Introduction
Constructive stress is necessary for good mental and physical health. This positive stress helps one to act with optimum performance in order to achieve certain goals (Burton & Raedeke, 2008, p. 328). When stress is poorly managed or becomes overwhelming it results in negative effects. This article will explain the positive and negative pre-performance stressors in sports. It will also give examples of positive and negative pre-performance stress in sport from four interviewees. It will also explain what these four players were doing in order to overcome stress.
Positive stressors
Stress may be too much for one to handle it either physically or emotionally but the positive stress does not drain one’s power. Positive stressors give one the strength to press on and also help one to achieve more than one could expect. In sports, the players may achieve a competitive edge by having positive stressors which give them the energy to play harder. Pre-performance positive stress is important because it helps the player to overcome competition, performance anxiety and also the feeling of defeat. Positive stressors include being over ambitious to win and having a positive attitude towards the sport (Honeybourne & Hill, 2004, p. 411). High expectations in preperformance help the players to gain the power of meeting with the competitors in the field without fear.
Competition is one of the positive stressors in sports preperformance. It motivates the players to work hard which results in a good performance. In the pre-performance stage in sports, when the players realize that they are to meet with a tough team, they get stressed in a positive way. This motivates them to work hard, do a lot of practice and encourage each other. Stress may occur to the players due to their perception of the existing imbalance between the demands placed on them by the environment and the players’ ability to meet those demands. Tom who is a basketball player feels that competition is a source of positive stressor before the game starts. He says that a missed shot is his source of stress but he tries to forget about it because the game is so fast. He focuses on how he is going to win in the next round.
Fear of failure is also a source of a positive stressor which will make the players have the strength to work hard in preparation for the game itself (Brewer, 2009, p. 109). Susan who is twenty-eight years and a shooter experiences fear which acts as a positive stressor to her. She says that she has to stay focused on the target and fears being distracted by noise or any other movement. She also says that when she first started she used to feel nervous but with experience, she is used to local competition and she fears no more. In order to overcome the nervousness, she used to go through breathing techniques before the game and then take the shot. Fear motivated her to have the strength of making a shot.
Concern by the players about social evaluation by other people or the coach is a positive stressor. The player’s concern about what other people are going to say about them will motivate the employees to work hard. The players will not want to hurt the coach or disappoint him and thus they will try to work hard. They would also not want to disappoint their team members. Liza is eighteen years old and a swimmer. Before she starts the game she feels tense about how she will perform. Whether she will disappoint her coach or friends or whether they will be proud of her. This motivates her and thus she says that in every game she participates in, she promises herself to do the best. She even imagines that she is going to break the record and be cheered by the team members.
Loss of internal control over one’s environment is a source of the positive stressor. In sports, the players may not be in a position to control some issues (Sheikh & Korn, 1999, p. 234). For example, they don’t have the right to choose the team they are going to compete with or even the place they will hold their games. This thus makes them prepare themselves properly ready to play in any kind of environment. John a rugby player is aged twenty and he says that his greatest challenge is when he is about to participate in a big game like the final. He feels nervous because he will compete with champions and he has no choice. This acts as a positive stressor to him and thus he has to assure himself that it is a game just like in others and thus he should just play as usual.
Negative stressors
Negative stressors in sports affect the players emotionally, physiologically and psychologically. This affects the performance of the players drastically. Physical effects arise from competitive team sports and it can result in physical response. These physical responses caused by stress can result in poor performance. Somatic responses from the players occur naturally when they sense some danger. Emotional effects cause turmoil and agony. It also leads to the players experiencing decreased satisfaction and also decreased behavioral self-regulation. Emotional effects can also make the team members drop out. Negative stressors also lead to psychological effects which result in decreased motivation by the players, high levels of anxiety and high arousal. It also results in players’ fear of taking risks, inferior level of decision making and inability by the players to focus their attention on the game (Pargman, 2006, p. 275).
