Integrated Analysis/Change Paper on Anxiety Levels of Sports, Research Paper Example

In the issue analysis paper on anxiety levels of sports the subject was discussed from the theoretical viewpoint. Different types of theories and approaches have been described and analyzed. But it seems to me that the most important aspect of this topic is its practical application. As it is known that anxiety plays one of the crucial roles in the performance of athletes during various competitions, it is very important to understand how anxiety can be used to improve the results of the sportsmen.

In order to turn anxiety that an athlete experiences before and in the process of the competition in a goal achievement direction, a tremendous work must be done by both the athlete himself and his coach. It is quite a difficult task to analyze and project what influence anxiety will have on the sportsman at a particular competition and in the concrete moment of this competition. Anxiety is definitely a good thing, but when an athlete experiences extremely high levels of it there is a chance that he won’t be able to compete. In such a moment, it is also the responsibility of the coach to act as a good psychologist in order to realize what can be done to return the athlete back to the state of moderate calmness. A truly great example of such a psychological work by the coach was demonstrated by the figure skating trainer Tatiana Tarasova on the Olympic Games of 1998. 5 minutes before the start of the long program of her dance pair, the partner – Evgeny Platov – was so anxious to skate, and the level of his cognitive anxiety was so high, that there was a doubt that he would be able to skate. But just before the announcement of the pair’s dance Tarasova suddenly took the bottle of water and emptied all of it on the shoulders of Platov. The shock of Platov was great, but it helped him to switch his mind and calm down. As the result the pair Grischuk & Platov won their second Olympic gold medal.

But it seems to me that such a psychological work by the coach must be practiced throughout the whole process of athlete’s preparation. Physical preparation is a very important thing, but mental preparation also plays a great role. Such motivational and stimulating elements of psychological preparation must be used as – positive reinforcement, constant feedback, goal setting, competition strategies development, and also the whole program of how to stay focused and calm for an athlete during the competition must be developed. At the same time the negative reinforcement techniques may have an extremely negative influence on an athlete, increasing his anxiety level, especially if these techniques are applied just prior to the start of the competition.

I think that if an athlete is in the optimal zone of his preparation for the competition then his anxiety level will be lower than that of an athlete who is outside of this zone. The main thing for the sportsman is while staying concentrated on the task, at some moment of the competition to switch his mind off, to stop thinking and to perform all the tasks automatically. Because at the moment when you will think that you can fall you will definitely fall. The main problem is in letting your mind to work for you rather than against you.

In many cases the introduction of the professional sport psychologist in the process of sportsman’s training and preparation for the competition may play an important role. It may be done in the form of individual assistance to a single athlete or in the form of a full-time employment of a psychologist by a team of athletes.

If to compare individual and team sports then it will be evident that they are characterized by different types and results of anxiety. In individual sports a coach has to deal with only one sportsman and the plan of mental preparation is developed based on the psychological features of this single athlete. While in team sports the task is even harder, because the coach has to deal with a group of sportsmen, every one of which has his/her own level of psychological stability and ability to cope with stress and anxiety. Plus, the anxiety of one member of the team can easily be transmitted on the rest of the members, and thus it is much more difficult to calm them all down.

The conclusion may be drown that the study of anxiety in sports is a really an important subject, but it needs to be studied more from the viewpoint of practical applications. Still it is quite difficult, and even impossible, to develop a universal receipt of how to stay calm during competitions, and how to use anxiety to the benefit of an athlete.  There should be an individual approach to every sportsman that must be created by the coach in regards to the mental and psychological traits of an athlete and also by paying great attention to the situation in which an athlete will be competing.

References

Seligman, M. E. P., Walker, E. F., & Rosenhan, D. L. (2001). Abnormal psychology, (4th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Slusher, H. S. (1967). Man, Sport and Existence: A Critical Analysis. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger.

Hackfort, D., & Spielberger, C. D. (1989). Anxiety in Sports: an International Perspective. New York: Hemisphere Pub. Corp.

Martens, R., Vealey, R. S., & Burton, D. (1990). Competitive Anxiety in Sport. Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics Books.