2. Motor Learning and Skill Acquisition Human Growth and Development Sport Psychology Coaching Sport History

3.  How people feel, think and behave in sporting situations and the mental processes that motivate how people train and compete.

4.  The physical aspect of training is very important to succeed at high level competition, however, to attain an even higher level of excellence an individual needs to spend time preparing mentally.

5.  There is a connection between the activity of the brain and the workings of the muscles, joints, and limbs as well as the systems our bodies use for breathing and creating energy.  An athletes mental state can directly affect there physical state. For example extreme nervousness can lead to extra stimulus being placed on the muscles making them harder to control = “ nervous tension ” or “ tightening up under pressure ”

6.  When an athlete has no fear of failure  No critical thoughts of performance during competition  Narrow focus allowing no distraction  Sense of effortlessness  Feeling of being in control  Time stands still

7.  AROUSAL  Getting “ psyched up ”. Can have both positive and negative effects. The athlete attempts to get into his/her peak mental and physical readiness. Over excitement can lead to burnout or feeling of being out of control.

8.  ANXIETY  Becoming nervous prior to competition. Can cause self doubt, muscular tension etc. which inhibit performance. Can be channelled into positive energy to enhance performance.  RELAXATION  No feeling of anxiousness, athlete feels loose. The ability to the relax mind and focus on task at hand.

9.  CONCENTRATION  The ability to keep focus on the task at hand without allowing distractions from surrounding environment or other competitors. The athlete must decide quickly what cues are important for performance and what will inhibit performance.

10.  MOTIVATION  Direction and intensity of effort.  2 key areas: ▪ training – athlete ’ s tendency to be attracted to certain sport situation and how much effort is actually put into it. ▪ The intensity of one’s efforts is a measure of how much actual physical and mental energy one is willing to put into a sporting endeavour.

11.  Audience: the audience can play a key role in any athletes performance. Some will thrive in front of a large audience some will falter.  Fatigue: A feeling of tiredness can lead to a decrease in performance. Psychologists work with athletes to push through fatigue threshold to increase performance

12. 1. SELF TALK  Involves internal monologue telling ones-self to achieve success. Often times people will think of things that can go wrong so it is important to think ain a positive manner to achieve peak performance.

13. 2. IMAGERY/VISUALIZATION  A technique where the athlete imagines themselves being successful. It can be done by use of video or just in ones own mind. It also helps if other sensory tools such as hearing, touch, and smell can be used to help create the atmosphere of competition. (Happy Gilmour going to his happy place!)

14. 3. HYPNOSIS  This concept is used to help the athlete block out outside distraction and focus strictly on the task at hand. The hypnotist first relaxes the athlete and then “ awakes ” them and gets them to work through responses that happen during there event.  EG. Telling a goalie he will stop every shot at his net, building confidence

15. 4. RELAXATION/AROUSAL REGULATION  Nervousness and anxiety can cause changes in; heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, blood pressure, body temperature  Psychologists have looked for ways to control these reactions to help improve athletic performance  It is often wrongly assumed that athletes need powerful motivational tools to arouse them, many times they need to relax to produce their best.  Ways to reduce stress include; breathing techniques, relaxation exercises, meditation, imagery

16. 5. IMPROVING MOTIVATION  Motivation comes from a wide range of sources and is required for anyone to participate in activity  There are personal reasons and environmental factors that can lead to improving motivation

17. 6. GOAL SETTING  Can vary widely depending on individual athlete  Need clear idea of what one wants to achieve in order to achieve it  Objective goals – empirically quantifiable (breaking a time barrier)  Subjective goals – outcomes are harder to quantify (become a better player)

18.  SPECIFIC  MEASURABLE  ATTAINABLE  REALISTIC  TIMELY