Enhance the Performance of an Athlete by Using Different Techniques of Psychology - Research Paper Example

Enhancing Athlete Performance and Section # of Introduction Sports celebrities have always beenone of the most admired classes of celebrities worldwide. Hardworking players and athletes are always commended with awards and international recognition; however, they too may break out under stress and fear. Mark (2002) states that the stress of competition and the fear of staying at the top that causes the athletes to react abnormally affecting their performance on the field. Lardon (2008) claims that often athletes then resort to drugs and other wrongs to calm their tensions leading to further problems. This problem has been so severe that coaches internationally have shown great interest in the field of sport psychology particularly in the area of competitive anxiety to tackle the problem effectively. Selk (2008) believes that the athletes of any country are its most valued assets and a country cannot let go of them just because of fear of competition and excessive stress and anxiety. Sheridon (2010) states that sports psychology is the study based on finding out techniques that the athletes can use to control anxiety on the field and maximize their true potential when it is needed the most. These techniques are basically designed to help the athletes relax and perform well on the field. Often athletes do exceptionally well during practice sessions but lose momentum on the final day, that surely is disheartening not just for the individual athletes but the whole team. Sports psychology helps the athletes to focus positively on preparation of the game and play it well. It also keeps them away from drugs and other hyper energy raising pills that usually lead to aggression and high blood pressure. Literature Review For an athlete to be successful in the practical world he does not just need the talent but also a strong will to take that talent far and get his credit acknowledged worldwide. Weinberg (2006) states that according to sports psychology an athlete should have attributes of the 4 C’s namely confidence, control, concentration and commitment. It is said that an athlete that possesses all 4 C’s is bound to succeed. Martens (2004) defines confidence to be the ability of an athlete to distinguish oneself from the crowd and know where he excels. Control refers to the ability to control oneself emotionally and not get distracted by other happenings. Often players are intentionally distracted and manipulated to hamper their progress and a true athlete must possess the ability to rise through difficult situations and emerge as a winner. Loehr (1995) states that concentration is the ability of an athlete to stay focused during the game. Commitment is the most essential attribute. It refers to the ability of an athlete to continue to struggle despite challenging circumstances and not resort to drugs and other negative means. Jackson (1999) concludes that social psychology helps an athlete gain the 4 C’s by virtue of relaxation, mental imagery and centering. Nideffer (1992) has concluded that an athlete can focus in two different ways. He can either have a broad narrow continuum of focus or he could have an internal external continuum of focus; Clarkson (1999) states that the athlete basically focuses on stimuli rather than the main event if the he possesses the former category of focus. For example a football player would focus on how the ball got to him. In the latter technique of focus, the athlete focuses on internal stimuli and external stimuli as explained by Ratey (2008). In that case, a football player would focus on how the ball got to him and what he needs to do to the ball. Of course, the second technique seems to be a better choice but the athletes need to be trained to think quick. Cocilovo (2007) correctly states that a difference of nanoseconds also leads to a winning or losing position and so the athletes need to be very sharp and sports psychology helps them become that sharp and quick at reacting to stimuli. It helps the athletes to have a sustained focus on the game rather than short, irregular bursts of concentration or intense concentration because that may too lead to anxiety and excessive stress. Method Participants Hardy (1996) states in his book that the chief participants in research activities circumscribing athletic performance are the athletes themselves who want to save their lives from the misery of drugs and energy shots. Also, different coaches resort to research on techniques that could possibly improve athletic performance. Murphy (2004) wrote that students learning psychology are also made to study sports psychology so that they can contribute positively to the sports in their countries. All other psychologists can also attempt to research in this area depending on the severity of the need as predicted by Porter (2003). Equipment, Instruments and Measures Research has proven that sports psychology can be applied to improve the performance of athletes who suffer from anxiety, hyper tension and fear of competition. Sports psychology helps such athletes to overcome their fears and emerge as true leaders. It is of utmost importance for the athlete to have full self confidence. He should feel positively about himself and his talents and should be able to use his skill to the benefit of his team on the field. Mental imagery is often used to improve the self confidence of the athletes as mentioned by Baum (1999). In this technique, the athletes are made to recall some good performance of theirs from the past and make them relive the moment. This helps the athletes think high of themselves and consequently try to do their best again. Also mental imagery focuses on giving the athletes various imaginary, critical situations and tries to teach them how they may need to cope up with the difficulty as explained by Waitzkin (2008). The imaginary situations are pretty realistic aimed at helping the athletes deal with problems that may actually occur on the field. Wilmore (2007) believes that control of oneself is also very important for an athlete. The athlete cannot let his feelings burst out during the game no matter what. Unless the result is declared, a lost game may be won and so the athletes need to be very composed and have full self control. An athlete may lose physical control leading to butterflies in the stomach, nausea, excessive sweating etc or he may lose mental control leading to negative thoughts, confusion and lack of focus. In both cases, the athlete’s performance is hampered and so sports psychology suggests relaxation to be the only technique that can be used to reduce anxiety. The athlete may be given some time off the tension that surrounds so that he can continue with the game with a fresh mind. Unless he has control over his actions and mind, an athlete will never be able to perform his best. Next in line is the concentration of the athlete. Sports psychology realizes that the athlete must be very focused on winning the game as soon as he enters the field otherwise he may not be able to deliver his best. Concentration is a very personal attribute. While some athletes stay