sports psychology Essay example -- essays research papers

Sports is by far one of the fastest growing past times in the United States (Rainer 1987). Even if people don't take it to the professional level, sporting events are happening in our backyards, and at all of our local schools around the country. With the growing popularity and the increasing competitiveness of the sports, it will take more than just a physical advantage to compete at the highest level. This is where the psychology of sports comes into play. Goal setting is a hugely powerful technique that can yield strong returns in all areas of an athlete’s life. At its simplest level the process of setting goals and targets allows people to choose where they want to go in life. By knowing what a person wants to achieve, they know what they have to concentrate on, and what is merely a distraction. Goal setting gives long-term vision, and short-term motivation. By setting goals the athlete can achieve more, improve performance, improve the quality of the training, increase the motivation to achieve, increase pride and satisfaction in their performance, and improve their self-confidence (Bull, 1983).Research (Bull, 1983) has shown that people who use goal-setting effectively suffer less from stress and anxiety, concentrate better, show more self-confidence, perform better, and are happier with their performance. The way in which an athlete sets his goals strongly affects their effectiveness. Before setting goals, the athlete should have set the background of goal setting by understanding their commitment to sports, understanding the level they want to reach within the sport, knowing the skills that will have to be acquired and the levels of performance that will be needed, and know where this will fit into their overall life goals. The following broad guidelines apply to setting effective goals. Positive statements, be precise, set priorities, write goals down to avoid confusion and give them more force, and keep operational goals small (Rainer, 1987). "Your body is a beautifully evolved sporting machine, comprising, among other things, muscles that can be trained to a peak of fitness and nerves that control the muscles" (Morris 1992). The nerves are massively linked in an athlete’s brain: vast numbers of nerve cells are linked with a hugely greater number of interconnections. Many of th... ...in negative thinking (Bull 1983). The athlete needs mental energy to be able to concentrate their attention and maintain good mental attitudes. If the athlete is concentrating effectively then the athlete can conserve physical energy by maintaining good technique when their muscles are tired. The athlete can waste mental energy on worry, stress, fretting over distractions, and negative thinking. Over a long competition, these not only damage enjoyment, but also drain energy so that performance suffers. It is therefore important to avoid these by good use of sports psychology, and by resting effectively between events and by ensuring that the athlete sleep properly. Sports psychology is a relatively new idea and just now it is becoming more of a normal thing rather than something only pro athletes do. The study of the mind and how it relates to sports is a beneficial thing that even our own school uses to help improve performance. Over the last two years our Varsity and JV boys basketball team has used a sports psychologist from Boulder two or three times during the year. Sports psychology is no longer looked down upon, it is now a legitimate practice.