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Motivation and effects in sport
Motivation and effects in sport
Motivation in sport
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In recent research, 82% of coaches rated mental toughness as the most important psychological attributes in determining success in sport. Unfortunately, only 9% believed they were successful in developing mental toughness in their athletes (Weinberg, Freysinger, & Mellano, 2016). General Sun Tzu believed that knowledge of self as well as the enemy was required to have confidence and lack of fear in battle (Tzu & Cleary, 1988). We all have battles within or on the court or field, for example. Every athlete has to have a drive with self-determination to fight the battle until the end regardless of the outcome, regardless of the score in the 4th quarter or the last inning, for example. Understanding one’s mission, destiny, purpose, passion, …show more content…
Mental toughness has a variety of meanings depending on the individual. My curriculum aims to develop fire in the athlete’s soul so that they can dig deep and learn through the challenging situations of life and sport to develop girt from within.
Regardless of the name and the opinions, my definition of mental toughness is based on my life experiences backed by sport psychology literature. My definition of mental toughness is very deep and thorough. The below definition will not be read directly to the athletes. My definition is for me to read prior to giving the lesson in order to ignite me with the right words to express to them for short time I will have with them.
Mental toughness was never discussed in the fighter pilot community. It was assumed. My program aims to humbly dial back the intensity for young athletes, teach them GRIT (Goal setting, Regulation of self, Imagery, and self-Talk) to develop an understanding of Mental Skills needed for sport, then start gradually dialing the intensity back up by allowing the athletes to practice the mental training tools in order to figure out works best for
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It requires meticulous planning covering every detail, a variety of contingency plans based on the forecasted environment (e.g., multiple backup plans that are flexible and covering all aspects of the competition), the ability to adapt to dynamic environments, and the awareness skills to be prioritized and proactive in the moment with high situational awareness. The athlete needs to have the confidence in their planning, training, pre-competition preparation that the outcome is going to be successful. Hope should not be in my athlete’s mindset. Self-determination that they are going to do whatever it takes to “make it happen” will be the foundational attribute for their inner strength. They should never hope that they will have mental toughness. They need to believe that they are and will remain mentally tough when engaging the adversary (e.g., the task, the situation, or the opponent, for example). “It is going to happen,” not that “I want it to happen or I hope it happens.” Mentally tough athletes know when to “be there in the moment” when it counts. They know when they can take mental breaks and then reignite in a flash. They know how to execute the plan with the right amount of intensity to remain in an ideal
An example of this is in the essay Confessions of a doper by Jonathan Vaughters. When playing sports you have to have the “resolve” to do it as said in the essay.(8) Physical strength is not only physical ability but also, self centeredness. For those who do not have much physical prowess in sports, the mind evens the playing field. The mind opens up opportunities where we once believed there were none. With critical thinking we can overwhelm even the most worthy opponents. There are some methods of self defense that do not matter if you are the smallest in your class or age group. Tickery, mind games and quick thinking let you outsmart most
Sports performance is carrying out of specific physical routines or procedures by one who is trained or skilled in physical activity. Performance is usually influenced by a combination of physiological and also psychological. Performance of an athlete usually measured by the goals they set and how hard they are willing to train for the sport they take part in. When thinking of performing a duty to a team most people don’t think about the mental obstacles one might have to overcome to accomplish a goal. When dealing with any athlete there is more to it than just throwing them in a game and expecting them to play well.
Perseverance, dedication, and discipline, these are the qualities that have been instilled in me throughout my training. My sport requires failing repeatedly until consistency is found in perfection. Therefore, perseverance proved crucial as I attempted skill progressions and difficult routines. Dedication was essential whenever I watched others miss practice for social events. I didn’t recognize the immediate benefits of my deep rooted commitment until months and years later; now I have applied this devotion to every aspect of my life.
What is excellence? Is it perfection, a goal, a feeling, a gift? To some athletes, it is an everyday challenge that comes easy; to others it might not be so easy. Whether it holds a psychological meaning or it’s just another goal to set, it shows a persons attitude and dedication towards a sport. To what extremes will people actually go to reach excellence? Some athletes strive so hard that they will try almost anything to reach their peak of excellence, the extremes that some go through to reach that peak may be either a safe or dangerous road to travel.
...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).
To be a pro-athlete takes work, but how much work? Is it Brain or is it bulk that will make you be successful in sports? The stories “What could Be Better than a Touchdown, by Kelefa Sanneh, and “why we run”, by Bernd Heinrich, both compare athleticism to dealing with your mind, or in other words they both convey the idea that Mental Strength is much more important than agility. In fact, Agility and Physical Prowess are almost nothing compared to Mental Strength.
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.