Performance is a cause of negative stressor to the players. Players fear making errors in the game and this results to stress. Stressful errors can be magnified by criticisms and reactions from the coach which can lead to self-imposed performance expectation stress. Playing in a setting that is unfamiliar is also a performance-related stressor. Performance stress results from the social evaluation of the players. This leads to the players feeling their egos hurt and they may lack self-confidence, they may be more critical about themselves and also make negative comments. Performance stress may also make the players perform under their ability especially in pressure situations, they also feel loose, upset and ill before a competition and also have a sleepless night before an event. Tom a basket player suffers negative stress from performance. He says that his biggest challenge is missing his shots because he imagines himself shooting all over from the court. In his preparation for the game, he does some warm-up exercises and also practices some shots. When he experiences this stress, he tries to forget about the game very fast and focuses on other things to avoid the missed shots affecting the rest of the game.
Opponents and officials are also negative stressors in sports. The success of an opponent can lead to players getting stressed. Observing an opponent play is a negative stressor that makes a player develop a self-defeat attitude. When the players are to play a game with a stronger team, they get worried about whether they will be in a position to play against a stronger game (Mallalieu & Hanton, 2009, p. 190). Bad officiating decisions act as negative stressors before the start of a game and may result in the players feeling unmotivated. Liza who is a swimmer suffers from this kind of stress and she says that her biggest challenge is pushing herself when it is a close finish between a rival. Before she meets the rival, she feels tense and nervous but after she gets into the game the nervousness goes away. In order to overcome the negative feelings, she attends many meetings which are held many times a year. She also promises to do her best when the event comes and breaks the record.
Extensive time demand is a negative stressor that may affect the players’ performance. The players may be required to do a lot of practice for an event to come (Weinberg & Gould, 2007, p. 367). The players may get stressed by the fact that they be having some other activities to attend to and at the same time have to practice for an event to come soon. This makes the players feel exhausted and tired which may result in poor performance. John a rugby player experiences this stress and he says that his biggest challenge is to keep going when he is tired. Before the game starts, he feels nervous especially if it is a big game. He prepares himself before the game by doing stretches and team drills and also reminds himself to remain cool and make every tackle in the game. In order to overcome this stress, John also reminds himself that big games are just like any other games he has participated in.
Anxiety is also a negative stressor that may affect the players. The players may be very nervous ahead of a certain event especially if it is a big game (Silva & Stevens, 2008, p. 489). Fear of facing the opponents may result in anxiety and may even cause the players to perform poorly. The aim of every player is to win in every game and that is why they may suffer stress due to fear that they may not win. Susan a shooter experience pre-performance stress by being anxious. She says that her biggest challenge is to stay focused on the target and not get distracted by noise or any movement. Her warm-up activities before the game include listening to classical or slow pop songs in order to ease the anxiety. Slow music helps her to slow her breathing down and also helps in her overall performance.
Conclusion
Pre-performance stress in sports is very common and it results in psychological, emotional and physical effects. This article has explained the positive and negative stressors in sports. It has also given examples of positive and negative stressors experienced by the four players interviewed and how they worked towards overcoming them.
Reference list
- Brewer, B. (2009). Sport Psychology. Chicago: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Sport psychology for coaches. Chicago: Human Kinetics.
- Honeybourne, J., & Hill, M. (2004). Advanced Pe & Sport. London: Nelson Thornes.
- Mallalieu, S., & Hanton, S. (2009).Advances in Applied Sport Psychology. New York: Taylor & Francis.
- Pargman, D. (2006). Managing performance stress: models and methods. Chicago: CRC Press.
- Sheikh, A., & Korn, E. (1999).Imagery in sports and physical performance. London: Baywood Publishing Company.
- Silva, J., & Stevens, D. (2008).Psychological foundations of the sport. Chicago: Allyn and Bacon.
- Weinberg, R., & Gould, D. (2007).Foundations of sport and exercise psychology. Chicago: Human Kinetics.