Sports Psychology involves the research of the emotional factors associated with participation in sport. Sport Psychology gives a fundamental of knowing how the various aspects of mindset can be applied to sport participation. Evaluation of character types will be discussed relating to sport participation. This will be extended to discuss the inspiration and leadership participation to sport participation as well as the relationship between anxiety and excitement with respect to enhancing wearing performance. Psychological skills training will then be demonstrated, including success stories, group characteristics, visuals, positive self-in relation to achieving peak wearing performance. Release to Game Psychology provides a greater knowing of the emotional processes of individual sportsmen and group characteristics to enhance wearing performance. Must basics of typical concepts of sport mindset will give you a better knowing of this area. For decades, specialists, trainers and inspirational speakers offered a variety of concepts on how sportsmen could improve their performance through mental practice. Game mindset became a more recognized and accepted area of research during the 1980’s after Denver psychotherapist Wayne Loehr recorded typical practices of successful sportsmen and related them to performance, group characteristics, visuals, positive self-in relation to achieving peak wearing performance. Release to Game Psychology provides a greater knowing of the emotional processes of individual sportsmen and group characteristics to enhance wearing performance. Must basics of typical concepts of sport mindset will give you a better knowing of this area. For decades, specialists, trainers and inspirational speakers offered a variety of concepts on how sportsmen could improve their performance through mental practice. Game mindset became a more recognized and accepted area of research during the 1980’s after Denver psychotherapist Wayne Loehr recorded typical practices of successful sportsmen and related them to performance.
CHAPTER 3 – MOTIVATION
Efficiently I handled to sit for my 3rd module – Psychology in PSB Academy, after the introduction of psychology was done, Mr Edgar continue with his session in Chapter 3 – Motivation, in this chapter I would like to share my encounter in the year of 2006, when I being appointed as an associate trainer, leading a team of Silat sportsmen age between from 10 – 12 years of age for their first period of time in their competition was not that tough, as I voluntarily accepted the offer which organize by the Nanyang Community Centre. I had no issue performing exercises and guide them along for their competition.
The day of competition, I observed their behaviour such as anxious and pressure encounters on each individual sportsman including my younger brother, which emphasize me the day of my first competition with the similar experience, whereby my trainers approached me and provided me an inspiration assistance which I can’t forget until now. So I did the same thing to my young other sportsmen which now I realize that inspiration play a part in every single action that we taking part of.
After I talked to them and share some of my encounter and experience, I can see comfort on them and gradually they are placing more attempts to battle and win the competition. Incredibly out of 12 sportsmen seven went to finally and 4 sportsmen including my sibling was chosen for the first badge of Silat group in Singapore Sport School.
Inspiration element was performed by Mr Edger providing my interest in Psychology in sports. With the techniques and guide which I used back then, and the element that I discovered right now help me to improve and evaluate the scenario better in the future.
In this element I discovered to determine motivation and its element, route of attempt describe an individual search for out and techniques for certain scenarios and notice an individual attempt in a particular scenario. Beside determine the motivational element the guide for building up motivation are so useful to follow such as inner attributes, understand their purpose participation, framework the scenario, identify the crucial part and to modify the contribution purposes. With this guide I may evaluate the aspects that may be easier to modify.
Not just motivation, accomplishment and objective successful can performed into the motivation method. Without accomplishment and objective successful, no point to encourage an individual without their objective, if the individual concentrates on their objective it may easier to encourage the individual, as such self improve and social evaluation may apply to the individual.
We should impact the accomplishment motivation of the individual and create the environment to improve their accomplishment and deal with of being vulnerable. I get to know that the best to do is to acknowledge interaction impacts on accomplishment motivation. To focus their objectives and result objectives is for tracking and provide appropriate reviews.
I discovered the expertise of conversation with the sportsman when it is appropriate to contend and evaluate the individual culturally. Most of all is to look at their self recommended concentrate, control and accomplish the understanding of proficiency.