You often hear the word “tough” used in context to describe a person or to define how difficult something may be. When it comes to basketball or sports in general, the word “tough” is much more complicated than that. Toughness is something that has to be learned. Jay Bilas, a former player of the Duke Blue Devils, believes toughness is often thought to be a physical strength, when in reality toughness is a skill (Bilas). Bilas recalls hearing the word “toughness” getting thrown around a lot on television by reporters and players. He remembers wondering “Do people really understand what coaches and experienced players mean when they emphasize toughness in basketball?” (Bilas 1). His curiosity drove him to dig deeper and write about how toughness
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
Collegiate athletes are already under an enormous amount of pressure even before enduring career-ending injuries. According to Kissinger (2009), student athletes normally struggle with six unique challenges. Student must be able to balance both athletic and academic responsibilities, along with balancing social activities, maintaining the stresses of relationships with coaches, teammates, friends, and parents. They also have to manage athletic success and/or failures with emotional stability. More importantly they have to balance physical health and injuries with the need to steady compete and with the termination of one’s college athletic career.
A lot of times, sports seem like a contest of physical skill― a test to see who is the fastest or strongest, who has the best eye or the most endurance, who can jump the highest or can handle the ball the best. What a lot of people don’t know is that there is so much more to a sport than just the muscle and coordination. In order to excel in a sport, an athlete requires a lot of self-discipline, concentration, and self-confidence. It’s the mental factor that makes a difference. Former Olympic gold medal-winning decathlon runner Bruce Jenner once said, “You have to train your mind like you train your body” (Gregoire 1). Success or failure depends on the mental factors just as much as the physical ones. The training of the mind of an athlete is called sports psychology. The use of sports psychology has a huge impact upon an athlete’s performance. The mental skills of a sport are just as important as the physical skills. All professional athletes use sports psychology. “If they aren’t currently using it, it’s almost guaranteed they’ve used it in the past, even if they are unaware they have” (Davis, Stephens, The Exploratorium 129). It’s hard to find an experienced athlete who hasn’t used sports psychology, because without it, they probably wouldn’t be where they are. The use of sports psychology is a crucial step to becoming a successful athlete.
Sports psychology continues to evolve in order to ensure that comprehensive and evidence-based psychological services are available for athletes and teams. Giving athletes an understanding of their psychological functioning, and building the ability to implement a range of psychological strategies in competition enables athletes to both execute their skills and thrive under pressure as they strive to reach their performance potential.
Motivate the motivation, simple words that can mean some much to an athlete, but what is motivation really? In the games and sports, psychological and physiological factors play an important role in determining the performance level (Grange & Kerr, 2010; Schilling & Hyashi, 2001). Motivation also plays an important role in determining the performance level an athlete, but plays a role in the psychological and physiological factors as well. Motivation is more than a behavior or idea, it is an impact on how we interact with others, how we process defeat, feel, and how we play. Motivation will not only help an athlete get the starting position or gain an award but more importantly, help an athlete reach their potential. Motivation like most things
Why are mental skills so important to performance and why are they often neglected by coaches and athletes? Yogi Berra has been quoted as saying, "sport is 90% mental and 50% physical." You can question his mathematical savvy, but if you're an athlete, coach or fan, you can't question his wisdom. (Hacker, 2000) Many athletes understand that while developing oneself to their physical potential is a critical element in performance potential, it is often a deficit in our psychological game rather than errors in our physical performance that keep us from performing at optimum levels in practice, games or matches. Spud McKenzie, the Budweiser poster puppy, suggested that it is important to say when, but also emphasized the critical element of knowing “when to say when”. It is often the successful athlete has recognized what needed to be done and the unsuccessful athlete was unable to do so. As a consequence, it is not the physical talents or abilities that separate athletes and teams, or successful versus less successful performance, rather, the psychological dimension that most frequently explains a given sport outcome or individual performance. For this reason games are played. Prior to each contest, judgment could be made with regard to which team or individual is the “more highly skilled”. If games were decided on who is the most physically gifted and/or talented individuals or teams, it would prove to be an exercise in futility to compete. As a result, whether you are an athlete or a coach, mastering the mental game of sport will allow you to achieve a level of success as a competitor than you could otherwise not achieve by focusing exclusively on the physical side of sport.
It plays a major role within sports as it can lend benefits to athletes in their performance. The another field of study in which it is very prominent is the field of positive psychology. Positive psychology involves various components such a vitality, optimism, self-determination which are directly related to the enhancement of performance of sports person's. According to Gucciardi & Gordon (2009),"Resilience is key notion to mental toughness". Today in the field of positive Psychology, the term resilience covers all the phrases such as snap back, come back etc under it.