As a Psychologist, it is important to address any psychological factors that have caused concern or any area(s) that could do with improvement. Psychological skills can also be referred to as mental skills and are attributes that are commonly found in an athlete. As mental trainers, we strive to find procedure(s) that help athletes to control or manage psychological factors in the best way possible in order to attain the sport-related outcome or goal at the end as efficiently and effectively as possible.
For example, take two physically fit athletes, both at their physical peak. Both have been exposed to the same training and coaching in preparation for a competition. On the day of the competition, the first athlete bails out on the first round while the other athlete goes on to win the competition. How has this happened? What could have prevented both athletes from progressing at the same rate?
This can also be demonstrated in a non competitive situation. For example, two athletes again are exposed to the same training and coaching. During a routine training session, the first athlete performs dreadfully and this snowballs into the rest of their training for that season. On the other hand, the second athlete continues to progress with each session. What has prevented the first athlete from progressing? What was different that this first athlete progressed through the training season with a completely different outcome compared to the second athlete?
There are many examples and many situations that I can use but there is a common theme running through both examples. What has the second athlete got that makes him/her progress at the rate that is expected of them physically? Mental resilience is the answer to that question. The athlete has developed effective coping strategies to manage their intense emotions/feelings in certain situations that trigger these psychological responses. In other words, they have developed efficient and consistent mental skills to adapt to any sporting situation that elicit intense emotions/feelings in the form of fear, or anxiety, or perhaps self-confidence. If we do not manage these emotions/feelings effectively, then they will affect our performance.
We see examples of this in everyday sport. For example, in the recent Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) in Women Bantamweight between Holly Holm and Ronda Rousey. Ronda was the 'overwhelming' favourite and Holmes was the underdog. On the day of the fight, Holmes was the one that dominated the fight and won the title. It was evident that she had a much better game plan and attacked it.
The events leading up to the fight were well publicised. At the weigh in, Ronda threatened Holmes and attempted to demoralise Holmes publicly. Ronda then cursed at Holmes and stated that Holmes was a 'fake sweet act'. Holmes did not take the bait and did not rise up to Ronda's challenge.
These pre-event tactics of Ronda's could have been in place to scare or rile her opponent to the point where the opponent’s mindset is disrupted. This is common in UFC fights: threatening verbal comments before a fight to mentally disarm the opponent. In another example, Ronda said of fellow opponent Bethe Correia before their fight on August 1st ,'I'm not going to be nice to this chick and she is going to have a very long painful lesson that night'. It almost seems that it is a competition of mindsets leading up to the competition and whoever has coped better will perform better on the day of the fight.
Despite Ronda's continuing verbal assault towards Holmes, Holmes held her own and it was Ronda who crumbled on the day. Perhaps pressure of winning and pressure of keeping up her confident pretence got the better of Ronda. Ronda's tactics, which have worked on her opponents before, may have backfired on her by creating too much attention and expectation to win. Or it could be that Holmes was the better athlete mentally and could perform at her best on the day of the fight despite the distractions and challenges proposed by Ronda before. Holmes stated 'I visualize this person coming into the gym to practice with me … it takes the intensity level down.' Holmes use of imagery and visualisation keeps her level headed and her mind clear, two aspects required for a high emotion sport like UFC. Additionally, Holmes quiet confidence reflected her mental resilience and this shone through on the day of the fight. 'I see myself in the fight, staying focused every moment. I've put myself in this positive place and see myself capitalizing upon it.' (You can check details of this fight by clicking on the following link: http://www.mmamania.com/2015/11/15/9733858/ufc-193-results-recap-ronda-rousey-vs-holly-holm-fight-review-analysis-knockout-mma). Obviously, these are just assumptions but it would be foolish to discount mental resilience as part, if not the main, reason for Holmes win.
From the examples above, mental training is beneficial in two ways. First, it targets obstacles so that mental resilience ensues thereby protecting the athlete against fluctuations in performance. And second, it also influences the development of certain mental skills that are fundamental and desirable in sport and life in general. For example, self-belief is encouraged in sport and this could translate into one's relationships with others or work life.
Mental training is not a rigid process. It is a dynamic process which can involve a number of interventions, adjustments, obstacles and evaluations. I have worked with clients where we started off working on one plan, changed plans half way through, then changed twice again due to unexpected obstacles (e.g. injured, decrease in motivation). Being an effective practitioner means being able to adjust to any sporting situation at any one time and having the resources to manage this. Essentially, having the ability to be flexibility and creative with each individual athlete.
As I get into the swing of my goal setting (see Introducing Goal Setting and Setting Short Term Goals articles), I will be looking at what psychological factors affect my training and my progress as an athlete. I will also be looking at enhancement techniques to see if I can maximise my full potential and to see what techniques work better for me. I am about 3 weeks into my plan and I have already noticed a change in my attitude, confidence and motivation (although at one point, I questioned why I was doing this training but more on this later). Other climbers have commented that as my sessions are more structured and I project specific problems (rather than coming into the climbing centre and climbing anything or climbing problems that I have climbed before), I appear more determined and focused than before. I am not even halfway through my goal setting plan and already the benefits are there to be seen.
