How individual and group sports apply psychological strategies to improve participation and performance

Anxiety and arousal have similar affects on the body, but anxiety tends to inhibit performance while arousal could either inhibit and be beneficial to performance. It is helpful to remember that anxiety is psychological, that is, comes from the mind of the athlete. On the other hand arousal is physiological resulting from bodily responses to a stimulus. Arousal levels required for optimum performance in a sport depend on the individual sport.

Anxiety

Trait and state anxiety are a psychological response akin to nervousness or worry. It generally brings with it a sense of unease about something with an uncertain outcome. It causes an increase in hear rate and blood pressure, but also increased nervousness. Anxiety stimulates our “fight or flight” response, releasing adrenaline into the blood stream and usually has a negative affect on performance. Both trait and state anxiety need to be controlled in the sporting context.

Trait anxiety refers to anxiety as a characteristic of a person, so that the person is generally anxious about unknown outcomes, it is a part of who the person is. People have various levels of trait anxiety, and an athlete with high levels of trait anxiety will need to develop mechanisms to control the levels of anxiety that arise with performance.

State anxiety refers to anxiety that arises in a particular situation. Everyone experiences state anxiety, but the stimulus can vary. In sport state anxiety may rise when an athlete is in a high-pressure situation and is called upon to perform. Examples of this include: serving for the match in tennis, taking a penalty shot in soccer, converting a try in rugby or shooting a free throw in basketball.

Optimal arousal is required for athletes to perform their best. Arousal is different to anxiety as it is a physiological response similar to getting excited before an event. Arousal is about getting ready for action and often causes an increase in heart rate and blood pressure as well as heightened neural activity. It is often referred to as, be being “in the zone” or “psyched up.” It is about waking your body up so that it is ready to perform. Arousal can be both positive and negative for performance, depending on the level and the type of performance.

High intensity contact sports have a higher optimal arousal level than low intensity non-contact sports. This means that a rugby league player requires a higher arousal level than an archer or gymnast. The rugby player will not perform as well if his arousal is not high enough, or is too high. This is the same for the archer; if her arousal levels are too high or low she will not perform as well. That is to say, there is an optimal arousal level, which is specific to each sport.

With respect to specific skills, the more difficult the skill (handstand) the lower the levels of arousal needed, while the easier the skill (catching a large ball) the higher the level of arousal. Under arousal is characterised by lethargy and a lack of motivation, while over arousal is characterised by an inability to focus. This optimal arousal level is often depicted as an inverted-U on a graph.

Sources of stress vary from person to person and any and every source can impact on an athlete’s performance. The stimulation of stress in an individual depends on how they view the situation. How a person views the situation is affected by a variety of factors.

An athlete’s past experience can make a particular situation more stressful for them than it would be for another. For example, an athlete who injured themselves during a gymnastic performance, will have more stress when they perform the same routine after rehabilitation than someone who had never injured themselves doing the routine.

The support provided for the athlete or that exists around the athlete will also affect their levels of stress. For example, if the athlete is a single mother with little support for the care of her children and general home life, she will be more stressed than a similar athlete who has a supportive family to help with the care of children and home life.

Expectations can also be a source of stress for the athlete. Athlete’s who have performed well int he past then have greater expectation put upon them for future performances. Athlete’s are affected by this and have more stress than an athlete who is not expected to do well. This is particularly stressful in countries where sport is highly valued. For example, the Australian cricket team is frequently expected to do well, placing more pressure upon them and increasing the stress upon key athletes, such as the captain. This can lead to a decrease in performance.

Stress is more likely to develop when the athlete is under pressure, whether this pressure be from themselves, competition, fans, coaches, or simply from their body. Stress causes the body to produce adrenaline which: increases blood supply to skeletal muscles, increases breathing and blood glucose levels, as well as stimulating sweat production.

There are many psychological strategies to enhance motivation and manage anxiety that athletes use. They are often done before competition to help the athlete release nerves and focus on the task they are about to perform. Psychological strategies to enhance motivation and manage anxiety can also be used within competition during moments of high pressure. Such moments include free throws in basketball, taking a penalty shot in football, or a conversion in rugby. 

The strategies used by athletes include a range of concentration skills that help the athlete to focus on the competition. Athletes also use mental rehearsal of the skill before execution, and can use this during rehabilitation to reduce the loss of coordination that comes with siting on the side-line for extended periods of time. Relaxation techniques are also used to help calm nerves and develop body awareness. And goal-setting is frequently used before and during training programs in order to determine aims and check progress.

Stress and Anxiety Management

Cognitive strategies, such as visualisation and positive self-talk, help athletes reframe nervousness as excitement, shifting their mindset towards challenge rather than threat. Routine development and goal setting reduce uncertainty and build confidence, thereby lowering pre-competition anxiety. Distraction techniques and thought-stopping help athletes avoid fixating on negative outcomes.

Arousal Regulation

Athletes perform best at a specific level of arousal, often referred to as the “optimal zone.” Techniques like deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation and mindfulness meditation help reduce over-arousal (which may cause panic or poor decision-making). Conversely, energising routines such as music, pre-performance rituals and positive self-talk help increase arousal when under-stimulated.

 Concentration or attention skills refers to an athlete’s focusing on doing, rather than how to do. Attention or focus can be improved by blocking out distractions and using positive self-talk. The more the athlete focuses on the completing the skill with the correct technique, the better their focus is and the better their skill execution will become. This is apposed to focusing on the outcome of the skill or how to perform the skill.

Different types of concentration are needed for different sports. Sports that are high in skill level require intense focusing in order for the skill to be completed well. Sports with lower skill levels then require less intense attention as the skill is more easily completed. Other sports that have a longer duration require sustained focus, and obviously sports that are short do not require attention or focus to be sustained for long periods.

