Dr LeCrone
12-20-2005, 11:45 AM
Johnny’s once very bright athletic career seemed to be tarnishing, perhaps coming to a halt. He had been rated as one of the best quarterbacks in the conference only months before. Now his performance had dropped to the point that he was “warming the bench” more than he was playing on the field.
In the past, Johnny viewed a quarterback who fumbled as one who wasn’t concentrating enough. He thought a quarterback with a low pass-completion percentage should be playing some other position.
These two problems had never been his. But now he couldn’t seem to do anything right when he stepped on te4h field.
His coach talked to him. His parents and friends talked. But Johnny felt they were either exasperated with him or giving up on his abilities as a football player.
As a last resort, the coach asked Johnny to see a sport psychologist, feeling that a “shrink” could cast a spell on him, or perform some other feat of magic to snap him out of the slump.
Sport psychology is emerging as a very helpful and viable form of assistance to athletes in two ways: It helps those having performance difficulties, and it helps athletes increase their performance level beyond what they already possess.
Every weekend golfer knows the feeling of “choking” on a 3-foot putt, as does the basketball player who can’t seem to make a free throw if his life depends on it.
One of the areas that sports psychology addresses is helping athletes learn to combat the anxiety associated with competition.
One approach used to help athletes who lose their composure in a competitive event is to have them imagine past successes in competition and practice mentally “rehearsing” that successful performance along with the positive emotions that went with that success. Mental rehearsal increases confidence.
Athletes frequently suffer from sleep difficulties, especially right before a big competitive event. Insomnia and good performance the next day don’t mix. A good night’s sleep comes with clearing the mind and relaxing.
Several effective ways of doing this have been developed by psychologists. With a little practice, sleep problems can be overcome. Several relaxation techniques have been used in helping athletes sleep better.
Meditation and yoga are among these, as are self-hypnosis and biofeedback.
Another difficulty encountered by athletes is the boredom that may accompany practicing the same task over a long period of time. Motivation to continue this practice is sometimes a problem. Although this motivation may have been very intense in the beginning of practice, it may have diminished over time.
Several techniques have been developed to help athletes overcome this difficulty. An athlete may be very motivated in the beginning, but the intensity of his motivation gradually decreases over time. Athletes can be taught to keep the intensity of motivation high by reviewing their task as one which requires a lot of dedication to improvement.
Setting increasingly challenging goals is an excellent way to improve motivation and performance. Setting both short-term and long-term goals, and frequently reviewing these goals, is important.
Athletes are not mechanical people. They need variation, encouragement and excellent health habits for both continued and peak performances. Sports psychology teaches them to use their heads to program their bodies.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1984
In the past, Johnny viewed a quarterback who fumbled as one who wasn’t concentrating enough. He thought a quarterback with a low pass-completion percentage should be playing some other position.
These two problems had never been his. But now he couldn’t seem to do anything right when he stepped on te4h field.
His coach talked to him. His parents and friends talked. But Johnny felt they were either exasperated with him or giving up on his abilities as a football player.
As a last resort, the coach asked Johnny to see a sport psychologist, feeling that a “shrink” could cast a spell on him, or perform some other feat of magic to snap him out of the slump.
Sport psychology is emerging as a very helpful and viable form of assistance to athletes in two ways: It helps those having performance difficulties, and it helps athletes increase their performance level beyond what they already possess.
Every weekend golfer knows the feeling of “choking” on a 3-foot putt, as does the basketball player who can’t seem to make a free throw if his life depends on it.
One of the areas that sports psychology addresses is helping athletes learn to combat the anxiety associated with competition.
One approach used to help athletes who lose their composure in a competitive event is to have them imagine past successes in competition and practice mentally “rehearsing” that successful performance along with the positive emotions that went with that success. Mental rehearsal increases confidence.
Athletes frequently suffer from sleep difficulties, especially right before a big competitive event. Insomnia and good performance the next day don’t mix. A good night’s sleep comes with clearing the mind and relaxing.
Several effective ways of doing this have been developed by psychologists. With a little practice, sleep problems can be overcome. Several relaxation techniques have been used in helping athletes sleep better.
Meditation and yoga are among these, as are self-hypnosis and biofeedback.
Another difficulty encountered by athletes is the boredom that may accompany practicing the same task over a long period of time. Motivation to continue this practice is sometimes a problem. Although this motivation may have been very intense in the beginning of practice, it may have diminished over time.
Several techniques have been developed to help athletes overcome this difficulty. An athlete may be very motivated in the beginning, but the intensity of his motivation gradually decreases over time. Athletes can be taught to keep the intensity of motivation high by reviewing their task as one which requires a lot of dedication to improvement.
Setting increasingly challenging goals is an excellent way to improve motivation and performance. Setting both short-term and long-term goals, and frequently reviewing these goals, is important.
Athletes are not mechanical people. They need variation, encouragement and excellent health habits for both continued and peak performances. Sports psychology teaches them to use their heads to program their bodies.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1984