Lesson 24
AROUSAL ENERGIZING STRATEGIES
This lecture is a continuation 🔄 of lecture twenty-three 📖. We have discussed five team energizing strategies 🏅👥 in the last lecture. In this lecture, we will be looking at four more team energizing strategies 🏅, and then some self-energizing strategies 🏃♂️💪.
VI. Publicity/Advertising 📢📰
The institution's newspaper 🗡️ and other advertisements 📣 can be very helpful ✅ in generating team spirit 💪. If team members 🏃♀️ sense that the student body 👥 is behind them, they will work harder 💥 to get prepared 🏋️♂️.
VII. News Coverage 📺📻
Media 📺📻 can play an important role 🏅 in energizing teams 🏟️ to perform better 🏆. News about a team 🏅 on radio 📻 or television 📺 can give the additional boost ⚡ to the team 🏟️ to work harder 💪.
VIII. Precompetition Workout 🏋️♂️⏱️
In the mid-sixties 📆, when the Japanese 🇯🇵 were dominating 🏐 the international volleyball scene, an interesting phenomenon 👀 was observed. Prior to an international men's match ⚽ between United States 🇺🇸 and Japan 🇯🇵, the Japanese team 🏐 came out two hours early ⏰ and went through a full workout 💪.
This was not just a warm-up 🏃♂️, but a full practice session 🏋️♂️ to exhaustion 😰. The Japanese team 🏐 went on to defeat USA 🇺🇸 in three relatively easy games 🏆.
Research 🔬 found that precompetition workouts 🏋️♂️ did not significantly improve performance 🏅, but were helpful ✅ in reducing feelings of anxiety 😰. Precompetition workouts 🏋️♂️ that enhance activation ⚡ are effective ✅ in reducing precompetitive anxiety 😤.
IX. Post Competition Conference 🗣️🏟️
A post-competition conference 🗣️ takes place after a competitive event 🏆, where team management 👥 and team members 🏃♂️ discuss the performance 📊 of the team 🏟️. Post-competition conferences 🗣️ can be very helpful ✅ in energizing teams 🏅 to prepare harder 💪 for the next competitive event 🏆.
2. Immediate Self-Energizing Strategies 🏃♂️💥
Individual athletes 👤 need to energize ⚡ themselves for immediate mobilization 🚀. A basketball player 🏀 on the bench 🪑 for three-quarters of the game 🕒 and then inserted into the lineup 🏀 is not ready mentally 🧠 or physically 💪. A tennis player 🎾 who finds his two-game lead slipping 😰 must energize ⚡ to stop the backward slide ⬅️.
Self-energizing strategies 🏃♂️💪 include:
- Individual goal setting 🎯
- Self-talk 💬
- Attentional focus 👀
- Imagery 🖼️
- Self-activation 🔥
I. Individual Goal Setting 🎯
Individual athletes 👤 set long-term goals 🏆 to motivate 🔥 them across a season 📆. Successful athletes 🏅 also use goal setting 🎯 to energize ⚡ for an approaching competition 🏟️.
Immediate goals 🎯 must be phrased silently 🤫 or verbally 🗣️ just before the event ⏰. Goal setting 🎯 contiguous with an event 🏆 acts as positive self-talk 💬 containing specific goal parameters.
Example: In tennis 🎾, a serve receiver's goal 🎯 might be, "block it back" 🏓. Even in acute situations ⏰, goal setting 🎯 is motivating 🔥 and energizing ⚡, and should be used often 🔁.
II. Self-Talk 💬
Self-talk 🗣️ or self-thought 💭 can be used with a positive frame ✅. Phrasing and verbally stating cues 🗣️ that remind athletes 🏃♂️ to generate energy ⚡ can be effective ✅.
Effective self-talk 💬 statements must be:
- Brief and phonetically simple 📝
- Logically associated with the skill ⚽🏀🎾
- Compatible with the sequential timing ⏱️ of the task 🏅
Example: Tennis player 🎾 says or thinks "Blast 💥," "Now ⚡," "Go 🏃♂️," "Deep 🌊," "Hit 🏓," "Power ⚡."
III. Attentional Focus 👀
Increased attention 👀 is associated with increased arousal ⚡. Strategies designed to increase or narrow attention 🎯 will also result in activation ⚡ and energy 💪.
Narrowed attention 🎯 occurs when irrelevant cues ❌ are gated out 🚪. The goalie 🥅 in soccer ⚽ focuses 👀 on the ball ⚽ and says, "Be fearless 💪 and smother the ball ⚽."
Maximum effort 💪 and arousal ⚡ are necessary for success 🏆 in critical situations 🕒. Athletes 🏃♂️ must be fully attentive 👀 and fully activated ⚡.
IV. Imagery 🖼️
Imagery 🖼️ has cognitive 🧠 and motivational 🔥 functions. Motivational imagery 🔥 energizes ⚡.
Example: Tennis player 🎾 visualizes the ball ⚽ "leaping ⬆️" off the racket 🎾 and "exploding 💥" into the backhand corner 🎯. Volleyball spiker 🏐 visualizes "smashing 💥" the ball 🏐 over the block 🧱 into the deep corner 🎯. Visualizing successful outcomes 🏆 motivates 🔥 and energizes ⚡.
V. Self-Activation 🔥
Successful athletes 🏅 develop methods ⚙️ to energize ⚡ themselves immediately ⏱️. Jimmy Connors 🎾 would slap himself 👋 on the thigh 🦵 with self-talk 💬 to get activated ⚡ late in the match 🏆.
Every successful athlete 🏅 learns self-activation 🔥 to energize ⚡ when needed ⏱️.
References 📚
Cox, H. Richard. (2002). Sport Psychology: Concepts and Applications. (Fifth Edition). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies 🏢
Lavallec. D., Kremer, J., Moran, A., & Williams. M. (2004). Sports Psychology: Contemporary Themes. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Publishers 📖