The Importance Of Self-Awareness In Sports

Starting from my freshman year in high school I have always been more intrigued by the human mind and how it operates. Thanks to the study of psychology my curiosity only flourished even more as I got older. I find the observations psychology gives about human behavior very interesting, and I have been fascinated by it for as long as I can remember. I’ve been caught in between approaching the journey of being a sports psychologist and an industrial organizational psychologist. I am passionate about sports and studying Psychology. I plan on extending my knowledge in the mixture of the two and contributing it towards my future. I want to examine the various areas of sports psychology and also learn more about the idea of improving quality performance

Something that has always been in my life and repeatedly been said to me, or mentioned is that during a sporting event everything is mental. Now what I have always wondered was that everything in the mental game is based on one’s own preferences, the way one thinks and processes information and how he reacts to a situation. There are various components of an athlete’s mental game such as motivation, agility, confidence; all of which contribute in actual competitions, games or even at practice. More importantly, confidence is more complex because it is what is affected most of the mental game, that’s what makes or breaks an athlete, and that can be affected by a coach, parent, or negative teammate, it’s not just personal thoughts reflecting

Self- talk can be technical and neutral and be used in self affirmations as they are often used to help athletes stay focused, close out previous mistakes or unsuccessful experiences with the purpose to make the performance automatic (VolleyballAdvistors.com, 2015). I use self-affirmation such as repeating positive statements to myself. An example being when I’m in the position of first receive after the serve I say to myself before the ball is served, “when I see the ball come over from the server, I will stay calm because I am capable of digging the ball to the setter as I have practiced it in class” (VolleyballAdvistors.com, 2015). Throughout gameplay I also use self- talk to give commands to myself such as, ‘Move your feet’ and ‘Focus,’

Every elite athlete has psychological training and uses the process of goal setting in order to enhance their performance. Goal setting is used to enhance concentration, build self confidence and to manage time and other resources. (Tony M 1995, page 259)

Research proved that athletes found their coaches training as well as instruction behavior and their style of coaching did have an impact on individual performance. This was important research for me in understanding how those I coach perceive my leadership and whether or not I am effective as their leader. My teams’ outstanding performance or lack of performance can be a direct link to my type of leadership skills in addition to my training. The primary role of any coach or athletic leader is to help their athletes and improve on their individual performance. “Several sport studies exploring the coach-athlete relationship claim that effective coaching includes basic ingredients such as empathic understanding, honesty, support, liking, acceptance, friendliness, cooperation, caring and respect” (Moen, Hoigaard, & Peters, 2014, p. 76). The challenge for me is finding the balance between being supportive and meeting the individual needs of team members while also enhancing their ability and understanding of the sport. Understanding how to lead and coach various personalities within the team is essential to the team’s

Self-worth in sports is not based on winning. Success is not winning. These are two concepts I did not realize until recently. When I was a little younger than I am now, I put a tremendous amount of pressure on myself to win, and to win was my main goal. I never set realistic personal goals for advancing my own abilities. I based my own self-worth on whether I won a game or lost a game. I felt like a loss directly reflected on me. A loss meant I failed. This caused me to have high anxiety and depression when I did loose a game, and made me want to win that much more in the next game, but in a non-constructive way. It was like putting that much extra pressure oneself to play better and not make mistakes. I did not see it as an issue with effort, but as a failure in my ability. I never considered personal goals as anything other than trying to get a win. It is clear that winning is not in control of one person, especially in team sports.

There are over 450,000 athletes competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) level across 24 different sports in the United States (NCAA, 2012). What psychological qualities separate the successful student athlete from the non-successful student athlete (i.e., a student athlete who completes their eligibility and graduates, or gets drafted into the professional level)? We know sport psychology and mental performance training can assist athletes in achieving peak performance by teaching confidence, goal setting, imagery, mental toughness, how to deal with pressure, relaxation, positive self-talk and more (Shemake, 2014). This study aims to identify if certain student athletes posses some of these characteristics without

Phase five 'Psychological Skills Training', closely linked with the work of Vealey (1988), illustrates the skills and attributes that the athlete or teams might want to improve. A division is made within this phase between skills/attributes (e.g. self awareness, arousal

