2.2 A Ball of a Time! Sport Psychology

AROUSAL CONTROL Arousal (or activation) is the ‘degree of preparedness, alertness and excitement present in a performer’. To achieve at your best you need to be at the ‘optimal arousal’ state, ready to participate, not under- or over-aroused. Under arousal often shows up as over-relaxation or lack of interest. Over arousal can be seen as excessive tension and nervousness The optimum arousal level varies from person to person, and for the same person, from task to task.

AROUSAL CONTROL To maximise performance you need to be in optimal state of arousal Arousal Per formance

MENTAL REHEARSAL This is done by picturing a performance in one’s mind, and involves no physical practice. It consists of seeing the action in your mind, though it is sometimes regarded as also including viewing films, reading or listening to instructions. To obtain the maximum benefit …… Mental rehearsal should take place in the performance environment The action should be performed in it’s entirety where necessary The performance should be successful The performance should be practised immediately before a competition The actions imagined should take place at the same rate as the performance The athlete should imagine the feel of the action.

CONCENTRATION Many successful sportspeople have been renowned for their ability to maintain concentration. There have also been athletes who tend to lose concentration easily; they are brilliant one day or one minute and then do something rash or careless. Sports psychologists prefer to think of concentration as ‘attention’. This attention means focussing on the task at hand. You can lose focus when you forget about the task and worry about winning or losing. A good example is how many cricket players get out in the 90s or take a long time to score their last few runs to make a century. They can focus too much on the score rather than their batting and their technique

CONFIDENCE Confidence is necessary for peak performance. If athletes do not enter a match in a confident frame of mind, they are likely to focus on the wrong stimuli, especially the match result. Losses in confidence result in increases in competitive anxiety.

ROUTINES Routines are the rituals that competitors use in their preparation for an event, or in the game in their execution of a particular skill. Routines may involve complex and detailed rituals that involve preparation, detailed dressing rules, or precisely executed warm-ups. Part of this practised routine might involve specific sports psychology skills such as imagery, positive thinking, mood control and distraction and stress management. Experiment with developing a ritual that covers all points of preparation that you consider to be important. By practicing this ritual and keeping it standard in training, it will be automatic and complete when you face a potentially stressful competition. Attention is enhanced by through the development of routines. Routines take up wasted time between action. The ability to consistently repeat the same action, and avoid external distractions, leads to consistent successful repetition of a skill.

SELF-TALK Positive self-talk is the process of eliminating negative thoughts and promoting constructive ones. Instead of dwelling on the negatives of an unfavorable situation, the athlete focuses on positives. "I don't run well in the cold", is replaced by, "I have trained well and am prepared. Let's do it!".

VISUALISATION See handout

GOAL SETTING Individual Task