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AROUSAL ENERGIZING STRATEGIES:Team Energizing Strategies, Fan Support

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Sport Psychology(psy407)
VU
Lesson 23
AROUSAL ENERGIZING STRATEGIES
In the previous lecture we discussed strategies that athletes use to relax and to reduce anxiety and arousal
associated with the stress response. In this lecture we are discussing arousal energizing strategies needed to
obtain peak performance.
People have been looking to the sport psychologist to learn how to maintain optimal levels of arousal in
athletes. The typical approach has been to "psych up" the athletes through various kinds of pep talks and
activation techniques. There is, of course, a proper time to get athletes excited and aroused, but often these
techniques are applied at the wrong time.
Generally, some athletes have only an intermediate level of skill, and the extra arousal serves only to induce
unforced errors. Increasing arousal affects each athlete differently. In most cases, intervention procedures
are best applied on an individual basis; each athlete should be treated differently. Some will need a pep talk,
but others may need an entirely different form of intervention.
The indiscriminate use of relaxation or arousal energizing strategies has prompted sport psychologists to
promote a closer match between precompetitive affect and psychological adjustment. This practice has
come to be referred to as the matching hypothesis. In the matching hypothesis, care is taken to make sure
that the intervention selected to relax or energize the athlete is matched to the specific symptoms.
Two major strategies to relax or energize are:
·
Team energizing strategies
·
Individual energizing strategies
Team energizing strategies are those strategies that deal with the team as a whole and are generally
orchestrated by the coach. They include such things as:
1.
Team goal setting
2.
Pep talks
3.
Bulletin boards
4.
Publicity
5.
News coverage
6.
Fan support
7.
Coach athlete, and parents interaction
8.
Pre competition workout
9.
Post competition conference
Individual self-energizing strategies are those strategies that the individual uses to induce immediate
activation and alertness. From the perspective of the individual, these latter techniques are also referred to
as individual psyching-up strategies.
Team Energizing Strategies
As a coach prepares for the season, she recognizes the need to set into motion a number of initiatives
designed to keep the team focused and energized. There are a total of nine team energizing strategies; five
will be discussed in this lecture and the remaining in the next lecture.
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan
75
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Sport Psychology(psy407)
VU
Team Goal Setting
We emphasized the notion that goal setting was theory of motivation and a way to energize teams. Here we
reiterate the critical importance of the setting of process, performance, and outcome goals for the team. The
coach should provide the leadership in this process, but the athletes must be equal partners in deciding what
it is that they want to accomplish as a team and as individuals during the current competitive season. The
coach then lays out for the team a plan whereby the goals set by the team can be accomplished. While
outcome goals must be addressed, the main focus should be upon process and performance goals that give
the team a chance to succeed. Goals are then monitored on a regular basis so that progress can be
determined.
Pep Talks
A pep talk by a psychologist or a respected member of the team is the most common method now used to
increase the activation level of athletes. But like any verbal communication, it can be either effective or
ineffective. Perhaps the most important element of the pep talk is an emphasis on the ingredient that is
lacking in the team. If the team is lacking in motivation, pep talk should be targeted at that.
Bulletin Boards
In many ways messages on a bulletin board are identical to those in a pep talk, but they are visually rather
than verbally conveyed. Poster-board displays should be placed where team members cannot miss them.
Such places as locker room dressing areas and confined training areas are ideal. The bulletin boards should
always convey positive, motivating thoughts and ideas. Catchy phrases such as "when the going gets tough,
the tough get going" can be effective. Athletes remember these simple phrases and will repeat them later,
when they need reinforcement. Other messages on the display board might include personal challenges to
members of the team.
Fan Support
Fans tell the athletes that what they are doing is important to people other than themselves. A full session
of daily basketball, football, or tennis can burn out many players. Those responsible for promoting the
team must do all they can to get people to support the team by coming to watch them.
Coach, Athlete, and Parent Interaction
The interaction between an athlete's parents, the athlete, and the coach are an often-overlooked source of
motivation for an athlete. Coaches are often wary about the over-involved and demanding parents.
However, often just the opposite situation occurs, and parents are excluded from active involvement in
motivating an athlete. Parents provide tremendous support for an athlete's involvement that sometimes
goes completely unnoticed.
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
76
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