Don’t win the best. Win who is tough and respect the opponent.
Archive for the 'Stress' Category
During the webinar I did for the register of the psychology of Lombardia Region, Italy, the colleagues asked what to read in relation to the sport and performance psychology. At that moment I suggested this reading.
R.S. Weinberg e D. Gould, Foundations of sport and exercise psychology, 2015, 6° edizione
For me it’s the best first book to read in this discipline.
A. Higham, C. Harwood e A. Cale, Momentum in soccer, 2005, Coachwise Ltd
Its’ an introduction to the soccer psychology focused on the momentum concept and the psychological skills to play.
C. Harwwod e E. Anderson, Coaching psychological skills in youth football
Its’ an applied book to introduce the psychology to the development of the skills requested in youth soccer and used by the coaches during the coaching sessions.
P.C. Terry et al., (a cura di), Secrets of Asian sport psychology, University of Souther Queensland
Each chapter of this book is dedicated to one sport practiced at top level in in one Asia country and how the experts in mental coaching have developed their programs with this athletes. It’s a free e-book:
E’ un libro in cui ogni capitolo (sono più di 20) è dedicato a uno specifico sport di una nazione dell’Asia e come gli esperti di mental coaching lo affrontano con gli atleti top level di quella nazione. E’ un ebook che si può scaricare gratuitamente da:
A. Duckworth, Grit, 2017, Penguin Random House
Book dedicated to the grit concept, so relevant to have success. Excellent book, very clear and well documented.
Physically active older adults live longer with lower rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, cognitive decline, and osteoporosis. If that’s not enough incentive, they also enjoy more independence, balance, flexibility, cognitive function and improved self-esteem.
In order to reap these benefits, people over the age of 65 need at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous- physical activity per week according to Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines.
Looking for ways to incorporate more heart-pumping activity into your week? Here are some tips to keep you moving:
1) INCORPORATE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTO YOUR REGULAR ROUTINE
Bending, squatting, stretching and lifting are all part of everyday activities such as gardening, grocery shopping, and even putting on your socks. Up the ante by sneaking in some resistance-type moves like doing some heavier digging or lifting of grocery bags. Even something as simple as berry picking or walking can strengthen your bones and muscles.
2) KEEP A MOVEMENT LOG
Those who track, stay on track! Noting your activity daily can really help you reach your fitness goals. Use a wearable tracker, an app on your smartphone, or simply mark your progress in a calendar.
3) GET IN THE WATER
Water supports your body weight and adds resistance. Swim laps or look out for a local aquafit class which can help you build endurance and muscle strength. Many pools have accessible ramps making it easier to get in and out. The warmth of the water can also soothe aching joints.
4) EMBARK ON AN 8-WEEK WALKING PROGRAM
Walking is one of the safest and most enjoyable forms of fitness, not to mention it’s free! Aim for 15 min to start then gradually work your way up to 30 minutes per day. This is a great option for people with arthritis because it doesn’t put a lot of strain on the joints.
5) EXPLORE NEW ACTIVITIES
You’ve probably heard of tai chi (great for building strength and balance!), but have you ever tried geocaching? Participants use a GPS to find containers called geocaches. They’re hidden all over the world so you can participate anywhere. If that doesn’t appeal, go dancing, do yoga, or play pickleball. Trying something new will help keep you motivated and inspired!
6) PLAY IT SAFE
Whatever activity you choose, make sure to start slow, wear appropriate footwear, stay hydrated, and always check with your doctor before starting any new physical activity program.
“Sport has the ability to change the perception
of the community about people with a disability
and, more importantly,
how people with a disability think and feel about themselves.”
Richard Nicholson, nine-time Paralimpic gold medallist
Everybody has a hard job. All real work is hard. My work happened also to be undoable. Morning after morning for 50 years, I faced the next page defenceless and unprepared. Writing for me was a feat of self-preservation. If I did not do it, I would die. So I did it. Obstinacy, not talent, saved my life.
In sports as in every other area of our lives we make mistakes. The perfect performance does not exist. Each performance is a mixture of skills and mistakes; usually win who commits fewer mistakes.
The mistakes are everywhere and they are an important part of human performance. We can’t hide from our mistakes. In addition, the result of the mistakes are always technical aspects, we see the athletes who are accelerating or slowing too much their actions, which miss a shot, too stiff to move, pulling the serve ball in the net and so on. Otherwise the cause of these mistakes can be attributed to different aspects. In fact, the mistake can be caused by different factors, going from technical incompetence to difficulties to manage the competitive stress, lack of concentration or because the athletes are too tired.
