ABSTRACT
Competitive sport can make even the world’s most successful athletes feel nervous. For example, consider the anxiety experienced by seasoned performers such as England rugby World-Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson and triple golf major tournament winner Pa´draig Harrington. Interestingly, Wilkinson admitted that “I am always nervous before a rugby match. I always have been … the condition wasn’t physical fear … it was the thought of losing and letting myself down at something which meant so much to me” (Wikinson, 2006, pp. 49-50). Surprisingly, Harrington suggested that athletes’ ability to cope with anxiety may not improve with age. For example, although he has represented Europe in six Ryder Cup teams since 1999, he still feels nervous on the first tee of this latter competition. As he pointed out: “it all goes into a blur because you’re so nervous and eventually you just have to go hit it … it’s the height of nervousness” (cited in Clerkin, 2010, p. 2) (see Figure 3.1). Extrapolating from these experiences, we can conclude that most athletes have discovered that if they wish to perform consistently well in competition, they must
Figure 3.1 According to Pa´draig Harrington, playing in the Ryder Cup can be a nerve-racking experience Source: Courtesy of Inpho photography
E X P L O R I N G A T H L E T I C P E R F O R M A N C E
learn to acknowledge and control their arousal levels effectively. And the first step in this process is for athletes to admit that they get anxious from time to time. So, the former world number 1 golfer Nick Faldo claimed that “the player who recognizes that he is nervous is streets ahead of the fellow who is in denial” (cited in Mair, 2004, p. 3). With this realization comes empowerment. Andy Murray, the Scottish tennis star, proclaimed: “I’m happy with nerves. For a sportsperson … to go into matches being nervous is good. Having that adrenaline gets your mind focused on the match” (cited in Mitchell, 2010a). Clearly, athletes have to be able either to “psych themselves up” (see Chapter 2) or to calm themselves down as required by the situation. In this latter regard, Rafael Nadal (one of the greatest tennis players of all time) revealed that “the important thing is for me to have the calm. It is what is needed to play my best tennis” (cited in Flatman, 2010, p. 14) (see Figure 3.2). Similarly, Jose´ Mourinho (current manager of Real Madrid and twice a coach of Champions’ League winning teams) observed that in his experience, “without emotional control, you cannot play … you cannot react. You have to know what you have to do … You have to be cool (cited in Guardian, 2005) (see Figure 3.3). Nevertheless, some sports challenge the performer to alternate regularly between psyching up and calming down within the same competition. For example, gymnasts must be able to energize themselves before attempting a vault exercise but must then switch to relaxation mode when preparing to perform a routine on the beam. Otherwise, they may slip – literally, as happened to Andrea Raducan, the 2000 Olympic gymnastics champion, who fell off the balance beam at the 2002 world championships in Hungary (Sarkar, 2002). Interestingly, the importance of arousal control in sport was highlighted by Mike Atherton, a former captain of England’s cricket team, who observed:
Figure 3.2 Rafael Nadal believes that he plays best when he is calm Source: Courtesy of Inpho photography
A N X I E T Y I N S P O R T
there are two sorts of player: those who are quite placid people…who need an adrenaline flow to get them up for it, and so find nerves a real help. And then there are those who are naturally hyper for whom that additional flowmay not be such a good thing. When I look at players now I can see who fits into which category and then their ability to cope depends on whether they can either bring themselves up or take themselves down.