CHAPTER 4 – AROUSAL, STRESS AND ANXIETY
In this chapter, I had learned to define the arousal, stress and anxiety. Stress was the process of our mind can’t think successfully between physical and psychological. And there are few methods to process type of stress and discrepancy between physical and psychology of the person. In my practical knowledge, I experienced the advanced stage of stress where I was appointed doing the deployment for the first time and end up lead me to headaches.
After Mr Edgar explains the said chapter arousal, stress and anxiety, I had completely understood of the explanations and to take note some of the notes for our reflection, beside that I did do some research on the internet to make me understand better. I did list the key point from Mr Edgar and internet forum
Generally arousal is a psychological activity. Anxiety will be the opposite of it which is a negative psychological condition with emotions of fear, anxiety and worry that is associated with the initial of the body. Stress is a discrepancy between that requirement that someone’s emotions of capabilities to meet that requirement, when failing of these requirements has essential repercussions.
Some situations produce more condition anxiety and arousal than others. Stress is also impacted by character tendencies. An individual with great feature anxiety, low respect, and great social body anxiety encounter more condition than others.
Problem posits that as long as there are reduced concepts of stress, then performance will be best at a method level of actual stimulation. If there is advanced stage of nervous ideas, performance will be better as a method stage of actual stimulation but will instantly fall off and become useless. There is a splitting point when performance reduces considerably.
Reversal Concept posits that the way that stimulation impacts performance relies on an individual’s presentation of their stimulation. Arousal can be considered as enjoyable and interesting and as distressing and nervous. Arousal that is thought to be enjoyable helps performance, and vice versa for bad stimulation.
Anxiety direction and intensity declares that how someone recognizes their own anxiety is essential for knowing the connection of their stores to their performance. Both the individual’s intensity and direction have to be considered. Therefore, anxiety as helpful results in better performance.
CHAPTER 6 – FEEDBACK, REINFORCEMENT AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
In feedback, reinforcement and intrinsic motivation, I manage to understand the most principle, techniques to impact behaviour and most of all is the guide for using good encouragement. As for the concepts of reinforcement there is complicated person that responds in a different way to the same encouragement and may not be able to do it again in preferred behaviour, and receive different the reinforcers in different situation.
Although some coach’s still uses risks of penalties as their primary motivational tool, a good approach coach is recommended for dealing with an athlete or directly offers an important compensate. Back then, studying and ongoing immediate encouragement is suitable, however sporadic encouragement is more effective these days. Difficult skills, can shape the behaviour of the athletes by strengthening close approximation of the preferred behaviour.
To offer performance reviews, knowledge is the outcome to help people improve performance by offer specific reviews regarding the correctness of their reaction and by improving their inspiration. Potential to the disadvantage of our penalties and critique include arousing fear of failing and implement unwanted behaviour and shame which effecting the studying of expertise. As we know and research has made, a person was being paid for operating on an interesting activity can reduce a person’s intrinsic motivation for the activity.
To understand a compensate is crucial in identifying whether the compensate will improve or reduce intrinsic motivation. The benefits that people understand as managing their behaviour or two indicating that they are not qualified and reduce their intrinsic motivation. Rewards that highlight the informative element and offer good feedback about proficiency improve their intrinsic motivation. A grants sportsman can either reduce or improve athlete level of intrinsic motivation, based on which is more highlighted to control or informative element.
In major competition such as Olympic, Sea Games and World Tournament generally athlete may success and tends to improve their intrinsic motivation and most athlete results to fail and tend to reduce their intrinsic motivation and it is determined by the athlete to pay attention to successful or too unsuccessful to the competition.
In the flow the condition may contain many of the common elements, but a key of the element which balance between individual capabilities and task. Few factors such as confidence, maximum arousal and concentrate might help us to achieve the flow state. Beside that there is an effect of flow which can we prevent such as self crucial mind-set, diversion and lack of preparation, so psychological skill training has to be practiced in order to get the flow right.
