Kathryn Mathews Mrs.

Grant English 1102 29 April 2014 Dont Let It Get To Your Head In recent years, psychologists have gained interest on the psychology part of sporting events focusing on the mind set and decisions of a player. They want to discover how athletes decide on the moves he/she makes during the game and how it is effected by his/her mindset. So far, several studies have found that athletes in certain sports have a quicker thinking process than athletes of other sports. Others believe that it is just intuition rather than thinking and assessing the situation. While some existing studies have proved that soccer players have quick thinking abilities, they have not addressed how their abilities compare to those who play football. Soccer is a game played with eleven team members from each team on the field at a time. One must only use his/her feet to advance down the field with the ball. The goal of the game is to get the soccer ball in the goal using anything except the hands and arms. The players use different strategies and plays to be successful in the game. Soccer is played with speed and endurance. During the game, a player is required to perform sudden and explosive movements. These movements may involve certain patterns, acceleration and deceleration, jumping cutting and sprinting. Every action and move he/she makes must be executed at tremendous speed. To keep up with the fast pace, one must have the ability to think and make decisions quicker. Studies suggest that mental imagery, motivation, relaxation and stress, confidence and pressure affect the

performance of an athlete. Motivation gives the player a goal to reach. Being relaxed allows the player to think positively, while stressful player thinks in a more negative way. A player with confidence will trust his/her actions and quick decisions. In an article from CNN, it states that soccer players have an enhanced thinking ability because soccer is a game played with faster movements and pace, which requires players to react and think quicker. During a game, a player must assess the situation, compare it to past experiences, create new possibilities, make quick decisions to action, but also quickly inhibit planned decisions"(landau), in a couple of seconds to be successful. A Swedish study tested soccer players with cognitive function tests, which are tests on the process by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used. The result of the tests was that higher performance on the cognitive test was correlated with the subsequent performance of the players(Landau). That helps prove that soccer players have a faster thinking and reaction time. Mental imagery plays a big role in an athletes mind during a game. Metal imagery is the repetition of a particular skill or movement using pictures rather than physical movement. There are two types of imagery, external and internal. External imagery is where a player experiences imagery as though they were watching themselves on a video(soccerperformance.org). Internal imagery is where a player experiences imagery as though they are actually performing the action (soccerperformance.org). Internal imagery is said to be more beneficial because it is more likely to recreate a successful move that was completed in a previous game. Players use imagery because they believe that it can help improve their game through mental practice and helps players focus before or during a game. It also reinforces self-belief and they see

themselves as winners. If one practices successfully completing a trick mentally, it will help the player be more successful in the real game. In situations like a penalty shootout, a player who has practiced mental imagery can prepare him/her to overcome the pressure of making a goal and can make the shot more effective. In the end, imagery is useful in helping an athlete improve his/her performance. The better players see themselves and their performance, the greater the chance of success(soccerperformance.org). Not only does mental imagery affect a players performance but also positive and negative motivation.

Many different attitudes, like motivation, can alter the way a player thinks during a performance. Having motivation modifies the way an athlete participates on the field. Dr. Barber states, nothing can affect performance as dramatically as a sudden loss of motivation(Barber). Without motivation to succeed, a player cannot overcome the obstacles that occur on the field. It allows one to set a goal to achieve and set a positive attitude toward the game. There are two different types of motivation, intrinsic motivation (self motivation) and extrinsic motivation (motivation from the outside, such as coaches or teammates). A player with intrinsic motivation would see obstacles as challenges and an opportunity to work harder. An example of extrinsic motivation is a coach trying to convince his players to believe that they can succeed with a little hard work. Motives are guided by two basic factors, the hope of success and fear of failure with experience generally showing that the former plays the major role in motivating players(Barber). Many players that are physically good enough to succeed often loose ambition because of lack of self-belief to fulfill his/her goals. Not only can motivation modify a players performance but also being in a state of relaxation or stress.

Before a game, ones mind may be relaxed or even stressed. As a Canadian researcher says, The individual players' reaction to stress can involve aggression and anger or inversely, inhibition, regression and fear. Players are more at risk of injury when stressed due to their attention levels being disorientated(soccerperformance.org). Stress can be activated by temperature/humidity, jet lag, playing environment, game officials or even coaches and other players. The intensity of these stressors depend on the perception or inner experience of the player. When players are alert but relaxed, they can make better, quicker decisions in a match. When helping the mental state of an athlete will have a positive effect on the physical state of that player. Doing relaxing techniques may help them control their thinking and remove tension. Athletes may need to develop some relaxation skills to counter moments of stress and anxiety. Being relaxed will help reduce stress and help them have a more positive look on the game during difficult moments. Being relaxed can also boost ones confidence levels. The last state of being that effects a players mind set is confidence. Selfconfidence is one of the most important elements of being successful in performance. When players are confident, they perform at their best level. It is rare for a player to be successful and have low self-confidence. Developing a good state of confidence is vital for withstanding and recovering from setbacks like a defeat or a poor performance. Confidence will project a positive image through physical movement. One can be calm, collected, concentrated, and high self control when they are in a confident state of mind. One will also not worry about loosing or the consequences of an action. One should think about past experiences that have been successful to build his/her confidence. Players can also encourage themselves through positive self-talk. Having negative thoughts can

greatly affect the way an athlete performs. For example, if one were to think, What if I miss the shot it will have a negative effect on ones confidence. If one changes that negative thought to a positive thought like, I will get the next one he/she would feel more confident and will most likely make a shot and have a goal. Players also must place all their trust in their skills to be confident. One may build confidence by watching and imitating successful players. Though sometime that may cause one to lose confident because they may feel that they cannot match the skill of the player. It is also important that a player that looses confidence to not focus on the one area in which their performance is struggling. One must not also forget about the areas where he/she is successful. Theses different confidence styles will help one be more successful in a game or match. It is very important to be confident when under pressure because that will affect the way one reacts under pressure.

Athletes spend relatively little time practicing under pressure. That means that they have little exposure to the pressures in a real game. Being under pressure can mess with ones head. Skills learned in non-pressure situations will not always transfer to pressured situations. As they are under pressure, one can panic and overthink the situation resulting in wrong movements. There are ways to control your mind during a game.

Emotional conditioning or reprograming your mind habits involves challenging the habit associated with negative thinking. Athletes have conditioned themselves to contain these emotions that come with negative thoughts, such as habits that need breaking. The key is to program your mind to replace these negative habits with positive

thoughts and images. Eventually these positive thoughts will become natural and performance will become more consistent. With practice, you can become more aware of your emotions and you will be able to use strategies to manage performance. You also need to know what each emotion mean and the appropriate response to deal with it. If one practices enough one will create positive emotions and thoughts naturally.

The psychology of sport has become a interesting topic in the past couple of years. Psychologist have recently become more interesting in what goes through the players head during a game. It is important for one to control their emotions and mental state of mind. There are different things that can affect a players performance and thinking ability. Such as, mental imagery, motivation, relaxation and stress, confidence and pressure. It takes some time to control these emotions and become successful in the situations.