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Sport Psychology(psy407)

Lesson 24

AROUSAL ENERGIZING STRATEGIES

This lecture is a continuation of lecture twenty-three. We have discussed five team energizing strategies in

the last lecture. In this lecture we will be looking at four more team energizing strategies, and then we will

be looking at some self-energizing strategies.

Publicity/Advertising

The institutions newspaper and other advertisements can be very helpful in generating a team spirit. If the

members of the team sense that the student body is behind them, they will work harder to get prepared.

News Coverage

Media can play an important role in energizing teams to perform better. News about a team on the radio or

television can give the additional boost to the team to work harder.

Precompetition Workout

In the mid-sixties when the Japanese were dominating the international volleyball scene, an interesting

phenomenon was observed. Prior to an international men's match between United States and Japan, the

Japanese team came out two hours early and went through a full workout. This was no warm-up as typically

observed, but a full-blown practice session to exhaustion. The Japanese went on to defeat U.S.A in three

relatively easy games.

Researches began conducting tests along these lines and found out that precompetition workout did not

significantly improve performance, but rather it was helpful in reducing feelings of anxiety. Because tension

and anxiety can easily hamper performance in competition, precompetition workouts could be an effective

tool for preparing an athlete for competition. Precompetition workouts that enhance and increase activation

are apparently effective in reducing precompetitive anxiety.

Post competition conference

A post competition conference takes place after a competitive event, where the team management and team

members discuss the performance of team. Post competition conference can be very helpful in energizing

teams to prepare harder for the next competitive event.

Immediate Self-Energizing Strategies

We have talked about team strategies for energizing athletes, individual athletes need to be able to energize

themselves for immediate mobilization. A basketball player who sits on the bench for three-quarter of the

game and is then inserted into the lineup is not ready to play mentally or physically. A tennis player who

finds his two game lead in the final set slipping away has to energize himself to stop the backward slide.

Self-energizing strategies include:

Individual goal setting

Self-talk

Attentional focus

Imagery

Self-activation.

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Sport Psychology(psy407)

Individual Goal Setting

Individual athletes set long-term goals to help motivate them for the long haul across a season. However,

successful athletes also use goal setting to motivate and energize them for an approaching competition. To

be effective, these immediate goals must be phrased silently or verbally just before the event occurs. Goal

setting that is contiguous with an event is a form of positive self-talk containing specific goal parameters.

For example, in tennis, the serve receiver's goal on the first serve might be, "block it back." Goal setting,

even in acute situations, is highly motivating and energizing, and should be used often.

Self-Talk

Self-talk, or even self-thought, can be used with a positive frame of reference. Actually phrasing and verbally

stating cues that remind the athlete of the need to generate greater energy can be effective. Effective self

talk statements must be (a) brief and phonetically simple (b) logically associated with the skill involved (c)

compatible with the sequential timing of the task being performed. If the statement is too long and vague it

might not be as effective. For example, as the tennis player aims for a backhand passing shot down the line,

he says or thinks the word, "Blast." Other key words that are symbolic of greater energy and activation

include "now," "go," "deep," "hit," and "power."

Attentional Focus

Increased attention is associated with increased physiological arousal. Consequently, strategies designed to

increase or narrow attention will also result in activation and greater energy. Narrowed attention occurs

when we gate out irrelevant cues that may serve as distractors. The goalie in soccer focuses her attention on

the ball and says to herself, "Be fearless and smother the ball." There are certain situations in sport in which

maximum effort and maximum arousal are necessary for success. When these situations occur, the athlete

has to be fully attentive and fully activated.

Imagery

Imager has both a cognitive and a motivational function. It is the motivational function that makes imagery

a viable energizer. As the tennis player prepares for an important serve, he visualizes the ball "leaping" off

his racket and "exploding" into the backhand corner of the opponent's receiving court. As the spiker in

volleyball approaches the net, she visualizes herself "smashing" the ball over the block and into the

unprotected deep down-the-line corner of the opponent's court. Visualizing successful outcomes in

situations requiring activation and strong effort is motivating and energizing.

Self-Activation

In addition to all of the energizing techniques mentioned above, successful athletes develop their own

methods for energizing themselves on a moment's notice. This is called self-activation. Jimmy Conners, a

former tennis great, would slap himself on the thigh in conjunction with various self-talk statements to get

himself activated late in the match. Every successful athlete learns ways to self-activate and energize himself

when he needs to.

References

Cox, H. Richard. (2002). Sport Psychology: Concepts and Applications. (Fifth Edition). New York: McGraw-

Hill Companies

Lavallec. D., Kremer, J., Moran, A., & Williams. M. (2004) Sports Psychology: Contemporary Themes. New

York: Palgrave Macmillan Publishers