Stress in sports is usually due to the
fear of the game results. Athletes have many times experienced failures
in the past, which they have connected with stress.
Some other times they feel that they are not properly prepared or the
get afraid of the level of their opponent. Many athletes note that they
get anxious by the spectators, the coach, their parents and people of
their social environment in general because of the demands they might
have. Generally, stress comes from the negative thoughts the athletes
have, their low self-confidence and their focus on the result.
On the contrary, lack of interest and total relaxation have also negative results to the performance of the athlete. According to the sports psychology theories, stress in a game can be useful. A good athlete can transform the stress intensity he feels into energy for the game. According to scientific researches average levels of stress and excitement intensify the athletic performance. Of course, the useful stress levels defer from athlete to athlete and from sport to sport, the average stress level is not positive for everyone.
The first thing the athletes should do to control their stress is to identify the symptoms. These symptoms can be physical such as rapid heartbeat, trembling, increase of breathing rate, stomach upset and sweat. They can bepsycological such as alarm, incapability of concentration, confusion and negative thoughts.
Finally, there can be noted behaviour modifications such as fast or slow speaking, nails biting, fast leg moves and muscle spasms. Some athletes can have different symptoms. Observation by themselves or their coaches, parents and co-athletes will help identifying the stress symptoms.
The athlete, just before the game and after he has identified the symptoms caused by stress, should consider them as normal preparation of the body for the game. The days before the game they can practice preparing their mind of what they will face during the day of the game. They can imagine all the process from waking up in the morning, entering the game field, warming up e.t.c. Moreover, the imaginative practice should be taken fro each sport individually in cases that the athlete participates in different sports.
Just before the game several relaxation techniques with deap breaths can be used. Extra attention should be given in the thoughts the athlete makes before their game.
For example a) they should not think the result or the opponents but focus on their performance b) they should not think and analyse their mistakes during the game c) they should pay attention to the tactics they will use d) they can talk to themselves using the proper words e) they can imagine older successes to raise their self-confidence.
After the end of the game the positive and negative thoughts, actions and behaviour review can be made. To amplify the psychology of the athlete focus should be done on positive aspects of thougths and behaviour.
The negative aspects should be gradually replaced and eliminated after observation. In addition, all the above practices can be tested and applied in training so that they are built better and more efficiently.
