The Importance Of Mindfulness In Sports

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Mindfulness The definition of mindfulness given by Kabat-Zinn (1994) is “paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally” Mardon, Richards, & Martindale (2016) is, “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment." The ability to maintain focus for an extended period throughout sport training or competition is a skill that must be learned to achieve success in athletics. It is also a skill to learn how to ignore distractions. The practice of mindfulness can help athletes bring their complete attention to the task at hand and accept the current situation. Many sport psychologists today are turning …show more content…

Impact for Athletes on the Court. The ability to maintain focus for a long period throughout sport training or competition is a skill that must be learned to achieve success in athletics. It is also a skill to learn how to ignore distraction. The practice of mindfulness can help athletes bring their complete attention to the task at hand and accept the current situation. Athletes with a increased mindfulness are more likely to experience the state of slow, which is a energized focus and full involvement during athletic performance (Bernier, Thienot, Codron, & Fournier, 2009). Aherne, Aidan & Lonsdale (2011) investigate the idea of flow and how mindfulness can impact an athlete’s flow. They define flow as "a highly coveted yet elusive state of mind that is characterized by complete absorption in the task at hand as well as by enhanced skilled performance" (p. 179). This is sometimes phrased as ‘being in the zone.' They recognize …show more content…

Woods (2016) reports multiple causes of sport dropout including an overemphasis on winning, increased specialization of training, increase in time commitment, earlier start in youth sports, lack of training in youth coaches and increased injury due to overuse. Gustafsson, Skoog, Davis, Kenttä, & Haberl, (2015) researched this topic of burnout and completed an experiment with 233 adolescent athletes using tools such as the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale and the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire. Their results showed that mindfulness is significantly negatively related to burnout in athletes. Their findings also showed that mindful athletes experienced less stress and negative affect while experiencing more positive affect than less mindful athletes (Gustufson, et al., 2015). The skill to be aware of one’s own body can be taught to these athletes to decrease their burnout due to stress and negative affect, and will also increase their positive

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