By Brian Mackenzie
British Athletic Federation (BAF) Senior Coach
The increased stress of competitions can cause athletes to react both physically and mentally in a manner which can negatively affect their performance abilities. They may become tense, their heart rates race, they break into a cold sweat, they worry about the outcome of the competition, they find it hard to concentrate on the task in hand. This has led coaches to take an increasing interest in the field of sport psychology and in particular in the area of stress control. That interest has focused on techniques which athletes can use in the competitive situation to maintain control and optimize their performance. Once learned, these techniques allow the athlete to relax and to focus his/her attention in a positive manner on the task of preparing for and participating in competition.
There are a number of relaxation techniques which have the following characteristics:
Regardless of which technique is used, the following two conditions need to exist if the technique is to be learned:
A number of people involved in sports psychology believe that meditation can be useful in getting maximum performance from an athlete (Syer & Connolly, 1984). Engaging in meditation helps reduce stress before an event and with experience the athlete can learn to relax different muscle groups and appreciate subtle differences in muscle tension. The technique includes the following steps:
Maintain a passive attitude, permit relaxation to occur at its own pace and expect other thoughts. When distracting thoughts occur return your concentration to your breathing. Try to practice a relaxation technique once a day.
Progressive muscular relaxation involves the active contracting and relaxing of muscles. When a muscle is tightened for 4-6 seconds and then relaxed, the muscle returns to a more relaxed state. This process should be performed for the following parts of the body in turn -- feet, legs, thighs, buttocks, stomach, back, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, jaw, face and eyes.
J.H. Schultz in the 1930s noticed that patients in a relaxed state experienced one of two sensations: the feeling of warmth or the feeling of heaviness in completely relaxed limbs. During the relaxation process concentration should be focused on one of these sensations. For the first few sessions the athlete should alternate the focus between sessions to determine which one they prefer.
In a competition situation an athlete will either be:
If we were to use relaxation procedures with an over excited athlete, we might be able to reduce his/her arousal level to that of the optimally excited athlete. This would have a positive effect on his/her performance. However if we asked an under-excited athlete to use relaxation procedures it would only make it harder for him/her to "get-up" for the competition. The coach therefore has to know his/her athletes and how they react in competitive situations.
Mental imagery involves the athlete imagining themselves in a specific environment or performing a specific activity. The images should have the athlete performing these items very well and successfully. They should see themselves enjoying the activity and feeling satisfied with their performance. They should attempt to enter fully into the image with all their senses. See, hear, feel, touch, smell and perform as they would like to perform in real life. When an athlete is in a fully relaxed state, he/she is particularly receptive to mental imagery.
Mental Imagery can be used:
Golfing great Jack Nicklaus used mental imagery. In describing how he images his performance, he wrote:
"I never hit a shot even in practice without having a sharp in-focus picture of it in my head. It's like a color movie. First, l "see" the ball where l want it to finish, nice and white and sitting up high on the bright green grass. Then the scene quickly changes, and I "see" the ball going there: its path, trajectory, and shape, even its behavior on landing. Then there's a sort of fade-out, and the next scene shows me making the kind of swing that will turn the previous images into reality only at the end of this short private Hollywood spectacular do l select a club and step up to the ball."
To become highly proficient at the constructive use of imagery, you have to use it ever day, on your way to training, during training, after training, and in the evenings before sleeping. If you want to perfect and use mental imagery to your fullest advantage you can start by doing two things. In every training session, before you execute any skill or combination of skills, first do it in imagery as perfectly and precisely as possible. See, feel, and experience yourself moving through the actions in your mind as you would like them actually to unfold. In competitions, before the event starts, mentally recall the event focus plan, significant plays, skills, movements, reactions, or feelings that you want to carry into the event.
Relaxation itself can be useful in a number of circumstances including:
When combined with positive mental imagery it is useful in:
This is a quotation of mine that I quote to an athlete when I hear them make a negative statement about their ability. I also use it to focus the athlete's attention when assisting them to develop mental imagery skills.