CHAPTER 7 – GROUP AND TEAM DYNAMICS
On chapter 7, in group team dynamic I had managed to identify two types of different roles which common uses in the team, as for coach and team captain they were dictated by the structure of the management and informal rules that evolve from the dynamic group. Depend its how was the group structure on each interaction of the members, group roles and group norms was the two important structural characteristics in each team. Each rule consists of the behaviour which required of the person to occupying the same position in the group. Belief, performance and patterns of behaviours are the norms level of each group that exist on the earth.
To create effectiveness of the team climate, the team should develop how players to perceive the interrelationships between their group members to prevent a critical factor which affecting the team climate. For example fairness and social support might affect the team climate and performance. Moderately, individual skill is related to success in individual team especially for high level performance team which critically for each player to have a greater contribution in the future, in other ways video media recording one of the methods to help players identify their mistake and make them understand their individual roles and giving the player effort to make a massive contribution in the upcoming event.
In social loafing concept, what I understand within my group sometime will put less effort as we had losses the motivation within us and that was the phenomenon with all group athletes. Sometimes there was a division of their responsibility to pick up the slack. The individual most often cannot be independent to evaluate the task that is perceived to be meaningful, some personal involvement the task are low which impossible to compare with group standard.
Contributing to collective effort are strangers than teammates are seen as high in ability and some contribution outcome is redundant to some athlete or group. There is a principle to which sport team to au fait with. They have to begin with a pre – briefing, to discuss their weakness and their strength, and they have to set a goal of their achievement every game or level they played on. In order to get their respective goal or achievement the team have to undergo cross training, research has made and proven that cross training are effective to apply for. In this training, the team able to manage their pressure level and giving the task of their individual athlete.
In every team communication is the most important asset to bond the team, in closed loop communication training team member is taught with basic communication, collect information and make decisions in a short period of time. Communication is very important to those athletes that under pressure which other teammates may help to ease down the pressure.
In adaptation in the team, I use to have the feeling whereby I first joined the Silat National Team in 2001, I feel so left out which I don’t know who I want to speak to, however session by session I manage to get into the team and the band are getting better after my first international competition with them. Sometimes, my teammates told me which of my area that I need to improve on and I have to correct myself in every session of my training, a part of it I do consult my coach regarding my performance in the training. I feel so satisfied when my coach praises me and my team.
CHAPTER 8 – GROUP COHESION
In this chapter, I have opportunities to understand the cohesiveness which group member had a same mindset and together to achieve the common goal and objective. In my view that I must have a good leader with high expectation of goal in a team. As he may bring the team strive to achieve the common goal. To boost the team cohesiveness, the team can design their own logo or motto of their team for their vision target.
My experience in the group cohesion, back then in 2001 when I was in National Team, my team will make an event or vocation after the competition such as Picnic or had dinner together and maybe went for holiday, irregardless whether the athlete didn’t deliver the medal to Singapore, first and foremost not the glory that we bring into but the effort that we put into the team that show us that we are bonding together, when our athlete was in the arena to fight with the opponent we as a team give 110% of support to him as I and the team have the same mission as he did which bring back medal for Singapore.
In this group cohesion, the team tendencies to stick together as the team have the same objective and goal toward the competition and had a good interpersonal attraction among the team members. However before I had a flow of my group members, before the hand number of my team members had clashed with one another, conflict of task with our captain, some of the team members are struggling for the power of being a captain, with all this problem our team member had a severe breakdown communication.
After we bring up the issue to our coaches, I can see the team trying to gain the vision which they had left out in the beginning of their mission and the team members has shared their goal and objective which they trying to achieve on it. I’m so glad that our coaches make an immediate action to resolve the conflicts which we had brought up earlier before condition getting worse. After the incident, the team willing to help the group members whenever they were needed.