Published 01 December 2015
For example, take two physically fit athletes, both at their physical peak. Both have been exposed to the same training and coaching in preparation for a competition. On the day of the competition, the first athlete bails out on the first round while the other athlete goes on to win the competition. How has this happened? What could have prevented both athletes from progressing at the same rate?
This can also be demonstrated in a non competitive situation. For example, two athletes again are exposed to the same training and coaching. During a routine training session, the first athlete performs dreadfully and this snowballs into the rest of their training for that season. On the other hand, the second athlete continues to progress with each session. What has prevented the first athlete from progressing? What was different that this first athlete progressed through the training season with a completely different outcome compared to the second athlete?
There are many examples and many situations that I can use but there is a common theme running through both examples. What has the second athlete got that makes him/her progress at the rate that is expected of them physically? Mental resilience is the answer to that question. The athlete has developed effective coping strategies to manage their intense emotions/feelings in certain situations that trigger these psychological responses. In other words, they have developed efficient and consistent mental skills to adapt to any sporting situation that elicit intense emotions/feelings in the form of fear, or anxiety, or perhaps self-confidence. If we do not manage these emotions/feelings effectively, then they will affect our performance.
We see examples of this in everyday sport. For example, in the recent Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) in Women Bantamweight between Holly Holm and Ronda Rousey. Ronda was the 'overwhelming' favourite and Holmes was the underdog. On the day of the fight, Holmes was the one that dominated the fight and won the title. It was evident that she had a much better game plan and attacked it.
The events leading up to the fight were well publicised. At the weigh in, Ronda threatened Holmes and attempted to demoralise Holmes publicly. Ronda then cursed at Holmes and stated that Holmes was a 'fake sweet act'. Holmes did not take the bait and did not rise up to Ronda's challenge.
These pre-event tactics of Ronda's could have been in place to scare or rile her opponent to the point where the opponent’s mindset is disrupted. This is common in UFC fights: threatening verbal comments before a fight to mentally disarm the opponent. In another example, Ronda said of fellow opponent Bethe Correia before their fight on August 1st ,'I'm not going to be nice to this chick and she is going to have a very long painful lesson that night'. It almost seems that it is a competition of mindsets leading up to the competition and whoever has coped better will perform better on the day of the fight.
Despite Ronda's continuing verbal assault towards Holmes, Holmes held her own and it was Ronda who crumbled on the day. Perhaps pressure of winning and pressure of keeping up her confident pretence got the better of Ronda. Ronda's tactics, which have worked on her opponents before, may have backfired on her by creating too much attention and expectation to win. Or it could be that Holmes was the better athlete mentally and could perform at her best on the day of the fight despite the distractions and challenges proposed by Ronda before. Holmes stated 'I visualize this person coming into the gym to practice with me … it takes the intensity level down.' Holmes use of imagery and visualisation keeps her level headed and her mind clear, two aspects required for a high emotion sport like UFC. Additionally, Holmes quiet confidence reflected her mental resilience and this shone through on the day of the fight. 'I see myself in the fight, staying focused every moment. I've put myself in this positive place and see myself capitalizing upon it.' (You can check details of this fight by clicking on the following link: http://www.mmamania.com/2015/11/15/9733858/ufc-193-results-recap-ronda-rousey-vs-holly-holm-fight-review-analysis-knockout-mma). Obviously, these are just assumptions but it would be foolish to discount mental resilience as part, if not the main, reason for Holmes win.
From the examples above, mental training is beneficial in two ways. First, it targets obstacles so that mental resilience ensues thereby protecting the athlete against fluctuations in performance. And second, it also influences the development of certain mental skills that are fundamental and desirable in sport and life in general. For example, self-belief is encouraged in sport and this could translate into one's relationships with others or work life.
Mental training is not a rigid process. It is a dynamic process which can involve a number of interventions, adjustments, obstacles and evaluations. I have worked with clients where we started off working on one plan, changed plans half way through, then changed twice again due to unexpected obstacles (e.g. injured, decrease in motivation). Being an effective practitioner means being able to adjust to any sporting situation at any one time and having the resources to manage this. Essentially, having the ability to be flexibility and creative with each individual athlete.
As I get into the swing of my goal setting (see Introducing Goal Setting and Setting Short Term Goals articles), I will be looking at what psychological factors affect my training and my progress as an athlete. I will also be looking at enhancement techniques to see if I can maximise my full potential and to see what techniques work better for me. I am about 3 weeks into my plan and I have already noticed a change in my attitude, confidence and motivation (although at one point, I questioned why I was doing this training but more on this later). Other climbers have commented that as my sessions are more structured and I project specific problems (rather than coming into the climbing centre and climbing anything or climbing problems that I have climbed before), I appear more determined and focused than before. I am not even halfway through my goal setting plan and already the benefits are there to be seen.
Published 01 December 2015