Importance Of Momentum

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.

Often during sporting events, a team will get that spark of confidence and play and perform better than they ever have. People generally say that the team is starting to build momentum and starting to play better as a team. Sport psychologists that believe momentum can effect a team, show that momentum is a domino affect and one part of the chain leads to the other. Dan Peterson studied film of several dramatic comebacks in the NBA and said the first part of the momentum chain was a play during the game that sparked excitement, and confidence throughout the team and stadium. "A change in behavior would come from all of these internal perceptions. Coaches and fans would be able to see real changes in the style of play from the players as they react to the positive or nega...

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...hout researching the topic of momentum and whether it is real or not, I have found information that leads me to believe me it is real and also information that tells me it is a myth. From a statistical and experimental stand point, I believe that momentum is in fact a myth. I have played several sports in my life and after a big play I personally see no change as to how I was playing before the big play happened. To make this study of momentum better for the psychological and scientific world, I am for scientists doing blind studies on teams and testing the heart rate before a big play and after a big play. This way it can show whether the athlete physically feels better and more confident going into the game after the big play. After several experiments and analyzing studies, I have concluded that the answer to "Is momentum in sports a myth?" is yes it is not real.