To get the group more cohesive, they must have good influence on individual members to get the group norms. The higher the cohesion is the better the team can resist disruption than the lower cohesion. The team may stay longer and tend to be much more cohesion which can lead to improvement in their performance and lower possibility the athlete to be dropped from the team and the team leader have to play apart to increase the team cohesiveness.
Group cohesion not only for an athlete or sport, I can then see the cohesion in my current workplace. I was appointed as a team leader in Aetos Auxiliary Police in Changi Prison Clusters. I lead 60 officers who come from Malaysia and our local, my challenge as a team leader was tough for the first week to forming them together. I fine day I decided to divide them into two groups and organize a team retreat, as my first intention was to relieve myself and my team.
Subsequently after the two days of my team retreat, as my team has started to work on the following day, they started to communicate between them and I can see the cohesion among them getting stronger on each day.
CHAPTER 9 – LEADERSHIP
This chapter on leadership is relevant to my current job scope. The team leader is a challenging job to execute, some will declare that it is homogenous job. Those in the leadership role knew that it is a noble job, as for leader we have to work tirelessly to keep our officer in standard discipline. By any measure, the leadership skills are of a world-class standard, and we are proud to acquire those skills inside us and contributed to our organization.
The leadership is nothing without my fellow officers. Of course, I was tasked to lead a team of 60 officers comprising Malaysians and Singaporeans and I have to maintain high standards of discipline, and a firm stand on them. For the successful officer, I offer them an extraordinary deployment in the service which leads them to the next level and at the same time I will impart the leadership skill to the officer.
I am honoured to be working with the Aetos Auxiliary Police, which allowed me to excel. My leadership career has been an excellent experience in the organization. I had started, like everyone else, as a Police Constable and man on the ground to further increase my confidence to do my best for my organization. Subsequently I was promoted to Corporal and was appointed as an assistant team leader and several years involved in various types of assignment.
By 2010, I promptly did my best for my performance and was appointed as full team leader and authorize to approve leave and other management level documentation and it was my life-changing experience. I was tasked to set up and involve new Aetos Auxiliary police officers to take over from the Cisco Auxiliary Police at Changi Prison Complex. The few years I was in command of Cluster ‘ A’ in Changi Prison Complex, I had encountered volatile group performances which resulted in my reputation being jeopardized, however I manage to maintain the reputation and dignity of my subordinate as Aetos Auxiliary Police have.
As Leaders, they are able to influence Subordinate and peers toward their objective, by establishing interpersonal relationship and motivation toward their men. Every leader understood the needs of the team and the Leaders have to provide direction and resources to accomplish it. First and foremost we have to manage the planning, organizing and scheduling.
As a great leader they have to possess a set of universal personality traits that are essential for effective leadership such as benevolent, far – sightedness and firm. Successful leader always characterizes a universal set of behaviours and establish the way of approach in each behaviour of the individuals. Sport leadership will rely on how well the latter behaviour such as required, preferred and actual, and also we have to study the characteristic of the history of the situation. The leader should have a positive outcome and better view of their team performance.
CHAPTER 15 – GOAL SETTING
After having studied in chapter 15 – Goal Setting or aim for actions, there is some useful type of goal that can be used, self comparisons for improvement themselves, action lead to improved performance and to surpassing others, it can be useful for this type of goal and I get to know when to focus on each goal and not devoting to one attention at outcome goals. With an objective goal is the desire to attain a specific standard on a task within a specified time.
By understanding of outcome goals, we have to focus on victory in any competitive and set a standard based on one’s own previous performances and not the performance of others. Every goal setting is an extremely powerful method for enhancing performance if we implemented correctly, if the athlete had set the outcome goal some performance should set by the individual which to process goals that lead for that outcome, eventually in general specific goals are more effective to produce a change in behavioural.
