Text 2. Myths About Sports Psychology

History shows that in 1920 the world's first sport psychology laboratory was founded in Berlin Germany. Soon after that another laboratory began in Russia, and in 1925 America's first sport psychologist Coleman Griffith founded the first sport psychology laboratory in North America at the University of Illinois. He wrote the first sport psychology book published, The Psychology of Coaching, in 1926.

From the first days of sports psychology in the 1920's there have been controversies, misunderstandings and myths surrounding this fascinating field. Sports psychology, while more accepted than ever, and utilized at the highest levels of sport, still carries a stigma in the eyes of some athletes and coaches.

This article examines the many myths about sports psychology that still exist, separates fact from fiction, and attempts to dispel many of them. It answers some of these critical questions about the field:

1. How does sports psychology work?

2. Who can benefit from working with a sports psychologist?

3. What are the approaches and techniques of sports psychology?

4. What misinformation about sports psychology exists?

It is hoped that this article will lead to broader and more robust discussions around the values, ethics, processes and future of sports psychology.

Myth 1. All Sports Have The Same Type And Degree Of Psychological Demands.

Fact:

Different sports have differing degrees and types of mental requirements for success. Perhaps every competitor would say that their sport is very mentally demanding, and it is true that each sport has its own specific mental requirements. Athletes who are mentally strong in one sport perhaps often could not imagine themselves handling the mental challenges in another.

A sport like weight lifting, for example, is clearly less mental than a complicated sport like competitive tennis. Tennis incorporates complex strategies and tactics, is played over a longer time frame, has deception, and is a high-technique sport, requiring many hours of learning and grooving strokes.

Which sports are "more mental" than others? And how would one measure this? One somewhat objective measure of which sports seem to be the most mentally demanding could be based on the volume of literature on the psychological aspects of the sport. This may demonstrate the degree of difficulty in learning and mastering the mental demands of the sport. Two sports stand out in this respect. Golf has, by far, the most books and articles written about the "mental side" of the game, with tennis a close second. It seems reasonable to say that individual sports create the most mental hazards and internal pressures on a performer, far more than team sports. There is no place to hide, and the winning and losing belongs only to the individual. These sports are also usually more technique-laden and hence subject to mental interference issues.

Myth 2. Sports Are At Least "90% Mental" At Higher Skill Levels.

Fact:

Yogi Berra, the legendary baseball great, was known to once say, "Baseball is 90% mental -- the other half is physical." So much for mathematical science. It is true that in the upper levels of a sport, the mental game becomes more critical. After all, beginners in a sport are simply struggling to achieve a basic competence in physical skills. Thinking about complex game strategies and competitive psychological issues are the least of their concerns.

Another common statistic (spoken with such conviction as to sound downright scientific) thrown around is that humans use only 10% of their brain power. How can anyone possibly measure or prove a statement like this? Because these percentage-based statements are impossible to verify, they add little credible discourse to sport psychology.

Here, though, is one never-ending oddity. If at least 90% of all athletes and coaches state that the mental arena is vital, and absolutely critical at the higher reaches of a sport, then why do they also admit that they rarely practice mental skills? Perhaps they don't know how to practice these skills, or are not psychologically minded enough to seek assistance in this area. There still remains, in many sports, a stigma associated with an athlete who is "too mental". That's unfortunate.

Myth 3. The Mental Game Always Makes The Difference Between Two Otherwise Equal Athletes In A Competition.

Fact.

It has been said that if two athletes are equal in physical skill and physical conditioning, and in experience, then the factor that makes the difference between winning and losing is mental. Indeed, it is said, at the higher levels of a sport, the mental game is often the deciding factor, because most athletes are equal in their technical and physical abilities. Experienced coaches, players and commentators make this statement all the time. This is not particularly

insightful, but rather, a tautology, an error of logic. Clearly, the mental game makes the difference when all other factors are equal.

Myth 4. Sports Psychology Is Only For Athletes Who Are Mentally Weak.

Fact. The term "mentally weak" implies there is an inherently defective or temporarily fragile mental quality in an athlete. This is not a helpful or accurate statement, as many elite athletes who are quite mentally strong still seek the services of sport psychologists on a regular basis. This is one of the most pervasive and damaging of the many myths about sport psychology. Think for a moment. Why does Tiger Woods continuously have a golf coach on his staff? His game is not "weak or broken". He works with a coach so he can continue to improve, and to minimize any backsliding. The same is true with athletes who seek the services of sport psychologists. They want to improve their mental skills.

Myth 5. Sports Psychology Can't Make A Loser Into A Winner.

