Athlete's Performances example essay topic

Sports Psychology: A Relationship Between Mental Training and Sport Performance James Dodson (1995) quotes Dr. Richard Coop, and says that he refers to sports psychology as "just mere helping people to clear away the mental clutter that keeps them from achieving their best" (p. 1). Dodson admits that as a golfer he has tried to break eighty strokes in golf, but did not succeed until he got help from a well-known sports psychologist. Before meeting his mental coach, Dodson tried to improve his game by buying expensive equipment such as oversized irons, gizmos, and lucky charms, but none of these worked. Once he started working with Dr. Richard Coop, he began to liberate his mind from its usual patterns and after a period of mental exercising, Dodson finally broke 80. "Dr. Coop emphasizes that golf is very much a brain game. The mind is a tool like any other skill a player possesses.

But it's often the tool most of us neglect to develop" (Dodson, 1995). Once the mind is in peace, our performance progresses. Rebecca Lewthwaite (1990) points out that an individual's motivation has a strong impact on physical performance... therefore, "the process of mental training is the result of the meaning that the individual derives from situations, which arise from personal factors such as goals and perceptions of competency" (p. 1). Usually the performance of an individual is due to their motivation. More often than not, people tend to train with their mind unconsciously by visualizing improvement in their performance or visualizing the achievement of a goal or goals.

Some athletes put the physical work in, but they also forget to work their mind. Body and mind have to come together to form a whole. Once the role of the mind and the physical aspect of the body have been mastered the performance of the individual will improve (Changing Times, 1986). Some of the most interesting events and actions in sports are associated with the athletes' will to engage in them. For example, Butt (1976) notes that, "Two people engaged in the same sports activity may behave in a similar fashion overtly, but each may react differently under the stress of winning or losing and may express different feelings when talking about his / her participation in sports" (p. 1). Such is the case of Keith Forman who joined the track team at the University of Oregon in the early sixties.

His coaches told him that he did not have the genetic make-up to become a great runner, and that he would be too slow to compete against the best; however, he became the fourth American to ever break four minutes for the mile (Lynch, 1996). Similarly, there is Roger Bannister's achievement in running the first sub-four-minute mile in the world. Bannister was a physician, and in the years before his historic race articles had appeared in medical journals proclaiming that the shattering of the four-minute barrier was physiologically impossible. Bannister was even warned that he might die trying. Many runners conceded that the four-minute barrier was impenetrable; one of them (John Landy) described it as a "brick wall". But Bannister refused to make these statements part of his belief system, and he eventually exploded past the finish line in 3: 59.4, becoming the first runner to break through the mythical barrier... then the belief system of the world's other elite runners changed overnight.

Within the next twelve months four other runners also ran sub-four-minute miles; hundreds, perhaps thousands, of others have followed then across the finish line. No longer did runners believe that they "couldn't". And once their thinking was transformed, so, too, was the speed at which they were able to run (Baum, 1999). Before Bannister ran under four minutes in the mile, all the other runners were affected by "negative thinking, which limited their performance" and were not able to achieve such goal, but as soon as they saw Bannister break through the brick wall, suddenly there was a change that turned their thinking around and the impossible became possible (Lynch, 1994).

Most people back in 1954 were simply afraid of the unknown, however, Bannister was not. Even without the aid of a sports psychologist, he repeatedly visualized the race beforehand and anticipated his moves from the moment he woke up, to before the race, during the race, while crossing the finish line and returning home. This allowed him to calm down his anxieties and at the same time he realized that he had nothing to lose (Galloway, 1998). Until now there has not been a clear definition for sports psychology since it is still in its development. LeUnes and Nation (1989) point out that, "In 1978 Singer defined sport psychology as a science of psychology applied to sport, then in 1980 Alderman suggested that sports psychology was the effect of sport itself on human behavior, but by 1983 C ratty proposed that sports psychology was an applied subdivision of general psychology" (pp. 11-12). Usually what a sports psychologist does is concentrate on performance enhancement and mental skills training by focusing on the effects of imagination and motivation (Hinkle, 1994).

Likewise, Dr. Coop argues that sports psychologists are not doctors that treat sick patients, on the contrary, sports psychologists are mental coaches or performance consultants that help athletes achieve the capacity to produce the desired results within a minimal amount of energy spent (Dodson, 1995). By looking at the evidence of relaxation, visualization, halt in negative thinking, and goal-setting; this paper will question how mental training is an important aspect to enhancing one's performance by showing how mind and muscles work together to boost performance, and how sports psychology uses such evidence. At the professional level, athletes look even for the smallest progress to increase their potential. Such is the case of sprinters were the difference of earning a gold or silver medal is about two tenths of a second, so "even the smallest improvement in performance is crucial", and here is were sports psychology steps in (Baum, 1999). Similarly, sports psychologist Johnson believes that "baseball is only 25 percent physical... and that the difference between Triple A ballplayers and big leagues is plain mental" (Rosellini, 1987). Certainly, mental training helps athletes deal with performance blocks; in other words, it helps them clear away obstacles that display themselves in different ways.

