Monday, October 4, 2010

Relax, Relax, Relax. Just let it play out!

Emotions in life, especially in sport often follow an up and down path of a roller coaster. Emotions play a large part in the performance of athletes (Jones, 2003). Individual emotions in team sport situations often don’t have as big of an effect mentally, as other teammates to help out. Emotional twists can often occur if an athlete competes in an individual sport, such as tennis or golf. Getting upset when calls don’t go ones way or personal errors occur, can decrease performance and affect the outcome of the match. Gill and Williams (2008) state that both emotions and stress can induce powerful influences on physical activity. One promising junior player rarely plays up to his potential, especially when competition is at its highest because he often gets upset at both negative and positive aspects of his tennis match. By being on edge, his nerves often consume his thoughts and his performance suffers. It is important for a counselor working at this camp to improve the ability of this player to control his emotions.

In order to improve emotional control, one must be able to determine the causation of stress and anxiety. Emotion consists of physiological changes, subjective experiences and action tendencies (Jones, 2003). Internal and external decisions can be enhanced or depressed based on emotion. In sport, emotional instability has been the subject of study for years, and it is still hard to decipher what exactly affects an athlete. According to Smith’s model of stress management, cognitive and behavior coping strategies are needed to prevent stress responses (Gill & Williams, 2008). Altering arousal for emotional control is essential for the role physiological arousal can play on experience and emotion itself. (Jones, 2003). Being emotional during a sport activity is not something that should be shunned by an athlete, as long as they can make the arousal work in a positive manner. Being on edge when things go well in a match should never happen; the athlete should relax and increase positive thought. Certain aspects of sport can or can’t be controlled; you should never let the un-controllable factors influence cognitive thought. Stress management techniques can be used to effectively decrease negative emotions during competition, which will inadvertently lead to increased performance when it is needed the most.

Stress management techniques can be simple but very effective if used by an athlete. Successful performers control anxiety and stay on task with cognitive interactions (Gill & Williams, 2008). One simple and effective way to decrease tension for the tennis player during competition will be breathing exercises. Having the athlete inhale for five seconds through the nose and then exhaling for the same duration through the mouth. This process will result in decrease cardiovascular stress and mental stability. After breathing techniques are used, meditation should be used next. “Relaxing the mind will allow the body to follow (Gill & Williams, 2008). During practice and a match, the tennis athlete should take time, close his eyes, and state the word “calm or relax” to himself while breathing deeply will calm nerves. Repetition of the word will alter focus to that word itself and away from stressors.

When an athlete is able to successfully employ breathing and cognitive techniques, more progressive exercises can be used. Progressive tensing and relaxation of the body musculature can help easy anxiety (Gill & Williams, 2008). As muscle tension can lead to physical and mental fatigue, keeping calm during later rounds of a tournament is essential. I would work with the tennis athlete to tense and relax his shoulder, arm and quad muscles to relax his mind and body. Once the mind and body are relaxed, the athlete can use imagery to mentally picture what should happen with a clear mind. Focusing on what should happen during the next point or series of games will improve performance. Imagery not only “psyched up” an athlete, but was also used to maintain composure (Jones, 2003). Deciphering what moves the opposition makes and deciding the best course of action to counter these will help win points.

As an athlete, one must realize that numerous things are out of personal control. Opponent actions, official calls, and weather are all factors that must be seen as natural, and shouldn’t cause emotional stress. Performance can decrease steadily with increased arousal and stress placed on the mind, and can leave the athlete feeling physically depleted. Tennis matches can last 2 hours or more, and if the body and mind are constantly battling each other, fatigue will affect performance. Maintaining a positive attitude and not allowing negative emotion to overrule is important to being successful. Using cognitive actions of controlled breathing and meditation will allow the athlete to forget negative emotion, relax and just play the match. Physical muscle relaxation is an element of control that can be used to relieve physical stress. Contracting muscles for a few seconds and then relaxing will allow the athlete to feel “loose” and quick. With a clear mind, imagery can occur without impedance allowing for essential focus. Participating in sport should be fun, especially at the junior level. In order to keep athletes interested in sport and improve performance, emotional stability is important. Keeping emotion in check involves simple procedures easily accomplished and after some practice, can become second nature.

Gill, D.L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological dynamics of sport and exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Jones, M. V. (2003). Controlling emotions in sport. The Sport Psychologist, 17, 471-486.

1 comment:

  1. Carson,
    Great approach when taking on this specific case study! I like the fact that you used your resources and could describe multiple relaxation exercises that would apply to this particular scenario. Starting off with some easier breathing exercises is a fantastic way to get this athlete calmed down. Then, moving on to progressive exercises is the smart thing to do.
    I feel the meditation you described would be ideal for this athlete. Teaching him to just take a minute for himself before a performance to just relax, collect his thoughts, and concentrate on the task at hand. Well done, I think you described several different techniques that would work particularly fitting with this athlete.

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