Few within the realm of competitive athletics would argue with the importance of being mentally prepared prior to an athletic competition as well as the need to maintain that particular mindset during a competitive contest. Nevertheless, recent research has shown that many athletes, coaches, and sporting administrators are still quite reluctant to seek out the services of a qualified sport psychologist, even if they believe it could help. One of the primary reasons for this hesitation appears to be a lack of understanding about the process and the mechanisms by which these mental skills affect performance. Unlike the “harder sciences” of sport physiology and biochemistry where athletes can see the tangible results in themselves or other athletes (e.g., he or she lifted weights, developed larger muscles, and is now stronger/faster as a result) (Gee, Chris J (2010): 386-402.) Using sports phycology has been found to give athletes multiple benefits, such as improvement, and that athlete being able to understand how to develop a growth and or positive mindset. Lastly another way that has been found to improve athletes is taking mental repetitions for their sport. One of the keys to Jeff’s improvement over the years, and certainly a key to him making a roster in the NFL, is his ability to take mental reps. The champion mindset recognizes

Studies have shown that coaches should have an enhanced empathetic understanding of how to manage individual and team developments when it comes to undertaking sport and social resolutions. Athletes need to be able to deal with their doubts of disappointment and accomplishments. This should be explained to the athletes because not being able to manage their uncertainties when it comes to their performance can have consequences in multiple domains of their life (quote 2). There are numerous ways to appraise our coaching techniques and be effective with the quality service we provide and it is important to be able to develop and sustain our athlete’s performance in a distinct tailored manor because as coaches and for the clients we mentor it

Self- hypnosis is very common for athletes to use. Relaxation before a major competition or event can be extremely helpful. The wrist watch doesn’t have to be carried around every day for this technique to work either. Athletes simply close their eyes and go through their relaxation techniques in their head. Within the article “Mind Games”, Konrad Marshall describes the techniques of Dr. Fraser Carson, holder of a bachelor's degree focused on sports psychology, a master's in coaching education and a PhD in sports science. Dr. Carson is an ex professional rugby player and mental skills coach of the Melbourne Football Club, and is now a triathlete. Because of his experience in the field and his awareness of the environment of strenuous physical

Meyers (1991) has shown that an increase to fitness levels in athletes is important to enhance their self-esteem and interpersonal behaviours. Physical practice is important not only for mere practice, but having a clear functioning mind toward the sport, adhering to exercise programs in an endeavour to improve athletic performance, both physically and mentally (Meyers, 1991). Researchers are finding it necessary to modify their approach towards athlete behaviour to enhance performance in the field of sport (Mendoza & Wichman, 1978). Studies also found that mental rehearsal was as effective as physical practice in improving performance, however physical practice gave athletes the benefits of enjoyment and motivation towards sport (Mendoza & Wichman, 1978).

Thoughts and actions of mentally tough athletes are mental plan (pregame and game), emotional control, optimal arousal, confidence, intrinsic motivation, optimism, controlled anxiety, concentration and attentional control (alert and mentally focused), performs automatically, proper situational appraisal (challenge and threat),good coping skills (deals effectively with adversity) projects a positive attitude (positive body language) sense of enjoyment in the competitive setting.

In earlier days sports psychology was mostly concerned with developing assessment methods that would identify those people with the potential to become serious superior athletes. Today the focus is on psychological training, exercises that strengthen the mental skills that will help athletic performances on the path to excellence. These skills include mental imagery and focus training. If an athlete is serious about becoming the best he or she can possibly be, the most essential ingredient is commitment to practice the right things. It takes incredible commitment to reach the top: a commitment to rest and train the body so it can perform under the most demanding conditions and a commitment to train the mind to

Mental toughness is not a new concept in sport, but is generally misunderstood. Coaches design programmes to develop mentally tough athletes, predominately in professional sport, to separate elite performers from good performers (Gould, Jackson, & Finch, 1993) as physical talent itself is not the only component that can lead an athlete to success (Gucciardi, Gordon, & Dimmock, 2008).