Psychological Factors of Performance

    There are various psychological areas that affect sport performance.   On the left is a list of some of the major psychological areas that directly influence performance.   Not only do they shape the outcomes of competition, they also affect training and preparation for those competitive events.   That is why it is important to use training as efficiently as possible; doing so will give the greatest opportunity for success, both in sport and in life.

Browse the various pages to learn about the psychological factors.   With an individualized Psychological Skills Program (PSP), you can learn to improve those “less-than-ideal” factors that keep you from realizing your potential.   The program is based on your personalized needs assessment and wants.   Email your concerns now and let me get to work for you today!

Awareness.

    Awareness is the recognition of the need to do something to gain control.   Moreover, it is the first step to gaining control of any pressure situation.   The athlete must “check-in” and determine if the different aspects of his or her mental, emotional, and physical state need adjustment in order to give the best opportunity for success.   Checking-in on the various aspects of one’s person helps to create awareness within the athlete, and gives the person a foundation in which he or she can begin to optimize performance.

Concentration & Attention Control

     Concentration and attention are very important aspects of athletic performance.   There are two general ways to use concentration, and that is through either a process focus or an outcome focus.   A process focus involves directing one’s attention to the act of completing a motion in the respective sport, while an outcome focus involves directing one’s attention to an end product, or result.   Both methods can be either beneficial or dangerous, depending on their use.   It is important to use both, and the key is the timing in which they are implemented.

Anxiety

     Anxiety is defined as an unpleasant emotional state.   This construct can be divided into two basic sections: state anxiety and trait anxiety.   State anxiety is specific to a certain situation or environment, while trait anxiety is specific to a certain person or team, regardless of the situation.   Think of state anxiety as something that happens periodically (but not randomly) and trait anxiety as something that always happens, no matter the environment.   Too much or too little of either can negatively affect performance.   See below:

Confidence

     Confidence is a result of how one thinks, what one focuses on, and how one reacts to the events in one’s life.   Most of all, a decision to not be bound by a fear of failure will allow an athlete to put total effort into the present task.   Failure has the natural consequence to judge and classify based on “worthiness.”

     Successful athletes have a tendency to ignore the natural consequences of failure and focus on his or her specific job at the present moment.   As in the case of Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees:

…New York's Manager Joe Torre, in summarizing Jeter's night, painted a picture of a player who is exceptional when it matters most because he doesn't fear the alternative.

“I guess the only way to characterize it is, he doesn't go up there thinking negatively,” Torre said.  “He just doesn't.  Failing does not scare him…”

- Joe Torre on Derek Jeter’s 5-5 night in Game 1 of ALDS, 2006

Motivation.

     Motivation is a key psychological factor of sport performance.   Motivation influences the amount of effort expended, the ability to bounce-back after setbacks, how long an athlete will endure long and/or difficult training periods, and actual competition results.   The good news is that motivation is the factor over which athletes have the most control.