“When people feel stressed, of course, they no longer feel safe and are further inhibited in practicing new ways of acting. Instead they become defensive, relying on their most familiar habits … For all these reasons, learning … works best under conditions where people feel safe – but not so relaxed that they lose motivation. There’s an optimal level of brain arousal that helps people to learn, the state which both motivation and interest are high. A sense of psychological safety creates an atmosphere in which people can then experiment with little risk of embarrassing or fear of the consequences of failure” (From: D. Goleman, R. Boyatzis e A.MkKeee, Primal Leadership).
Since three years from the beginning of the project “Football Together”, we will attend in Roma at a tournament of integrated football between our guys and those of Totti Soccer School.
In a multidisciplinary profession such as sport psychology, grounding applied intervention in sound theory is essential. Having a conceptual model or guide for the provision of service generates a plan for the questions we ask, the interventions we propose, and the interactions we have with our clientele.
The foundation for this article was to introduce the readers to several practitioner models highlighting different perspectives and approaches to sport psychology consultation.
The purpose of this article is to share key components of their models to demonstrate the adaptability and creative uses of theory in building models of practice. Fur-thermore, purposeful selection of contributors who practice from interdisciplinary perspectives (e.g., sport science, psychology) occurred with a clear intention to elevate the conversation above simply what methods are used, or “which theory is better.” Rather, the focus of this article is on the wealth of knowledge and resources available to facilitate performance excel- lence from a variety of perspectives.
This contribute shows how is relevant the use of an approach based on known models and that psychology offers different solutions to address the same issues proposed by the excellence performances.
Models of performance excellence: Four approaches to sport psychology consulting
Mark W. Aoyagia, Alexander B. Cohenb, Artur Poczwardowskia, Jonathan N. Metzlerc, and Traci Statler
Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 9 (2) 94-110
ABSTRACT The models of practice of four sport psychology consultants (Jon Metzler, Mark Aoyagi, Alex Cohen, and Artur Poczwardowski) are presented. While each model is distinct, collectively they illustrate the benefits of theoretically-grounded foundations to practice. The practitioners represented derive their models from multiple disciplines associated with sport psychology. Pure Performance emphasizes precise definitions of key terms and components while utilizing deliberate practice to develop authentic skills. Mental FITness is based on focus, inspiration, and trust to con- ceptualize and facilitate performance excellence. The P.A.C.E. model incorporates Perception, Activation, Concentration, and Execution and applies these elements to Performance Readiness Planning. The “5 Rs” model comprises Respond, Release, Replay, Recharge, and Refocus. The models are presented here for the purpose of demonstrating the breadth with which performance excellence can be conceptualized and facilitated. Implications for practitioners include examples of how theory guides the development of service delivery programs.
Talk, share ideas are part of the coaching. Many athletes complain that they are not listened to by their coaches, that when they make a mistake get upset, in practice often ignore them, that’s just ask to train more and when they perform bad they tell them they have no confidence in themselves or have to concentrate more.
If human beings could change only by these sentences no one would have ever problems, since the first mistake the athletes would know immediately what to do and it would correct automatically. “Are you nervous? Cool down! Are you distracted? Focus! Are you afraid? Think positively! “. We know, thanks to our everyday experiences, that this approach is good for nothing, but when many of us are taking a leading role, as a parent, teacher or coach, we forget this simple truth and we start to claim from others they will change their behaviors through these simple statements.
When the coach behaves in this way, he acts like a person who ignores the value of the performance psychological component, that is to say to have the expertise to provide a high level of performance, it does not mean doing if at that time you are afraid or not confident. Confidence that doesn’t automatically comes only increasing the load of the workout.
Adrian Moorhouse, former British swimmer, gold in Seoul and now successful entrepreneur of a large consulting company, said “The only thing my coach has not done for me is swimming.”
Daniel Costantini, former French national handball coach, world champion and best world coach for the International Handball Federation said “I felt I had to change my workout in nature but not in the nature of my relationship with the players. I launched this participation approach, leading a team with the Socrates’ maieutics.”
Alex Ferguson wrote “in the middle of the game we seemed doomed, but as I said at the end of that season: In a crisis situation you just calm people.” We scored five goals and we won.”
We could continue with other evidence to confirm the value of dialogue and sharing between coach and athlete. Two questions: why don’t many coaches behave in this way? Why are they unaware of the importance of dialogue with the athlete?
I recommend reading the excellent book by Hubert Ripoll, Le mental des coaches, 2102, Paris: Payot.
