Defining attentional focus. Attentional focus in athletes can be split into two broad strategies, that of association and dissociation (Lind et al. 2009). A range of terms for association and dissociation are in the literature, these include internal focus, attention, and redefinition for association and external focus, distraction and avoidance for dissociation, although the constructs […]
Players, who graduate from Premier League Youth Academies that gain professional contracts at the age of 16, are likely to have spent 10 years playing the sport, made up of around 15 hours per week, 700 a year and over 7000 hours in practice activities, with the aim of improving performance. Are coaches providing their […]
Carnosine is a substance found in high concentrations in skeletal muscle. It is formed by the bonding of histadine and beta-alanine (Derave et al. 2007). Carnosine could be beneficial to sports performers as it acts as an intracellular pH buffer. This means that, in effect, it delays acidosis – the build-up of acid – and […]
1 in 4 of us will suffer with poor mental health at some point in our lives. Anxiety can affect around 16% of the British population at any one time with depression affecting around 1 in 10 adults. Anxiety and depression are generally controlled through medication and, for the fortunate who have reached the top […]
Anxiety is an unpleasant motivational state (Lundqvist et al. 2011) comprising of cognitive (worrying thoughts) and somatic (oneself perception of physiological arousal) anxiety (Englert and Bertrams 2012), commonly measured by the CSAI-2 (Martens et al. 1990 cites Edward and Hardy 1996); hardy individuals believe they are in control of events and reportedly have reduced levels […]
The use of Heuristic Practices and specifically Teaching Games for Understanding (TGFU) within learning environments has been an ever increasing methodology applied by teachers and coaches for over 20 years. Ever since Bunker and Thorpe voiced their frustration and concern of the skills first approach, a paradigm shift has been present which sees games being […]
Gender Issues in Sport Social Role Theory (SRT) (Eagly, 1987) provides an insight into why gender issues may arise within the Coach and athlete relationship. SRT is the belief that men and women act and behave differently in social situations and take on different roles, due to the expectations that society puts upon them (Eagly, […]
Typically when we see an elite athlete perform at their best we marvel in awe of the skills they display. When interviewed, these athletes will refer to the much sought after mental state of ‘being in the zone’. Well, what does ‘being in the zone’ actually mean? Generally people who are in the zone are […]
The ability to perform at an elite level is often used as the definition for talent. This term is often bandied around as if young aspiring athletes have it or not, with little discussion centred on the factors or traits that actually help an individual to reach such pinnacles in their chosen sporting arenas and […]
Aggression is the display of an intentionally harmful physical action, rather than a cognitive or affective state (Tod, Thatcher & Rahman, 2010). It takes two major forms, the first being hostile aggression, which consists of harmful intent without the desire to achieve a competitive benefit. The second type is instrumental aggression, which holds focus on […]