Chapter 16: Mentals Skills Strategies And Improving Performance.

Question 1

• Explain the three phases associated with Psychological Skills Training (PST).
• What is mental toughness?
• List the 5 mental skills strategies.
• Explain how self-talk is used pre, during and post competition, what its best for, and a sporting example.
• Explain how relaxation is used pre, during and post competition, what its best for, and a sporting example.
• Explain how performance routines is used pre, during and post competition, what its best for, and a sporting example.
• Explain how goal setting is used pre, during and post competition, what its best for, and a sporting example.
• Explain how Imagery is used pre, during and post competition, what its best for, and a sporting example

Answer 1

1. Education: explaining the importance of mental skills, and how they affect performance 2.Acquisition: learning the skills. 3.Practise: integrating PST into training, competition, and general life.
   - Ability to cope under pressure.
   - Goal setting, Relaxation, Imagery, Performance routines, Self-talk.
   - Pre: build self confidence. During: motivation in heat of battle. Post: reflection. Best for confidence and motivation eg Hewitt- C’mon!
   - Pre: Reduce pressure. During: lessen likelihood of skill error. Post: aid sleep. Best for controlling nerves or stress eg listening to music before.
   - Pre: Practise so it becomes automatic. During: cope under pressure. Post: prepare for next match. Best for controlling nerves or stress eg Rafa fixing hair and pants before serve.
   - Pre: Plan and provide means of monitoring progress. During: re-evaluation if things aren’t going well. Post: Re-evaluate. Best for motivation eg training programs.
   - Pre: practise so it becomes routine. During: visualising. Post: practise. Best for controlling nerves eg High jumpers visualise steps and take off before attempt.

Question 2

• Define self-talk
• What is the consequence of negative self-talk?
• What can a tennis player do to restore calm and focus, following a double fault and development of negative thoughts?
• How can self-talk reinforce learning?
• Define self-efficacy
• List some ways of developing self-confidence
• Define anxiety
• Differentiate between state and trait anxiety.
• What are 3 physical and mental danger signs of arousal levels being too high?
• What are some signs an athlete is stressed?

Answer 2

• Conscious thinking or conversation that is linked to self confidence and motivation.
• If you think you can’t do something, you usually won’t.
• Using self-talk to focus on the mistakes to overcome in the previous serves and focusing on the bigger pic - “still time to come back”.
• By providing cues eg “feet!” for more footwork.
• Belief by an individual that they can change their behaviour successfully. This is often linked to the expected benefits of behaviour change.
• Enjoying early success, setting appropriate goals and receive encouragement.
• A negative emotional state characterised by nervousness.
• State anxiety is an emotional response by an individual them self, eg they are a nervous person. Trait anxiety is a behaviour disposition to a situation eg big competitions create nerves.
• Physical: tightness, heart racing and sweaty palms. Mental: doubt, panicking and difficulty on concentration.
• Increased need to go to the toilet, talking fast, not being able to sit still or biting finger nails

Question 3

• What are some relaxation techniques to reduce arousal?
• What are some stress factors that might affect a performer during competition?
• What does the inverted U hypothesis state?
• An under-aroused athlete will demonstrate what 5 things?
• Explain centring.
• Explain progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)
• Explain Biofeedback
• Explain 2 benefits of performance routines

Answer 3

• Meditation, controlled breathing and self-hypnosis.
• Result, expectation of others, climate, crowd and media.
• As arousal levels increase, so does performance, but only up to a certain point. After this, performance deteriorates.
• Poor selective attention, lack of concentration, lack of assertive behaviour, poor coordination with teammates and missed vital cues.
• A relaxation and concentration exercise that focuses on breathing from the centre of gravity, just behind the navel. This reduces tension, increases concentration and help with focus. It should make athletes feel calm, focused and ready to perform.
• A stress and anxiety management technique involving tensing and relaxing muscles in a systematic way. Physiologically, the action initiates a relaxation response and less O2 is needed for relaxed muscles therefore slowing breathing and heart rate.
• Provides athletes with physiological feedback through sensors that monitor heart rate, breathing and sweating.
• Allows athletes to get into the right mindset aka ‘in the zone’ and can be a ‘security blanket’, something an athlete can turn to in the stressful moments of competition to lower arousal.

Question 4

• What three ways can an athlete reduce the effects of an audience on potential negative affects?
• What are 3 ways to maintain selective attention?
• What are the two psychological strategies for post-competition relaxation?
• Explain 5 types of relaxation techniques.
• What 3 ways can an athlete’s mental state be monitored?
• Explain overtraining and identify 5 symptoms
• What are some strategies to avoid burnout?

