2. Chapter 10
Sports Psychology

3. Objectives Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to:
Discuss the importance of sports psychology to athletic performance
Describe goal setting and its effect on motivation
Draw up a personal goal-setting program
Explain the difference between imagery and simulation

4. Objectives (cont’d.)
Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to (cont’d.):
Explain the benefits and dangers of stress
Discuss the dangers of burnout
Describe career opportunities in the field of sports psychology

5. Sports Psychology
Study of sport and exercise, and mental factors influencing performance
Mind, body, and athletic performance connection is powerful
Often said that performance in a sport is 95% mental

6. Sports Psychology (cont’d.)
Sport psychologists can help athletes develop:
Goals
Self-confidence
Motivation
Positive self-image
Strategies to cope with stress and disappointment

7. Motivation
Internal state or condition that activates or energizes behavior and give it direction
Extrinsic
Driven by some type of external reward
Intrinsic
Behavior for its own sake
Require no external support or reinforcement

8. Goal Setting Encompasses long term vision and short term motivation
With goals in mind, the individual can:
Achieve more
Improve performance
Improve the quality of training
Increase motivation to achieve at a higher level
Increase pride and satisfaction in performance
Improve self-confidence

9. Goal Setting (cont’d.)
Research has shown that people who use goal setting effectively:
Suffer less from stress and anxiety
Concentrate better
Show more self-confidence
Perform better
Are happier with their performances

10. Goal Setting (cont’d.) Guidelines:
Express goals positively – “I will be able to do A by B date”
Set priorities – keeps from being overwhelmed
Document goals – gives goals more power
Use operational goals – “mini-goals” to accomplish big goal ie shaving time off mile run
Set performance goals, not outcome goals – helps athlete maintain control – deadlines help maintain focus and motivation
Set specific goals - measurable
Set goals at the right level – not unrealistic
Set short-term and long-term goals

11. Goal Setting Write 2 long term goals for yourself
Can be academic, athletic, whatever you want
For each long term goal, write 3 short term goals to help you achieve that
Why is this something that is important to you?

12. Imagery and Simulation
Training process done purely within the mind
Helps create, modify, or strengthen neurological pathways important to muscle coordination
Imagination is the driving force
Allows athletes to practice and prepare for events; pre-experience goals
Can help “slow down” complex skills

13. Imagery and Simulation (cont’d.)
Seeks to improve quality of training by teaching the brain to cope with circumstances that will not be encountered until competition
Carried out by making physical training circumstances as close as possible to real competition
More effective since exists in reality
Requires more time & effort
Ie training sessions timed or judged; have specators

14. Strategies to Cope with Stress and Disappointment
Stress can be healthy
Helps to increase awareness, maintain a clearer focus, increase motivation, and filter out distractions
Too much stress can hinder performance

15. Strategies to Cope with Stress and Disappointment (cont’d.)
Transitional stress typically occurs when:
Beginning a new sport
Going from high school to college
Changing leagues
Changing levels of competition
Going from junior high to high school
Going from college to professional
Retiring from athletics

16. Strategies to Cope with Stress and Disappointment (cont’d.)
Injury
Can be devastating to the motivated athlete
Prevents from reaching goals
Support and understanding part of sport important
Burnout
Physically and mentally challenging
Manifests as dropping out of a sport and quitting an activity that was once enjoyable

17. Strategies to Cope with Stress and Disappointment (cont’d.)
Burnout
Start competitive sports too young
Specialization in 1 sport too early
Too much success to early
Parents and coaches pressure
Gender barrier

18. Strategies to Cope with Stress and Disappointment (cont’d.)
Ways to manage stress:
Goal setting – more prepared for unexpected situations
Meditation
Positive thinking
Time management
Talking with friends
Taking breaks

19. Self-Confidence
Reflects athlete’s assessment of his or her own self-worth
Athletics can be enormously positive and highly negative in damaging
Emphasis on involvement and enjoyment
Allows athletes to take risks because they have belief in their own abilities
Consistent failure and no interest in a sport can lead to a lack of self-esteem

20. Self-Confidence (cont’d.)
Confidence should be based on observed reality
Comes from realistic expectation of success from well practiced skills, thorough knowledge of sport, respect for own competence, preparation, good conditioning
Overconfidence (not trying hard enough) and under-confidence (fear of failure, self doubt, negative, lack of concentration) are both damaging

21. Careers in Sports Psychology
Educational sports psychology
Emphasizes working with athletes in an educational environment
Clinical sports psychology
Treats athletes in a clinical setting
Academic sports psychology
Focuses on research and teaching
Directory of Graduate Programs in Applied Sport Psychology from AAASP

22. Conclusion
Sports psychology is the study of the mental factors influencing performance in sport and exercise
Goal setting can help the athlete attain greater success by focusing his or her energy in a positive, measurable way

23. Homework – 35pts TYPED!!! 1 page (-5pts for each)
When is a time that you have felt stress?
What was the cause?
Did it interfere with your performance in any way?
What strategies did you personally use to cope with it?
What was the outcome?