focused throughout the game, some focus in dispersed intervals of intense concentration and in both cases the athletes may be able to save the day for their team. Research in sports psychology claims that concentration of either forms is good enough as long as it leads the team to success. In order to improve concentration of athletes, they need to be given a trigger or a stimulus to perform their best. Often they are reminded of their goal and told how important it is for them to achieve it. This technique helps the athletes stays focused and work hard towards the predetermined goal. These goals, however, need to be short term, easily accessible goals which can later become harder to attain. The easier ones at the start will help the athlete to gain self confidence and learn how to stay focused. The latter harder goals will then seem easy to the athlete. Also, many coaches who research in the field of sports psychology suggest sprinting to be the best technique to increase concentration span of the athletes. Sprinting helps the athletes stay focused and aim higher. Last in line is commitment and loyalty towards the sport. It is very important for the athlete to be committed to his work and be honest when he plays. Some athletes may be distracted through bribery and some may be tempted to use energy shots, drugs and other illegal means to achieve success. However, a true athlete will never use unjust means to achieve success but will reach greater heights by hard work, commitment and dedication. The team coaches play the biggest role in imparting a feeling of commitment and loyalty towards the team and the sport to the athletes. The coaches can give the athletes positive feedback and encourage them even when they are unable to perform their best. The athletes need to be reminded of their true potential and the colossal glory of the sport they play for them to stay committed to the game. Research Procedure Like research in every other field, research in sports psychology is not a one night’s effort. It requires incessant time, effort and resources. Sampras (2009) states the three main phases of the research procedure. The first phase is the learning phase, the second is the gaining phase and the last is the application phase. In the learning phase, the athletes and coaches learn how important are psychological skills and techniques in the field of sports and how can they be acquired to gain proficiency in sports. The researchers also learn how these psychological techniques affect the mind and heart enabling the athletes to perform better. In the gaining phase the researchers learn to practice these strategies and techniques. There are certain requirements and conditions that need to be met before the techniques can be applied to the athletes. For example, sprinting helps gain focus but so does a dart game. Who needs what is more important to decide and that is what researchers learn during the gaining phase. The last phase of sports psychology is the application phase where the researchers apply their theories on athletes and test for their efficacy. It is through repeated practice and actual competitions that athletes gain most. Proposed Data Analysis Once the research on sports psychology has been carried out, required data must be analyzed. Firstly, the performance of the athlete in terms of scores must be compared before and after the psychological therapy. This is fundamental since it is the scores of the athletes individually and the team as a whole that decide the winning and losing of a game. However, the scores may not truly represent the success of the psychological therapy so more data is required than just the marks that each athlete scores on the field. The self satisfaction and happiness that the athlete derives from the sport also needs to be assigned numerals and compared before and after the psychological therapy. Even if the scores are not sufficiently better, after the psychological therapy, the athlete should ideally be more satisfied. He should be happier with his part in the play and think high of himself. Expected Results It is expected that after psychological treatment, the athletes would be able to perform fearlessly on the field. They would not be scared of the outcome of the game, but would play for the fun that they derive from playing it as explained by Ungerleider (2005). The athletes are expected to be more confident about their achievements and proficiency in the sport and feel like they can contribute significantly to the promotion and well being of the game. The athletes are also expected to focus more aptly at short term goals leading to success in the long run. Sports psychology is also expected to help the athletes remain loyal to the sport they play despite the circumstances. Even if they are injured or mocked by the world, they are expected to stay committed to the sport that they play and consistently try to become pro at it. It is also expected that the recent studies in sports psychology will eliminate the vices of drugs and bribery from the world of sports and the athletes will play because they enjoy the game and not for any ill intended motives and plans. Also, research in sports psychology will help budding athletes to perform better from the start and be able to achieve much more in lesser time. References Mark, G. & Casstevens, D., 2002. Mind Gym: An Athlete’s guide to Inner Excellence. McGraw-Hill. Lardon, M. & Leadbetter, D., 2008. Finding your Zone: Ten core lessons for achieving peak performance in sports and life. Perigee Trade. Selk, G., 2008 . 10-Minute Toughness: The Mental Training Program for Winning Before the Game Begins. McGraw-Hill. Sheridan, S., 2010. The Fighters Mind: Inside the Mental Game. Atlantic Monthly Press. Weinberg, R. & Gould, D., 2006. Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Human Kinetics. Martens, R., 2004. Successful Coaching. Human Kinetics. Loehr, J. & Evert, C., 1995. The New Toughness Training for Sports: Mental Emotional Physical Conditioning from One of the Worlds Premier Sports Psychologists. Plume. Jackson, S. & Csikszentmihalyi, M., 1999. Flow in Sports: The keys to optimal experiences and performances. Human Kinetics. Nideffer, R., 1992. Psyched to Win. Human Kinetics. Clarkson, M., 1999. Competitive Fire. Human Kinetics. Ratey, J. & Hagerman, E., 2008. Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. Little, Brown and Company. Cocilovo, V., 2007 . Build Your Mind, Your Body Will Follow. AuthorHouse. Hardy, L. & Jones, G. & Gould, D., 1996. Understanding Psychological Preparation for Sport: Theory and Practice of Elite Performers. Wiley. Murphy, S., 2004. The Sports Psych Handbook. Human Kinetics. Porter, K., 2003. The Mental Athlete. Human Kinetics. Baum, K., 1999. The Mental Edge. Perigee Trade. Waitzkin, J., 2008. The Art of Learning: An inner journey to optimal performance. Free Press. Wilmore, J. & Costill, D. & Kenney, L., 2007. Physiology of Sport and Exercise. Human Kinetics Publishers. Sampras, P., 2009. A champion’s mind. Three Rivers Press. Ungerleider, S. & Bolletteri, N., 2005. Mental Training for Peak Performance: Top Athletes Reveal the Mind Exercises They Use to Excel. Rodale Books Read More