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| Are you an emotional master on the field? |
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Sports can evoke a wide range of emotions, from inspiration, pride, exhilaration, and satisfaction, to
fear, frustration,
anger, and
panic, often in a very short time span during training or
competition. Emotions lies at the top of the
Prime Sport Pyramid because
it has been my experience that they ultimately dictate your ability to
achieve Prime Sport (defined, if you recall, as being able to perform at
a consistently high level under the most challenging conditions). Your
ability to perform consistently is often determined by the consistency
of your emotions; as your emotions go, so go your performances. And your
ability to respond positively to the inevitable challenges you will
face in training and competition are, again, often impacted by your
emotional reactions to those challenges. Because of this influence, your
ability to master your emotions gives you the power to use emotions as
tools to facilitate individual and
team performance rather than weapons that hurt you and your team.
Emotional Styles
I have found four emotional styles among athletes. These styles
involve characteristic ways in which athletes respond emotionally to
their sport. Athletes with a particular style react in a predictable way
any time they find themselves in a demanding situation.
The
seether feels frustration and anger build slowly during
the course of a competition. They appear to be in emotional control, but
that is only because the negative emotions haven't surfaced yet.
They're able to keep the frustration and anger in check as long as they
are performing well and the competition is mostly going their way. If
the competition turns or they make a crucial error, they can explode and
lose control emotionally. Often, they're not able to reestablish
control and end up losing the competition.
The
rager also feels anger and frustration strongly, but it
is expressed immediately and openly. For this type of athlete, showing
strong emotions acts as a form of relief (or so they think). The
emotions arise, are expressed and released. By doing this, the rager is
able to maintain a kind of emotional equilibrium. Up to a point, this
ongoing emotional outlet helps their performances by increasing
motivation
and intensity. However, though these athletes let the negative emotions
out, they do not really let them go. If the competition turns against
them, the rage builds until it finally engulfs and controls them. At
this point, their emotions become their enemies and their performances
deteriorate.
The
brooder also feels strong emotions, but, unlike the
seether and the rager, the most common emotions are despair and
helplessness. These athletes tend to dwell on negative experiences,
thoughts, and feelings and can be seen as pouting during a competition.
Brooders are very sensitive to the highs and lows of a competition and
their emotions tend to mirror its course. If they're performing well and
winning, they're fine, but if they perform poorly and are losing, the
"down" emotions emerge and hurt their performance. They may possess a
strong defeatist attitude and are best known for their giving up in
pressure situations. There are no world-class or professional athletes
who completely fit this emotional style because someone could not reach
such a high level of performance if their dominant emotional style was
as a brooder. However, there are many successful athletes who have some
brooding qualities, which can prevent them from getting to the very top
of their sport.
The
Zen master is the rarest of the emotional
styles because they're largely unaffected by threat and negative
emotions. Errors, poor performances, and losing seem to slide right off
of them, as if they are made of Teflon. They have the ability to not let
pressure situations affect them and they're able to let go of past
mistakes and failure. The Zen master rarely shows emotions, either
negative or positive, and maintains an consistent demeanor even in the
most critical competitive situations. This equanimity results in
consistently high performance and positive reactions to the normal ups
and downs of sport.
