Our moods influence many things in sport and in life. Moods affect how shooters respond to the various situations they might encounter during a shooting competition and, ultimately, how they perform … Compared to normative mood data for athletes generally, international shooters from India, Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, Malaysia, and Singapore have, on average, tended to report lower scores for tension, depression, anger, fatigue, and confusion, and report vigour scores very close to the norm (see Figure 1: mood).
This pattern of mood responses among international shooters can be interpreted in several ways. It could, for example, be seen as an indicator of good mental health among shooters… Alternatively, given that most data were gathered during periods of international competition, it could reflect the tendency of shooters to suppress their feelings, especially negative ones, at such times due to the dispassionate, controlled demeanour required of them by the demands of sport shooting. Finally, it is possible that the stereotypical personality of the calm, introverted shooter, largely devoid of emotion … is evident in reality and explains the observed mood profiles.
Regular mood profiling of individuals, especially at the competition venue, can quickly help to identify when a shooter’s mood is less than optimal. Anger, confusion, or depression scores elevated above what is normal for an individual usually signify a potential threat to performance,
as do very low vigour and/or very high fatigue scores. The format of international shooting competitions, where events usually extend over a period of 1-2 days, gives opportunities for intervention in the form of brief, solution-focused techniques … or even just an opportunity for a shooter to ‘get something off the chest’. The ability to implement short-term mood regulation strategies, for example through humour, music, massage, or just by listening to the shooter … is a valuable asset for all those who play a supporting role with elite performers.
0 Responses to “Mood relevance in shooting sports”