For example sports such as golf or diving require intense focusing, while sports such as Iron Man require sustained attention. There are many sports that require a combination of the two types of focus, these are sports such as soccer or rugby that are played for an extended period of time, but have shorter periods that require intense concentration to complete complex skills.

Attention skills also need to be able to vary throughout a competition. The athlete may need to focus on the execution of a particular attacking skill at one point and then on their defensive position at another. In Rugby League for example, a player may need intense concentration as they perform their role in a set play, catching a bomb under pressure or convert a try, while they will need less intense, but sustained concentration throughout the game as they make tackles and do one out runs.

Mental rehearsal (also known as visualisation or imagery) is when the athlete pictures the movement or skill in their mind. Mental rehearsal requires the athlete to take their own perspective/view and imagine completing the skill perfectly, while ensuring they visualise the complete scenario. That is, to visualise the sounds, colours, movements, defender etc that will be present when the actual skill is executed.

Mental rehearsal is often done just before performance as it helps improve concentration. This includes both before the competition begins and during competition just before a particular skill is executed. For example. many basketball players will mentally rehearse their free throw before taking it, and weight lifters visualise a successful lift before their attempt. A football player may also use imagery before the game begins to help them focus and get their body prepared for what is required during the match.

Visualisation is also useful as a form of practice, especially when physical practice is not possible. Often injured, or sick athletes will rehearse their performance using visualisation techniques. Studies have shown that mental rehearsal can help maintain current levels of skill execution, though it will not increase the level.

Mental rehearsal improves performance by: optimising arousal, and improving concentration. Rehearsal must be realistic, only have successful performances and be rehearsed from the athlete’ perspective while completing the skill or performance.

Relaxation techniques are used to reduce anxiety and manage arousal levels. There are many techniques available to the athlete, but the more common techniques are: centred breathing, progressive muscular relaxation, listening to music and mental relaxation.

Centred breathing is the process where an athlete focuses on lengthening their breathing to reduce their respiratory and heart rate. Often used in Yoga, centred breathing is a relaxation technique often beginning with the athlete counting their breath in and out slowly increasing the length of inspiration and expiration. Centred breathing releases anxiety and can decrease arousal levels.

Progressive muscular relaxation is the process where the athlete moves from one end of their body to the other progressively contracting and then relaxing their muscles. Normally the process will begin at the toes, with the athlete contracting the muscles controlling their toes, and then their foot, lower and upper leg, before moving along the torso towards their arms, neck and head. Progressive muscular relaxation relieves anxiety and can decrease arousal levels.

Music has often been used to control athlete’s levels of arousal and anxiety. Music can be used to relax and calm the athlete; as well as to psych them up. Music can increase the athlete’s arousal levels if they are too low for performance or can decrease them, depending on the type of music listened to.

Mental relaxation is the process where an athlete focuses on reducing their respiratory rate and emptying their mind of thoughts and distractions in order to focus on the task at hand. This helps to focus the athlete and receive anxiety before performance.

Self-regulation - essential for maintaining focus, managing emotions and adapting to changing circumstances.

• Visualisation: Imagining success or specific movements to mentally prepare (e.g. golfers like Tiger Woods).

• Self-talk: Replacing negative thoughts with constructive internal dialogue (e.g. Serena Williams using positive affirmations).

• Relaxation techniques: Such as deep breathing, mindfulness or progressive muscle relaxation, to control arousal and reduce anxiety.

Motivation - whether intrinsic (personal satisfaction) or extrinsic (rewards or recognition), motivation drives effort and persistence.

• Positive motivation (e.g. praise, achieving personal bests) to encourage risk-taking and creativity. 

• Negative motivation (e.g. fear of failure) which can also spur performance but may hinder long-term participation if misused.

Coping Strategies - athletes use stress management techniques like cognitive reframing (changing thought patterns), exercise or seeking support to build resilience and stay composed under pressure.

Goal setting helps improve an athlete’s motivation and enables them to measure progress. Goals can be either performance or behaviour oriented and can be both long and/or short term.

Setting long-term goals is important as they give the major purpose to training and performance. Short-term goals should be used to help monitor progress and provide benchmarks as the athlete progresses towards the long-term goals.

Setting performance goals that relate directly to performance helps the athlete to focus on particular aims or objectives to achieve as they improve their performance. Some examples include: running 100m in less than 10 sec or a soccer player getting all their shots on target forcing the goal keeper to make a save.

Other goal setting needs to focus on behaviour as this can impact motivation, training output and performance. Examples of behaviour goals include: completing 3 training sessions per week outside of team training, or ensuring adequate sleep every night.

Goal setting needs the goals to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time specific. An example of this is running 100m in less that 10 sec within the next 6 months is specific, can be measured, is attainable if you are already running 100m in the low 10s, relevant if you are in a sport that requires running 100m quickly, such as a sprinter and time specific.

Application in Individual Sports

• Focus on self-awareness: Since individual athletes compete alone, they must independently manage their arousal levels and emotions.

• Personalised routines: Pre-performance rituals (e.g. breathing routines, mental rehearsal) help establish consistency, maintain concentration and reduce anxiety.

• Greater reliance on self-regulation: Athletes such as marathon runners or tennis players must adapt their strategies mid-performance with little external feedback.

Application in Group Sports

• Shared arousal strategies are common, such as team chants, collective warm-ups or motivational huddles to elevate group energy.

• Leadership and peer support: Teammates and coaches can help regulate arousal and manage stress through encouragement or tactical guidance.

• Emotion management in social settings: Group athletes must handle not just personal stress but team dynamics and public pressure (e.g. basketball players managing crowd noise or teammate expectations).

• Coaches may use time-outs or structured routines to reset team focus when anxiety or over-arousal disrupts group cohesion.