and actual athletic performance due to positive thoughts and winning mentality associated with it. This will boost not only self-confidence of the athlete, but also endurance and energy sustainability throughout the race. Nevertheless, proper strategies should be employed in order to eliminate the tendency of engaging in negative self-talk, among them being setting realistic goals and holistic focus on the game rather than on the finishing. Works Cited Chiung-Huang, Li, et al. "Prediction of intrinsic motivation and sports performance using 2 x 2 achievement goal frameworks." Psychological Reports 108.2 (2011): 625-637. Epting, L. Kimberly, et al. "Cheers vs. Jeers: Effects of Audience Feedback on Individual Athletic Performance." North American Journal of Psychology 13.2 (2011): 299-312 Gi-Yong, Koo, Brody J. Ruihley, and Stephen Dittmore. "Impact of Perceived On-Field Performance On Sport Celebrity Source Credibility." Sport Marketing Quarterly 21.3 (2012): 147-158. Newman, David. "Power 100: Methodology." Businessweek.Com (2011): 4. O’Halloren, Ryan. "There Is an I In Team: What Elite Athletes And Coaches Really Know About High Performance." Government Finance Review 28.6 (2012): 61-62. Tovares, Alla V. "Managing The Voices: Athlete Self-Talk As A Dialogic Process." Journal of Language & Social Psychology 29.3 (2010): 261-277. Yang, Yupin and Mengze Shi. "Rise and fall of Stars: Investigating the Evolution of Star Status in Professional Team Sports." International Journal of Research in Marketing 28.4 (2011): 352-366 Read More