Answering my main inquiry question essay was easy because all of my sub questions notes were written in essay form, so I could copy and paste them into my essay. After I copy and pasted my body paragraphs I just had to write an introduction and a conclusion, then edit my essay. It was also easy for me because Mrs. Edwards gave me an outline, which simplified what I was going to write about. Rewritting my notes into my essay made me an expert on my topic.

Here is my essay:

What are the main mental preparation strategies athletes

use to enhance their performance?

by Eli Etra

Mental preparation is one of the key components to athletes having a good game. Mental preparation strategies calm the athletes down, make them more confident, and allow the athlete to be positive and control their emotions. These qualities make an athlete’s performance more consistent because it allows them to perform well under pressure. The top four techniques that athletes use to get themselves mentally ready for a game to enhance their performance are: music, breathing, self talk, and visualization.

MUSIC

Music relaxes athletes and promotes flow states for self-confidence. Athletes use music in different ways to focus and concentrate more before a game or competition. For example, some athletes listen to upbeat music to get hyped which can give the athletes energy and help an athlete’s performance. Some athletes listen to quiet, relaxed music which can also help their performance because it calms the athlete down and lowers the athletes stress level. Music allows the athletes to put aside all other outside distractions in order to concentrate and picture what they want to accomplish during the game. According to Julius Thomas the starting tight end on the Jacksonville jaguars“[music] keeps my mind off all the things that are going to happen… It helps me stay loose”. Music can boost internal motivation by giving the athlete a positive attitude. This helps the athlete’s performance by making them think positive about the game they are about to play. The right kind of music can get the athlete’s blood flowing and get the adrenaline running through their veins. From research music is one of the most powerful mental preparation strategies.

BREATHING

The way the athlete breathes has a lot to do with their athletic performance. Breathing can decrease stress, muscle tension, calm their nerves, sharpen focus, minimize negative distracting thoughts, reduce fatigue, and promote stamina. For an athlete, paying close attention to when, how and why they breathe has many benefits. For example, According to Curt Rosenthal, a head of a stress relieving breathing company called Breathaware, “When you focus on breathing you forget everything else and you don’t have to worry about your anxiety”.  People use breathing techniques in sports more than some think they do. For example, in karate when the athletes yell (Hiya, Hiya), they are actually breathing. In basketball before the player takes their free throw, many players take at least one breath to relax them. Also Curt says that if people can control their breathing and focus on it, they can control their brain. If they can control brain, they can control all aspects of personal performance.

SELF TALK

Researchers are in belief that positive self-talk can help an athlete’s performance and sports success. Self-talk is a strategy used to increase motivation, facilitate learning, enhance performance, deal with anxiety, strengthen confidence, focus attention, and stress management. According to Shep Messing the u.s. National Goalie in the 1970s and 1980s “before every penalty kick I would say to myself I’m the best and I’m going to save this shot.” And it turns out he has the best penalty shot save percentage in U.S. history. The effectiveness of self-talk in sport encourages the use of self-talk as a strategy to increase motivation. If somebody is not playing well, they tend to talk to themselves again and again about negative stuff.  If athletes keep thinking negatively it makes them play worse. If they think positively it makes them play better. When self-talk is productive, it can motivate people to stay on track and work through challenges. For example, if someone is running in an endurance race and thinking I’m never going to finish, they will not finish. Chances are they’ve done worse, because what you think relates to your actions. But if they think I can finish, I know I can, most likely now you will finish quicker. Here is a great video of Muhammad Ali:

VISUALIZATION

When athletes visualize or imagine a successful competition, they put the thoughts into their performance. How and why does this happen? Well according to Brent Walker the sports psychologist “Your brain doesn’t know the difference between real and imagined facts, so if you think I’m going to make this free throw your brain can think that it’s true.” The more you mentally rehearse your performance, the more it becomes familiar in your mind. Many professional sports teams look at the other team and how they play and then they visualize the game. According to Jesse Agel “every week we that we have a game we go into the film room and study what we need to do to win our next game. After that we visualize what we’re going to do.” Athletes who use visualization can eliminate some of the unknowns that create competitive anxiety. When athletes use visualization, they not only see the action unfold but truly feel the event take place in their mind’s eye. According to Lindsey Vonn “I always visualize the run before I do it, By the time I get to the start gate, I’ve run that race 100 times already in my head, picturing how I’ll take the turns.” Visualization for athletes is a tool great performers use to help them succeed and stay on top of their game mentally. According to the article “Sports Visualization: The Secret Weapon of Athletes,” more and more athletes are claiming that visualization and imagery can help them reach peak performance.      

Music, visualization, self talk and breathing all have similarities and differences within them. Although they are all different human functions, they all release stress and relax the athlete. Mental preparation is one of the main impacts in an athletes performance. Learning mental preparation was really fun. I hope that later in life I can learn more about mental preparation.