The Concept of Sports Psychology - Essay Example

Logbook By + Overview The first sporting scenario involves a footballer, Mario Ballotelli with temperament issues. In the second scenario, the paper will examine Alvaro Negredo, a player who is having difficulties adjusting to his new life in a new club. In the third scenario, the paper examines a talented young player, Wesley Jones, who has made the switch from cricket to rugby union. In the last scenario, the paper shall examine a player whose social standing among his peers is limiting him to attain his full potential in the rugby pitch. Football Scenario One In this scenario Mario Ballotelli has a clear shot at the goal with only a defender to beat. The defender is left for dead by the striker but he manages to stick a foot and catches the striker on his right leg and he goes down. In my opinion Mario Ballotelli is a very competitive player with what is known in sports psychology as a NACH personality. He has the in-built desire to succeed in all that he does as a player and has very high levels of motivation. In sports psychology the personality of the player if of importance especially as relates to the mental toughness of the player, self-efficacy and arousal. Self-efficacy is influenced by four main factors and these are vicarious experiences, performance accomplishments, verbal persuasion and emotional arousal (Russell, 2008). Vicarious experiences involves seeing your competitor as someone with the same skill set as yourself or as someone with lower sets of skill therefore enhancing an individual’s confidence that they can be able to achieve and complete their set tasks. Arousal can be defined as an individual’s cognitive activation and psychological awareness (Singh, 2005). In my opinion Ballotelli exhibits aggression as based on the aggressive cue theory as first proposed by Leonard Berkowitz. The theory seemed to suggest that certain social settings and environment would make acts of aggression acceptable. Therefore I would employ the concept of arousal regulation in sports science .This is where the player uses techniques such as meditation and breathing in order to achieve the optimum cognitive state for maximum results. I would also use the concept of self-talk on the player. The player can use this technique in order to remain calm. Goal setting is a classic coaching principle that can be used in such a situation. I as the coach can set a specific number of matches that he expects the player to go without having any discipline issues (Blair, 2012). Scenario Two In this particular scenario, Alvaro Negredo, the new star player of the team is having difficulties adjusting to his new team’s set up. The player has moved to England and has left family in Spain. He also has very limited knowledge of the English language; hence communication is impaired due to language barrier. In this particular situation the player is affected by external distractions. These are forces from external sources that affect productivity of an individual. In this case the distraction may be the family of the player that has been left back in Spain. In my opinion it is clear that the player is suffering from competitive state anxiety (Starr, 2008). This condition is usually characterised by feelings of inadequacy and tensions in the subject. This is also coupled with heightened levels of arousal in the automatic nervous system (ANS). I would therefore encourage the player to attend counselling sessions. This will entail a broad array of activities that include supervision of the player and training regimes, and conduction of an actual counselling session coupled with follow ups to substantiate the outcomes. The player is also dealing with the problem of replicating his form in Spain. In dealing with this I would employ the coaching principle of Goal setting (Blair, 2012). The main aim of this is to put in place goals that can be achieved in a systematic manner. The goals put down should be specific in nature to avoid any ambiguity. The objectives will also be time bound so that there can be a basis for the evaluation of the player based on a specific time period. The goal setting principle should also incorporate long term and short term goals in the schedule of the player. Rugby Scenario Three Wesley Jones is trying to make the switch from the cricket to rugby. He has the natural talent for the game, with quick feet, good tackling capabilities and nice anticipatory skills. In this case I would employ the coaching concept of the creation of a motivational climate. This term is used to refer to factors that have a bearing on the performance and outcomes of an individual (Chang, 2009). These factors may be environmental such as the training environment and availability of training equipment. The factors may also be situational factors such as how the player reacts to the inter sport switch and his adaptability to the new sport. I would instruct the coaching staff to create a task -orientated motivation programme for the player. The self-efficacy concept of verbal persuasion can also apply in this particular situation. Words of encouragement and positive reinforcement form those that are close friends of the player can boost the confidence levels of the player and improve his performance on the pitch. The creation of such a motivational environment will enable the player to achieve his goals and full potential in the sport at a much higher rate. Arousal regulation techniques such as muscle relaxation can help the player adjust to the exercises and rigorous exercise that is in rugby which may be different from those of cricket training (Blair, 2012). Scenario Four Danny Wilkinson has been playing rugby for almost two years but has still not been able to play even a single game for his team. He does not want to be overly aggressive when on the pitch. His lack of aggression in training is affecting his game . There are three main theories as regards aggression in sports psychology (Russell, 2008). These are the instinct theory, social learning theory (SLT) and frustration aggression theory. This player clearly lacks the instinct theory type of aggression as this is in built aggression in an individual and is genetically inherited and hence cannot be really avoided. The player therefore can be taught to be aggressive through the Frustration Aggression theory as was first formulated by Dollard et al (1939). This theory suggests that aggression can be learnt from those around a player. For example if the opposing team is playing well it will force the player’s aggression to go up a notch higher so that they can be able to compete at the same level with the competitors. The concept of social learning will also benefit the player. Social learning can be defined as the influences that affect people’s behaviours. The player can learn from some of the best players in the team and hence bring his aggression levels to be at par with his peers (Singh, 2005). Bibliography Blair, R. D. 2012. Sports economics. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chang, C. H. 2009. Handbook of sports psychology. New York: Nova Science Publishers. Singh, Y. 2005. Sports psychology. New Delhi: Sports Publication. Russell, G. W. 2008. Aggression in the sports world: a social psychological perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Starr, J. 2008. The coaching manual: the definitive guide to the process, principles, and skills of personal coaching 2nd ed. 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