Physical Therapy and Sports Training, Research Paper Example

Introduction

It is ironic that what so powerfully motivates athletes to engage in sports, at both college and professional levels, also enables significant potentials for personal harm.  Young men and women commit their minds and bodies to excelling in sport competition, and for the many rewards it may bring, yet often suffer damage due to the intensity of the commitment itself and the nature of sports.  Moreover, such damage is by no means restricted to physical injury; as vast research supports, athletes at all levels are subject to multiple stressors and other factors going to psychological distress, if not actual disorders.  This is a consequence of the meaning society attaches to sports, and it is a reality no coach/trainer may ignore.  If it was ever believed that the trainer’s sole obligation lies in only enhancing physical performance, such thinking is today irresponsible.  Both ethics and pragmatic interests combine, in fact, in the need for the modern trainer to be aware of, and correctly respond to, the many psychological problems very possibly arising within the athletes they train.  Essentially, it is the entirety of the player’s being that is the trainer’s concern, and to that end the following explores the psychological issues often confronting athletes, and the ways in which the committed trainer addresses them.  What is revealed is that the successful coach/trainer is as dedicated to the psychological well-being of their athletes as they are to developing their physical and performance potentials.

The Psychology of the Athlete

Before any strategy may be devised to enable the coach/trainer to intervene in a positive way with an athlete’s psychological issues, it is first necessary to gain an idea of what such issues commonly are.  Certainly, there are differences between the psychologies based upon the scope of the competition; the college athlete may face strong pressures to perform, for example, but the professional player’s are usually greater.  At the same time, the college player’s stress may exceed that of the professional because the player perceives that their future itself relies on performance.  Then, performance stress is only one factor within the range of potential psychological problems, just as it is noted that each sport has its own psychological characteristics, which in turn go to player emotion and psychology.  Football and rugby, for example, are combative team sports which legitimize aggression, so the emotional experiences of the players has different qualities than that of individual competition (Campo et al  64).  In all sports, moreover, there exists the danger of the sport as too dominating the athlete’s sense of identity, or creating a fixed life “story” subverting others essential for psychological well-being: “When a single narrative type becomes dominant, it overrides or silences alternative stories” (Carless, Douglass 705).  It is clear, then, that athletes are highly vulnerable to psychological distress, and in ways beyond any simple matter of stress over performance.

The coach/trainer must understand as well that an athlete’s psychological problems typically arise from the intensity of the emotions associated with, or created by, the sport.  This is removed from moods, which are usually temporary; emotion is more intense and more likely to have psychological impact (Campo  63).  While stress or anxiety is certainly the most widely studied emotion in sports, there are others related to it, or even very different, which may trigger issues.  The player who performs badly repeatedly, for example, may easily experience lasting guilt. This is at least partially a consequence of performance stress, but it may generate feelings of inadequacy so severe, the athlete may develop substance abuse problems and/or self-esteem issues psychological in nature.  Similarly, the athlete who enjoys consistent success may be in danger of relying too greatly on this, in terms of personal identity and sense of self-worth.  Essentially, the nature of sports inherently fuels emotion and generates multiple possibilities for athletes to experience emotion so powerful, their psychological make-up is threatened.  Then, it is noted that athletes at the college level tend to conceal their distress, and/or turn to negative behaviors.  Anorexia rates, for example, are far higher in populations of female college athletes than in the mainstream, and: “Collegiate athletes seem to use most substances and alcohol at higher rates than do age-matched non-athletes in the college population” (Neal et al 718).  An insidious trajectory appears to be in place, in fact, when college athletes are at risk of psychological harm; extremes of emotion overwhelm them, they frequently conceal the distress and/or turn to negative behaviors, and the psychological problems intensify.

It must be reiterated that the range and intensity of emotional experience for athletes are extensive.  Stress is not restricted, for example, to performance only in terms of playing ability.  Sports inherently attach other meanings to success on the field, and the play takes on the importance of personal identity and potential in all arenas. The college athlete on a sports scholarship may easily feel severe pressure because their college existence hinges on performance, and anxiety disorders may develop because the fear then transcends concerns of team or individual success in the sport.  The player who does not do well may be overcome by a sense of shame, in terms of disappointing the school, the team, and/or their family.  None of this is to suggest that athletes, college and otherwise, are inevitably susceptible to actual psychological disorders.  The reality, however, is that the demands of sports at any level in the society are such that the athlete is highly vulnerable to extremes of emotion which may go to actual illness.