Answer 4

1. Reduce the perceived importance of the audience by practising in front of an audience.
2. Using audience to get behind you during the game.
3. Selective attention: focusing on the strategies and tactics required during the game rather than external influences.
   - Block out crowd, stress management techniques and practising during training.
   - Debriefing performance based on predetermined goals and relaxation techniques.
4. Meditation-controlling the CNS by reducing brain stimulation and lowering BP, HR and BR.
5. Music- helps relax and block out distractions.
6. Breathing techniques- controls BR and CNS.
7. Sleep- critical for physical and mental recovery.
8. Mental imagery- creating performances in mind induces relaxation.
   - Training logs, coach observations and questionnaires.
   - The result of an imbalance between training, competition and recovery. Symptoms include loss of motivation, decreased performance, decrease concentration, weakness in muscle and prolonged fatigue.
   - Keep activities enjoyable, not too much training too soon during pre-season and enough recovery during the off-season.

Question 5

• Rafa Nadal is known to have extreme performance routines which aided him in a successful career. Explain how performance routines help him.
• List 3 physical and mental elements that occur when an athlete has optimal arousal.
• What is the purpose of goal setting?
• What is the purpose of breaking up goals to short, medium and long term goals?
• List the words for the short and long term goal setting acronym SMARTER.
• List the words for the short and long term goal setting acronym SCCAMP.
• What are the 3 types of goals?
• Why are outcome goals bad?
• What is imagery?
• Define self-confidence
• Before the semi-final of the Australian Open tennis tournament, Nick Kyrgios entered the area wearing headphones. He was nervous and anxious at facing former titleholder, Andy Murray. Identify what mental skill is being applied and its effect on performance.
• During his game against Nick Kyrgios, Andy Murray was often seen pumping his fist shouting ‘yeah, c’mon’ after hitting a winning shot. Identify what mental skill is being applied and its effect on performance.

Answer 5

• His performance routines helped control his arousal levels, reduced stress and get him ‘in the zone’.
• Phys: energised, muscles relaxed, increased HR. Mental: confident, calm, looking forward to compete.
• improve performance by creating a focus
• To monitor, achieve, and reassess goals.
• Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, Timely, Evaluate, Recordable.
• Specfic, Controllable, Challenging, Attainable, Measurable, Personal.
• Process, performance, and outcome goals.
• They have many influencing variables like an opposition who is trying to achieve certain goals, media and sponsors. Therefore they can be problematic and unrealistic.
• Ability to mentally recreate objects, persons, skills, expierence and situations, without actually being physically involved.
• The belief that a performer the ability to successfully perform a desired skill or behaviour.
• Relaxation to have a positive effect by calming nerves.
• Self talk to have a positive effect by revving him up to re-focus.

Question 6

• Using specific examples, discuss how a player could use the mental skill strategies of performance routines and goal setting to help him improve the skill of concentration.
• Tiger woods has now slipped to world number 262 from 1. His self-confidence in his gold game is an an all time low. Describe how tiger could use setting to improve future performances and help him return to world number 1.
• Explain why there is an optimal group size when coaching a team sport.
• Greg is a naturally talented, self-confident 14 year old swimmer with a laid-back ‘go with the flow’ personality. Up to now he has won his age group races without much application or dedication to his training, compared with his peers. His coach realises his talent will not develop unless he changes his mental approach. What mental skill strategy will be most likely to assist Greg to achieve more?

Answer 6

• Goal setting: process of deciding something to achieve, planning the steps, and then working towards it. This enables the athlete to focus on what’s relevant rather than the outcome. The player could set goals for a number of passes or distance run to help focus and remove irrelevant cues. Performance routine: rituals athletes follow in preparation, during or after execution of a task. These allow athletes to focus on relevant cues. The player could ensure he follows his normal performance routines of taking deep breaths and visualising the ball in the back of the net prior to a free kick.
• Goal setting: process of deciding something to achieve, planning the steps, and then working towards it. Tiger needs to set goals which follow SMARTER or SCCAMP processes. Eg needs to be realistic and timely. Also he needs to use a combination of process, performance and outcome goals to ensure he doesn’t just focus on returning to number 1 but the process to get there.
• If group size gets too big, accountability will decrease and Individuals will lessen their effort.
• Goal setting.