Fact. Labeling people as losers is not a helpful endeavor. However, countless individuals and teams with a record of predominating losses have started winning with the help of sports psychology.

Text 3. Psychology – 4С’s

The increased stress of competitions can cause athletes to react both physically and mentally in a manner that can negatively affect their performance abilities. They may become tense, their heart rates race, they break into a cold sweat, they worry about the outcome of the competition, they find it hard to concentrate on the task in hand.

This has led coaches to take an increasing interest in the field of sport psychology and in particular in the area of competitive anxiety. That interest has focused on techniques that athletes can use in the competitive situation to maintain control and optimise their performance. Once learned, these techniques allow the athlete to relax and to focus his/her attention in a positive manner on the task of preparing for and participating in competition. Psychology is another weapon in the athlete's armoury in gaining the winning edge.

adsenset() google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad); The 4C's

Concentration, confidence, control and commitment (the 4C's) are generally considered the main mental qualities that are important for successful performance in most sports.

• Concentration – ability to maintain focus
• Confidence – believe in one's abilities
• Control – ability to maintain emotional control regardless of distraction
• Commitment – ability to continue working to agreed goals

The techniques of relaxation, centering and mental imagery can assist an athlete to achieve the 4C's.

Concentration

This is the mental quality to focus on the task in hand. If the athlete lacks concentration then their athletic abilities will not be effectively or efficiently applied to the task. Research has identified the following types of attention focus:

• Broad Narrow continuum - the athlete focuses on a large or small number of stimuli
• Internal External continuum - the athlete focuses on internal stimuli (feelings) or external stimuli (ball)

The demand for concentration varies with the sport:

• Sustained concentration - distance running, cycling, tennis, squash
• Short bursts of concentration - cricket, golf, shooting, athletic field events
• Intense concentration - sprinting events, bobsleigh, skiing

Common distractions are: anxiety, mistakes, fatigue, weather, public announcements, coach, manager, opponent, negative thoughts etc.

Strategies to improve concentration are very personal. One way to maintain focus is to set process goals for each session or competition. The athlete will have an overall goal for which the athlete will identify a number of process goals that help focus on specific aspects of the task. For each of these goals the athlete can use a trigger word (a word which instantly refocuses the athlete's concentration to the goal) e.g. sprinting technique requires the athlete to focus on being tall, relaxed, smooth and to drive with the elbows - trigger word could be "technique"

Athletes will develop a routine for competition that may include the night before, the morning, pre competition, competition and post competition routines. If these routines are appropriately structured then they can prove a useful aid to concentration.

Confidence

Confidence results from the comparison an athlete makes between the goal and their ability. The athlete will have self-confidence if they believe they can achieve their goal. (Comes back to a quote of mine – “You only achieve what you believe”).

When an athlete has self confidence they will tend to: persevere even when things are not going to plan, show enthusiasm, be positive in their approach and take their share of the responsibility in success and fail.

To improve their self confidence, an athlete can use mental imagery to:

• visualize previous good performance to remind them of the look and feel
• imagine various scenarios and how they will cope with them

Control

Identifying when an athlete feels a particular emotion and understanding the reason for the feelings is an important stage of helping an athlete gain emotional control. An athlete’s ability to maintain control of their emotions in the face of adversity and remain positive is essential to successful performance. Two emotions that are often associated with poor performance are anxiety and anger.

Anxiety comes in two forms – Physical (butterflies, sweating, nausea, needing the toilet) and Mental (worry, negative thoughts, confusion, lack of concentration). Relaxation is a technique that can be used to reduce anxiety.

When an athlete becomes angry, the cause of the anger often becomes the focus of attention. This then leads to a lack of concentration on the task, performance deteriorates and confidence in ability is lost which fuels the anger – a slippery slope to failure.

Commitment

Sports performance depends on the athlete being fully committed to numerous goals over many years. In competition with these goals the athlete will have many aspects of daily life to manage. The many competing interests and commitments include work, studies, family/partner, friends, social life and other hobbies/sports

Within the athlete’s sport, commitment can be undermined by:

• a perceived lack of progress or improvement
• not being sufficiently involved in developing the training program
• not understanding the objectives of the training program
• injury
• lack of enjoyment
• anxiety about performance – competition
• becoming bored
• coach athlete not working as a team
• lack of commitment by other athletes

Setting goals with the athlete will raise their feelings of value, give them joint ownership of the goals and therefore become more committed to achieving them. All goals should be SMARTER.

Many people (coach, medical support team, manager, friends, etc) can contribute to an athlete’s levels of commitment with appropriate levels of support and positive feedback, especially during times of injury, illness and poor performance.

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