There is no escaping that the culture places an immense value on superior athletic ability in sports, and this must then equate to consistent pressure on the athlete unlike that experienced by non-athletic peers.  Turning to Narrative Theory, the sense of self is reliant upon the social and cultural construction of sports (Carless, Douglass  703).  This totality of experience is what the coach/trainer must comprehend.  The athletes in their care are by no means merely engaged in, or even deeply committed to, sports; they are living out specific roles, and roles which are exacting as defined by the society.  The coach/trainer who ignores or neglects the immense element of sheer pressure, in all its forms, on the athlete is then not properly performing their own role of enhancing the athlete’s being.  It is arguable that, certainly in American culture, there has long existed a fixed mentality in regard to athletics.  Generally speaking, only a motive to excel and some physical ability is all that is needed to ensure success, and the ideology also goes to celebrating the satisfactions of playing well as the intrinsic rewards of sports, on a personal level. Nonetheless, this ideology contains within it massive opportunities for emotional distress, simply because it so elevates performance, if not victory, as paramount.  Put another way, there is no room for distress or illness within the strict framework of sports as culturally and traditionally presented. “Mental toughness” is in fact a standard measure of coaches in gauging player potentials and ability, which goes to a quality of disregarding emotion (Nicholls, Jones). The general emphasis in coaching and training has been on setting aside anything which may interfere with performance. Not unexpectedly, this gives rise to the irony noted earlier, in that any such disregard must exacerbate the issue so ignored. This being the case, the coach/trainer is obligated to understand that performance and the entire well-being of the athlete are mutually inclusive properties, and that to insist on performance alone likely encourages the development of negative issues in the future.  In plain terms, the mind and emotions must be trained as well as the body, or there must at least be an active awareness on the trainer’s part of the psychological state of the athletes in their care.

Coach/Trainer Behaviors and Strategies

If any single behavior is critical for the coach/trainer to responsibly attend to their duties regarding athletes, it is awareness. As noted, it is not uncommon for college athletes to conceal issues, just as many suffering some form of emotional or psychological distress are not themselves aware of the impairment.  Then, there are those who will non-verbally “act out” the conditions affecting them negatively, and only indirectly indicate the problems (Neal et al 716). This is the case with those athletes who turn to drugs and alcohol to ease the pressures they feel, or placate feelings of anxiety or insecurity. In a sense, then, the coach must be consistently alert to signs of danger in any form, and because they recognize that their athletes are vulnerable to emotional problems. Linked to this awareness is the need to comprehend that a direct approach may be wholly ineffective, when trouble is perceived, and this goes to that exalted perception of sports as influencing player thinking and feeling. A coach may, for example, sense that an athlete is disturbed and seek to interact with them about this, but the athlete may deny the reality because they fear the consequences; in plain terms, the athlete will likely believe that any admission of a problem may result in being denied the opportunity to train and play (Nicholls, Jones). Awareness of this probability then connects to the larger need to be alert as to any sign of disturbance, just as it requires a commitment to the athlete’s well-being.  Put another way, no such denial should be taken at face value when the coach’s instincts inform them otherwise.

Awareness aside, the coach/trainer must also promote an environment in which there is no stigma or reproach involved in disclosing personal issues. This is of course antithetical to the traditional, if stereotypical, idea of the athletic coach as austere and dominating presence. Such coaches do exist as well and controlling environments are created by: “Coaches who intimidate athletes through verbal abuse and punishment, issue criticism and task-contingent rewards, and pressure athletes into thinking and behaving in certain ways” (Stebbings 482). Such an environment generates in the athlete a distinct and limiting narrative for the self, in that success relies on single-mindedness and a disregard for all other facets of life (Carless, Douglas 707). If this has been, or is, perceived as instrumental in promoting performance, the perception is illusory. Such an environment may produce short-term success, but at a significant cost. It is established, for example, that the relationships conducted by athletes within their field have potent effects on the emotions and, when negativity dominates, athletes undergo sometimes crippling levels of anxiety (Camp et al 86). Conversely, the same research reveals that encouraging interaction with others enables superior performance, as the athletes’ sense of esteem is enhanced.  Consequently, the responsible coach/trainer understands that, in addition to maintaining awareness of how the stressors inherent to sports may adversely affect the players, it is essential to provide an environment that is positive, and removed from the harsh behaviors and demands which typically lead to distress.

Then, and as may be obvious, the coach/trainer cannot properly attend to the multiple needs of their athlete if their own circumstances are unfavorable or negative. The coach/trainer, like the athlete, has the three basic psychological needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Stebbings 482). The coach is not significantly removed from any other professional in this regard, as is supported by research. Coaches who believe that their competence is acknowledged, that they have opportunities for professional development, and who confront no major conflict with other roles tend to exhibit greater psychological well-being and interact more effectively with athletes; the coach facing role conflict and lacks of both recognition and opportunity, similarly, reflects psychological “ill-being” and is less capable of sustaining positive interactions with athletes (Stebbings 491). Put another way, then, the coach/trainer is only enabled to meet the entirety of their athletes’ needs when their own needs are met.

