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AROUSAL ENERGIZING STRATEGIES:Precompetition Workout, Individual Goal Setting

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Sport Psychology(psy407)
VU
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:
1.
Individual goal setting
2.
Self-talk
3.
Attentional focus
4.
Imagery
5.
Self-activation.
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan
77
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Sport Psychology(psy407)
VU
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
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan
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Table of Contents:
  1. SPORT PSYCHOLOGY DEFINED:Issue of Certification, The Research Sport Psychologist
  2. SELF-CONFIDENCE AND SPORT PSYCHOLOGY:Successful Performance, Verbal persuasion
  3. SELECTING SELF-TALK STATEMENTS:Skill accusation, Controlling effort
  4. GOAL ORIENTATION:Goal Involvement, Motivational Climate
  5. CAUSAL ATTRIBUTION IN SPORT:Fritz Heider’s Contribution, Other Considerations
  6. CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS IN COMPETITIVE SITUATIONS:Locus of Causality
  7. MOTIVATION IN SPORT:Social Factors, Success and Failure, Coaches’ Behavior
  8. FLOW: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF OPTIMAL EXPERIENCE, Goal Setting in Sport
  9. PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE GOAL SETTING:Clearly identify time constraints
  10. A TEAM APPROACH TO SETTING GOALS:The Planning Phase, The Meeting Phase
  11. YOUTH SPORT:Distress and anxiety, Coach-Parent Relationships
  12. ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION IN SPORT:Information Processing, Memory Systems
  13. ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION IN SPORT:Measuring Attentional Focus
  14. PERSONALITY AND THE ATHLETE:Personality Defined, Psychodynamic Theory
  15. THE MEASUREMENT OF PERSONALITY:Projective Procedures, Structured Questionnaire
  16. PERSONALITY AND THE ATHLETE:Athletic Motivation Inventory, Personality Sport Type
  17. SITUATIONAL FACTORS RELATED TO ANXIETY AND MOOD:Type of Sport
  18. ANXIETY, AROUSAL, AND STRESS RELATIONSHIPS:Emotion and Mood
  19. ANXIETY, AROUSAL, AND STRESS RELATIONSHIPS:The Inverted-U Theory
  20. ALTERNATIVES TO INVERTED-U THEORY:Apter’s Reversal Theory
  21. COPING STRATEGIES IN SPORT:Measurement of Coping Skill
  22. RELAXATION STRATEGIES FOR SPORT:Progressive Relaxation, Autogenic Training
  23. AROUSAL ENERGIZING STRATEGIES:Team Energizing Strategies, Fan Support
  24. AROUSAL ENERGIZING STRATEGIES:Precompetition Workout, Individual Goal Setting
  25. IMAGERY:Skill Level of the Athletes, Time Factors and Mental Practice
  26. IMAGERY:Symbolic Learning Theory, Imagery Perspective. Sensory Mode
  27. IMAGERY:Paivio’s Two-Dimensional Model, Developing Imagery Skills
  28. THE ROLE OF HYPNOSIS IN SPORT:Defining Hypnosis, Social-Cognitive Theory
  29. THE ROLE OF HYPNOSIS IN SPORT:Achieving the Hypnotic Trance, Hypnotic Phase
  30. PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS TRAINING:Psychological Skills Training Program
  31. PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS TRAINING:Performance profiling, Performance routines
  32. ETHICS IN SPORT PSYCHOLOGY:Competence, Integrity, Social Responsibility
  33. AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE IN SPORT:Defining Aggression, Catharsis hypothesis
  34. AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE IN SPORT:The Catharsis Effect, Fan Violence
  35. AUDIENCE AND CROWD EFFECTS IN SPORTS:Social Facilitation, Crowd Hostility
  36. TEAM COHESION IN SPORT:Measurement of Team Cohesion
  37. TEAM COHESION IN SPORT:Predicting Future Participation, Team Building
  38. LEADERSHIP IN SPORT:Fiedler’s Contingency Theory, Coach-Athlete Compatibility
  39. EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY:Special Populations, Clinical Patients
  40. EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY:Social Interaction Hypothesis, Amine Hypothesis
  41. EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY:The Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Cognitive Theory
  42. EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY:Exercise Addiction, Bulimia Nervosa, Muscle Dysmorphia
  43. BURNOUT IN ATHLETES:Overtraining and Overreaching, Recommended Intervention
  44. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ATHLETIC INJURIES:Personality Factors, Coping Resources
  45. DRUG ABUSE IN SPORT AND EXERCISE:Stimulants, Depressants