I did make a research on goal setting, my research shown that some goal setting demonstrates that same goal are a powerful which can affect a human behaviour change, regardless directly or indirectly. Some goal can influence the behaviour directly by bringing the athletic performer to elements the skill or task. Motivation mood might increase to achieve and to set their goal and persistence and can develop new learning strategies. This psychological factor such as self confidence, anxiety and satisfaction might change if the goals they set might not achieve it as such the goal may influence the behaviour indirectly.
Goal setting principle includes developing helpful kind of goals, specifically, moderately difficult but realistic both short and long term, both practice and competition and both performance and process goals. Some other principles of effective goal setting are recording the goals, developing concomitant goal achievement strategies, considering a participant’s personality and motivation, fostering commitment to goals, providing support to the goal setter and providing evaluation and feedback of performance toward goals.
Well I touched on my experience on my goal setting in the year of 2008. I never had any gold medal in my Overseas International Silat competition before. After I get to know that, in June 2009 there’s another International State Competition which host by Malaysia. I’m looking forward for the competition as my goal was to get a Gold Medal before the of 2010.
In 2009, after one year I undergo my hard time training for the competition, we fly off to Malaysia. Once I reached my hotel, I met my ex-opponent from Vietnam which I being defeated by him once, I almost wanted to drop my goal setting after seeing my ex-opponent, however my coach approaches me and gave me a word of encouragement to me. In fact, I told myself that I trained hard enough to win this competition.
My next stage result stated that I will fight against Vietnam in my semi final, eventually I won the semi final and qualified for the final stage. On the day of my final, I told myself that “ one more fight to go to achieve my goal” even though my leg was injured, the pain disappeared as my focus for my goal. I fight ferociously till the final bell was ringing, and I won the final and achieve my goal for the year of 2009.
CHAPTER 13 – IMAGERY
I would never, under any situation I can currently imagine to adapt the concept of imagery in Silat. I first started playing Silat in 1998, and the only way to win was to defeat the opponent. The number of years I’ve played Silat and I’ve been in several competitions as far as I can tell, the most memorable of my entire life. So this is something I most value, more than I probably should. I actually disagree with the session of imagery in Silat, I think there’s nothing cool about thinking over the fantasy in Silat.
The imagery Silat session has increased my enjoyment of the Silat training and I’ll never stop practicing. But sometimes you have to love something you do in order to see the result. At first I am uncomfortable with the way the imagery Silat session was conducted as I always train with the live person but in this session the coach trained us using our mind which.
When I started in 2001, at the time only a handful of people knew what is was. The people who wanted to try this activity find a little weird to begin with. But now almost the athlete practice every now and then. This is the only way the athlete to interact with the coach or manager on a week-to-week training. There is a large, ever-expanding type of athlete who cannot remember a connection to Silat that did not involve owning of skill who work on their personal behalf.
Imagery helps me to prepare myself for competition and is actually a very easy tool for me to develop and use. There is no wrong or right way to use imagery, I usually like to think about my success at night before I sleep and before my games started, and sometimes I prefer spending a few moments inside dressing room or in the locker room thinking about my planning and strategies of fight before the game.
One of the sessions I like most was using imagery methods with Silat traditional music, whereby we had to create the visual in our mind and put ourselves in those days where the Malay warrior was around. Our coach told us to pretend that we are one of the warriors and fight with the opponent, the imagery takes 10 – 15 minutes long and same goes to the music. After the imagery session done, I feel that I am going to the war and I was in the era of my warrior. In between of the imagery session, when my mind visualises the move of kicking or punching, my either of my hands or legs will reflect into the situation.
On my finding, just about any way we can incorporate mental preparation will ultimately help my performance, and with imagery I can repeatedly see with my mind about my success in the future, it’s actually can strengthen my neural connections in my brain leading to better muscle memory.
The best mindset to be in, when my mind and my body are at peace or relax condition where I don’t have to think so much about what to do next, but I have to react to the situation. I always keep in my mind in most sports which I do not have to think through the situations and making muscle memory a very important aspect of every athletic success.
CHAPTER 12 – AROUSAL REGULATION
In this chapter I had no idea what to reflect on this paper, but I did do some research on the Arousal Regulation.