For instance, many athletes make their mind up ahead and decide that they are not tough enough, that they lack the right genetic composition such as fast-twitch muscle fibers in the case of sprinters or slow-twitch muscle fibers for endurance runners or that they cannot tolerate a certain threshold of pain, and in such conditions this type of thinking limits their believe and ego (Lynch, 1994). Just as Henry Ford once said, "If you think you can do it, you are right. If you think you cannot do it, you are still right" (Lynch, 1994). To be competitive one must think like a champion and eliminate the "I can't". Even the best runners in the world adopt a winning attitude and refuse to think that they cannot do something; in fact, when they know that a goal is far away from reaching, they still think positively and modify their objective so that they can achieve the desired performance (Lynch, 1994). The athlete should keep in mind that he / she cannot be too critical about his / her accomplishments.

As "Athletes set unreachable standards they become overly disappointed when their performance does not meet those high marks", thus resulting in motivational withdrawal (Lynch, 1994). They should just keep in mind what was the real reason they took up on that sport in the first place and think if it was for pleasure, or for the physical and mental benefits, and then it will become easier to achieve their goals (Lynch, 1994). In the process of expecting too much for themselves, athletes forget to recognize and enjoy their best performances; for example, a runner could run a personal best, but can still complain that although they improved their time they should have ran faster. Other times they complain that they do not run enough miles in a week and therefore end up creating a trap of expectations, but just because they do not reach their goal it means that they should give up their dreams.

On the contrary, they "Should at least recognize that they are personal constructed dreams, not absolute ideals... Also life will go on and their friends and family members will still love them, respect them and care for them even if they don't run seven days a week" (Beverly, 1997). Most times athletes have a harsh time trying to acknowledge the person they are because they spend a lot of time comparing themselves to others. The problem here is that no one is, "created equal... and that no one has the same genes, time and resource for training for better or for worse" (Beverly, 1997).

Some times athletes have a tendency of observing other athlete's performances. Such is the case of long distance runners, who usually study each other out and begin to watch how the elite struggle through a threshold of pain and how once they cross the finish line they look as if they were spaced out, with eyes rolled back and trying to stay on their feet. This type of show is then admired among these group of athletes, and in the process they try to imitate that particular runner by running as hard as they can, but when they cross the finish line and do not die like the other runner did, then they are left with a self-image of being a wimp, and that they could have done much better, when in fact, they should acknowledge that they are already heroic by trying to match themselves against better runners (Beverly, 1997). Once the athlete learns to accept the real world as it is, he / she will then learn to appreciate the everyday challenges, since "it is fulfillment we feel in overcoming the challenges that makes success so sweet" (Beverly, 1997). An article of Current Health (1996) announced that "once an athlete learns to see stress as a challenge and not as a threat, he / she will create a rush of adrenaline and sugar inside their bodies that will result in heightened awareness as they perform", but if the stressful situation is viewed as a threat, then the body will produce hormones that will affect physical and mental performance (p. 12). So sometimes when athletes do not per form well, it could be due to a stress response in which the athlete becomes a victim of such situation.

A stress response, or better known as fight-or-flight response, eventually "prepares an athlete's body for action by rinsing the heartbeat, flooding the body with adrenaline and speeding up breathing" (Allman, 1992). But when the response of this arousal gets overwhelmed the results end up in a misleading signal where the brain orders the muscles to run and also to perform another action at the same time like jumping. But in order to avoid this type of situation or situations, the mind can prepare the body to perform an activity before it has been done so that the arousal will not be so elevated that it will interfere with the person's motor skills (Allman, 1992). As the athlete acquires the skill it needs to handle the psychological pressures of a competitive situation he / she could also end up enjoying such conditions (Current Health, 1996). An important aspect of achieving higher performance is by "letting the automatic processes of the mind take over to move the muscles" (Allman, 1992).

For example, as an athlete is learning a new play, "many areas of the brain get activated simultaneously... but as the athlete becomes more skillful at that specific task his / her brain activity becomes more singularly focused on the brain circuits directly involved in producing the movements" (Allman, 1992). So as the person learns a new skill, he / she could enhance his / her performance by reproducing the movement in their minds. Evidence of such type of mental rehearsing was demonstrated by an experiment conducted at Hunter College where: Seventy-two players from eight college basketball teams participated in a study in which they worked on the mental side of shooting free-throws. One group began each day's basketball practice with a relaxation technique, followed by visualization or mental rehearsal in which they imagined every detail of their foul shooting: they pictured preparing for the shot at the free-throw line, bouncing the ball a few times, raising their shooting arm with the ball balanced in their palm, behind at the knees, and releasing the ball toward the basket. Using this technique, the shooting accuracy of the athletes improved by 7 percent-a change so significant that coaches reported that the better shooting produced eight additional wins during the season. As part of the Hunter College study these athletes were hooked up to sensors that measured their neuromuscular activity during mental training and showed that the same muscles used in free-throw shooting were activated during the practice of imaginary.