Nothing in the above dismisses the obvious imperative of the trainer or coach to develop the physical ability and skills of the athlete. Rather, it goes to the core reality of their being no strict dichotomy between the mind and the body, in the athlete and in the non-athlete.  Attention to the former, in fact, may be among the most efficient – and ethical – means of promoting physical performance. The college athlete who suffers an injury, for example, requires that the coach address the reality of the injury in terms of recovery and return to play.  At the same time, however, such injuries typically create intense emotional reactions. The most blatant is the fear of being removed from competition, which in turn may go to a severe challenge to the concept of self. Then, there is often a fear of re-injury, and this is an emotional component the coach must appreciate when the athlete is again able to perform (Neal 719). It must be noted that there are issues within an athlete’s life or mental state which are beyond the scope of the coach/trainer to address. If, for example, the coach/athlete relationship leads to the knowledge of an extreme issue in the athlete’s personal life, such as a history of child abuse, the coach is obligated to refer the individual to the resources equipped to help in such matters (Nicholls, Leigh). In the college setting, this goes to the coach’s as being fully acquainted with the school’s counseling services and community-based mental health care professionals (Neal 718).  More to the point, the coach/trainer acceptance of the emotional and psychological as pivotal to the athlete’s well-being in no way equates to the coach/trainer as assuming a psychologist role. Rather, they serve the athlete’s interests through providing an open and receptive environment, and through practicing the awareness necessary for detecting disturbances.

Then, the coach trainer in both college and professional realms must recognize how important confidentiality is for the athlete admitting to emotional distress. In college settings, there are certain parameters in place regarding the extent of the confidentiality a coach may provide, as parents must be notified when issues are severe (Neal 719). Nonetheless, the coach’s seeking to respect the athlete’s desire for privacy in the matter is likely to have a positive impact all its own, and even reduce the stigma feared by the athlete. This in turn goes to the strategy that may be termed comprehensive. In essence, and with a commitment to the athlete’s psychological well-being, the coach/trainer need not rely on any rigid set of tactics promoting that athlete’s entire well-being, and because the nature of the concern goes to how individual each coach/athlete relationship must be. When the coach accepts that their athletes are dimensional human beings, as well as individuals confronting stressors generally unknown to the mainstream population, they are guided by how the athletes express themselves and perform, as these elements reveal the information required. It is intrinsic to the healthy coach/athlete relationship that there be mutual trust and an equally mutual ambition to secure the best possible outcomes for the athlete.  Both parties are in place to enhance the development of the one and, when both comprehend the multiple and often negative potentials of sports, the trust then works to counter such effects.  Perhaps most importantly, the coach/trainer who maintains an awareness and concern for the emotional and psychological well-being of their athletes is simultaneously promoting athletic achievement and demonstrating ethical, and professional, care.

Conclusion

Historically and traditionally, coaches and trainers in sports adhere to a rigid style focused on performance excellence.  There is nothing inherently wrong in such an approach, provided that it expands to accept a greater reality, and one even more pertinent to athletic success. To be an athlete, college or professional, equates to innumerable stressors, just as the role is often translated by the athlete into a defining one of total identity. This being the case, athletes face risk far beyond that of injury, or not performing well on the field or in the game. They face the risk of suffering from emotional distress which may evolve to psychological issues, and it is a bitter irony that the way in which sports are perceived by the culture then attaches stigma to these possibilities. It is a culture that largely ignores how the excellence it demands comes, for many athletes, at very high cost. None of that, however, may be the concern of the dedicated coach/trainer, because they acknowledge the true responsibility of their position. Ultimately, the successful coach/trainer is as firmly committed to the psychological well-being of their athletes as they are to developing their physical and performance potentials.

Works Cited

Campo, Mickaël, et al. “Emotions in team contact sports: A systematic review.” Sport Psychologist 26.1 (2012): 62-97.

Carless, David, and Kitrina Douglas. “Living, resisting, and playing the part of athlete: Narrative tensions in elite sport.” Psychology of Sport and Exercise14.5 (2013): 701-708.

Neal, Timothy L., et al. “Inter-Association recommendations for developing a plan to recognize and refer student-athletes with psychological concerns at the collegiate level: An executive summary of a consensus statement.” Journal of Athletic Training 48.5 (2013): 716-720.

Nicholls, Adam, and Jones, Leigh. Psychology in Sports Coaching: Theory and Practice. New York, NY: Routledge, 2012. Ebook, unpaginated.

Stebbings, Juliette, Taylor, Ian M., Spray, Christopher M., & Ntoumanis, Nikos. “Antecedents of perceived coach interpersonal behaviors: the coaching environment and coach psychological well-and ill-being.” Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology 34.4 (2012): 481-502.