1. Stress Management 2B PES

2. Stress Management  Arousal, anxiety and stress are all closely related.  AROUSAL: the amount of ‘readiness’ a person experiences when faced with a task. It can be affected by both positive and negative situations.  ANXIETY: is where arousal is associated with negative emotions and people are said to experiencing ‘anxiety’.

3. Anxiety Is multi-dimensional, having both cognitive and physical components:  COGNITIVE ANXIETY: the mental component of anxiety caused by things such as fear of failure, fear of the judgements of others and loss of self-esteem.  PHYSICAL ANXIETY: reflects the perception of such physiological responses as increased heart rate, respiration and muscle tension. It is not about the changes themselves, but rather the athlete’s perception of these changes.

4. Anxiety continued…  There are 2 different types of anxiety: 1.STATE ANXIETY  Immediate emotional state characterised by apprehension, fear, tension and an increase in physiological arousal.  Your level of state anxiety can change from one moment to the next.  EXAMPLE: Your state anxiety level would be high when you serve the first ball of a volleyball game, lower as the game progresses and then high again in the closing minute of a close game.

5. Anxiety continued… 2.TRAIT ANXIETY  Is a part of one’s personality  An acquired behavioural tendency or disposition to perceive certain situations as threatening, although they may not be so!  EXAMPLE: 2 volleyball players with the same physical skills and preparation are placed under the same conditions of competitive pressure. Jess who is confident and quite relaxed (low trait anxiety) does not perceive any pressure when coming up to serve for the match. Jenny on the other hand, feels anxious and threatened, much more than we would expect in such a situation…she has high trait anxiety.

6. Stress Is the result of an imbalance between the demands of a task or situation and the capability of the individual to respond, generally under conditions where failure to meet the demands has important consequences. It is best understood as a process – a sequence of events that lead to a particular end. It can be represented as 4 interrelated stages, as seen in the figure in your handout.

7. Sources of Stress These can be generally classified into 2 major categories: 1.SITUATION SOURCES  Event Importance: generally speaking, the greater the perceived importance of the event, the more stress it induces. Playing in a grand-final is generally more stressful than playing a game during the season.  Uncertainty: the greater the uncertainty of the outcome, the greater the stress. It is therefore unlikely, that a game between two evenly matched teams or players will cause the highest level of stress.

8. Sources of Stress continued… 2.PERSONAL SOURCES An athlete’s personality will affect how they perceive situations and therefore the amount of stress they experience. The athlete’s trait anxiety, together with their level of self esteem, are both potential sources of stress. Athletes with low self-esteem, tend to experience more state anxiety as do those with high trait anxiety.

9. Pressure  This is a term that is often used to explain why an athlete’s performance is not at its expected level on a particular day. EXAMPLE: The basketball player missing their free throw at the crucial stage of the game, when in training, they shoot free throws with 100% accuracy.  Athletes can become stressed because of the following types of pressure:  Personal Pressure – imposed by athletes own desire to win/achieve  Competition Pressure – exerted by athlete’s opponents  Social Pressure – from coaches, peers, parents and others significant to athlete  Physical Pressure – requirement to perform learned skills n a competitive environment

10. Stress and Anxiety: Affect on Performance  Stress cause changes in the normal functioning of the body.  The body’s reaction can be thought of as a defence mechanism against threatening situations – often referred to as the ‘fight or flight’ reaction.  There are a number of physiological changes that occur as a result of stress.

11. Physiological changes  Hormone adrenalin is released  Increased heart rate  Pupils dilate  Increased respiratory rate  Increased body temperature, leading to sweating  Increased blood pressure  Increased supply of blood to the brain, heart and large muscles  Possible increase in muscle strength These changes occur in order to prepare the body to either fight the threat or run away from it!

12. Adrenalin This can have both a positive and negative effect on the athlete:  POSITIVE Physiological arousal, alertness, preparation of the body for explosive action desirable in some activities such as ling jump and sprinting.  NEGATIVE Impaired judgement, interference with fine motor control (golf putt, archery) and makes executing complex skills difficult.

13. The ‘Zone’  Optimal levels of anxiety can result in the best possible performance, by making you feel energised, self-confident, motivated and alert, and by focussing your attention on the task at hand. This is sometimes referred to as being ‘in the zone’.

14. The ‘Zone’ continued…  Being in this zone is characterised by a high quality of concentration, emotional calmness, alertness and a positive feeling about your performance.  In sports like cricket and tennis, players in the zone seem to have all of the time in the world to play their shots and they play the right shots at the right time.  In gymnastics, there is a sense of balance and awareness of the body in space.

15. The ‘Zone’ continued…  Each performer has a different zone in which their best performance occurs.  This may be at the lower, middle or upper end of the state anxiety continuum. It is therefore important that coaches assist players to identify and reach their own ‘zone’.  Excessive levels of stress however, can lead to poor performance because you:  Experience anxiety and mental confusion, loss of focus and concentration, slower reactions  Muscle tension, causing impaired coordination  ‘panic attacks’ characterised by rapid heart beat, high blood pressure, shaking, sweating, ’butterflies’ dry mouth and uneven respiration

16. Managing Stress The keys to managing stress are:  Reduce/control physiological responses to the stress  Control or redirect attention and thoughts  Initiate positive changes to behaviour Possible stress management techniques include:  Relaxation  Mediation and hypnosis  Self-talk or self-thought  Mental rehearsal and imagery  Centring  Performance planning and the use of set routines