Thus, on a subtle level, the body itself was actually going through the motions of free-throw shooting (Baum, 1999). In short, the researchers found that imagining the action also activated the same areas of the brain "with exception of the motor cortex, which actually directs the muscles that produce the movement" (Allman, 1992)". Visualization is the foundation from which the greatest dreams can be realized" (Lynch, 1996). Such action is not perceived since it takes place unconsciously in a state of deep relaxation where the athlete opens his / her mind to picture positive self-images that will directly influence their performance. "The athlete's central nervous system does not distinguish between real and imaginary events, it just responds to all images as if they where real (Lynch, 1996). For this reason, if an athlete reinforces his / her performance with positive self-images such as imagining themselves in a relaxed state where they do everything right, then they will feel confident and calmed, and their performance will show this.

On the other hand, if the athlete has negative images, then they will become tense and anxious, and these feelings will affect performance negatively (Lynch, 1996). By mentally rehearsing, the athlete can focus on what it needs to be polished on. At the same time, the athlete will have a sense as if they already had done that particular activity and they will have a sense of relaxation that will help them for optimal performance (Baum, 199). For example, visualization exercises can be done in the following matter: The athlete needs to begin with daily 10-to 15-minute visualization sessions. To do this, they need to find a quiet place free of potential interruptions. Then they need to sit in a relaxed position or lie down and close their eyes.

Then they need to take at least five deep breaths through their nostrils, holding each breath for approximately five seconds, and then slowly release each one. With a little practice they will feel very calm. It is in this state of mind that the central nervous system is most receptive to the images being focused on. Now, if the athlete is a runner... he / she should imagine him / herself running... seeing the terrain, feel the turf beneath them, smell the scents in the air, fell the exuberance of cruising up the hills and descending rapidly. Simply perform, in their mind's eye, exactly as they know they can, or want, on any given day. Perhaps they " ll like to rehearse an upcoming race by going over the course in detail.

Or visualize the weekend's long run. They need to imagine their performance exactly as they would expect when they do everything correctly (Lynch, 1996). Mastering the techniques of visualization requires the same type of commitment that goes into conditioning the body. Once the techniques are learned, they need to be used regularly and to be incorporated into training, just like warming up or stretching. "It is not as if the techniques are done once and then it's all better... You wouldn't for instance, take up tennis, then expect to serve like Martina Navratilova three days later" (Bower, 1995).

These skills need to be practiced constantly, since sometimes it takes a while to develop them. Although, even if the athlete follows a strong regiment of mental training, there are times in which the brain still turns on them. For example, in 1992, "Olympic hopeful Dan O'Brien learned the hard way that the brain is not always a willing partner: On a world-record pace in the decathlon during the Olympic trials, O'Brien failed to qualify for the team when he couldn't clear the bar in the pole vault at a height he had made easily hundreds of times in practice" (Allman, 1992). This type of experience can leave an athlete feeling as if they were a failure and that everything they had worked for is not worth doing it any longer. Another thing that can make an athlete become anxious, tense, distracted or lose his / her confidence is when they do not know how to control their level of nervousness. "Everyone gets nervous, especially in the few hours before a game" (Galloway, 1998).

What they need to do is learn how to relax, and once they do, the butterflies they feel in their stomach will flutter away. For the most part, a well-relaxed mind will produce a well-relaxed body, and a relaxed body will produce an efficient body (Lynch, 1996). When an athlete sets a standard for his / her own performance, he / she should keep in mind to commit to excellence instead of perfection. If the athlete tries to make everything perfect, then he / she will end up losing what once was his / her motivational instincts on why they took on that particular sport, and the fun will turn into a must do that with the pass of time will turn into a "I don't want to do it anymore" (Baum, 1990). Just by the simple fact of giving up the need to be perfect, the athlete will feel more relaxed and happier, and this will increase the chances for a perfect performance.

In conclusion, when an athlete trains his / her mind, he / she then can learn how to relax, visualize positive images, stop negative thinking, and learn how to create goal-settings by just practicing at least four days a week over an extended period of time. Then the athlete will have a greater improvement on his / her efficacy on whatever sport he / she does than if they only train their body. It is just a matter of time and will so that they begin to see the outcome of their performance. The mind as any other muscle must be trained to achieve a level of excellence, whether it is in sport performance, school, or at work.

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