An individual failure or success in the performance arena often lies in the capability of the person to be mentally fit. There are many aspects that impact an individual psychological health and fitness, such as wellness, enjoyment, confidence, arousal and exterior pressure, focus, attitude and planning. The details below, written by a Sport Psychotherapist, will give you the specific details to achieving the maximum arousal stages during their performance.
Arousal is a term generally used in sport and exercise science to explain an athlete’s level of psychological and exercising. Many things can affect an athlete’s level of arousal, such as performance objectives, negative thinking and self-doubt, planning and preparedness, general life of pressure, as well as exterior aspects such as varying weather conditions, facilities, and viewers.
Arousal gets considerable attention from the trainers, and sport researchers because it’s one of the most highly effective aspects affecting contribution as well as performance. Over the decades, sport specialists have applied a number of concepts to explain the relationship between arousal. One of the most widely used designs is known as the Inverted-U Hypothesis.
The concept is that when a person’s excitement level is low and the performance might also lower. The body and mind aren’t energized and prepared to deal with the requirements of performance. As arousal stage improves, performance improves up to maximum factor. However, when arousal improves past this maximum factor to a very advanced level, a person begins to experience anxious and predicted to decline.
It has been proven that high exercising inhibits the body’s capability to perform muscles “ stiff” and become tight, synchronisation and skills break down, and early exhaustion sets in. Furthermore, increased psychological action makes it difficult to concentrate and think positively, and start feeling confident.
Consequently, sport and work out artists encounter the constant task of trying to keep their excitement at the maximum stage to encounter optimum performance. The thing is, each person’s maximum arousal stage is different. Furthermore, each sport has a different maximum arousal zone. With encounter, tracking and some help from an activity psychotherapist, most sports and workout artists can discover and learn to control their maximum arousal stages.
It’s a wise decision to trial several different techniques over a time period. After each operation, keep a track record of the procedures you used and rate your arousal stage on a scale of 1-10. The goal is to try to discover the techniques that help you to reach your maximum arousal stage and accomplish optimum performance.
Sport Psychotherapist Dr Tarah Kavanagh brings together over 20 years encounter as an athlete, trainer, and sport psychologist to clubs, national sporting organizations, sports development, schools, colleges and universities. She has an amazing understanding of the health and fitness, and health industry, its requirements and the complex aspects that impact performance and wellness.
CHAPTER 16 – CONCENTRATION
This is my experience for this chapter, Concentrate! Focus on your game! I always hear my coach and teammates repeatedly saying this over and over again. My ability to maintain concentration while I’m in the fight, the pressure of the game is critical for the best performance of me. If I lose my focus to a sell-out crowd shouting and cheering, distracting competitor and nagging self doubt, I’m not only battling with my opponents, but I’m battling myself.
Although I may not always be able to eliminate the distractions, to be successful athletes I shall take control of my performance by preventing out needless disruptions while addressing important cues or instruction. To make use of the information I must determine which of these four styles my strengths are and which styles I need additional assistance to develop my concentration.
In my research I found every athlete has their own strong points and weaknesses some athlete are excellent at one skill and poor on the others, while other athlete may be somewhat experienced in all dimensions. In general, I find that athletes in closed skill sports tend to use an arrow internal focus. Closed skill sports include sports such as swimming and diving that don’t have to react to the changing environment. In that case we have to concentrate their weakness and strength.
For the most part they compete against themselves and are in control of the situation. Because swimmer and diver’s competition environment is rather static, they need to be more aware of their body and overall energy management. Therefore, closed skill athletes should tend to have a more narrow-internal attentional focus. This is in contrast to attentional styles of athletes in open skilled sports such as soccer and tennis where the environment is constantly changing, causing the athletes need to evaluate and re-evaluate the situation and then react.
Open skill athletes tend to use broad-external attentional skills more often than closed skill athletes do. The othe
