Coaches,

Here is one of our monthly food for thought posts.  I know we have sent several items on Anxiety in the past.  However, I felt that this article expresses some of the physical changes an individual may experience prior to a game.  In addition, there is a link to questions that will give you an idea of where your anxiety levels are prior to competition.

Rink Panther, Dallas Derby Devils Head of Training

Competitive Anxiety
By: Brian Mac, Sports Coach

Competition can cause athletes to react both physically (somatic) and mentally (cognitive) in a manner which can negatively affect their performance abilities. Stress, arousal and anxiety are terms used to describe this condition.

The major problem in competition is letting your mind work against you rather than for you. You must accept anxiety symptoms as part and parcel of the competition experience; only then will anxiety begin to facilitate your performance.

Symptoms of Anxiety

Anxiety can be recognised on three levels:

• Cognitive - by particular thought process
• Somatic - by physical response
• Behavioural - by patterns of behaviour

Assessing Your Anxiety

Read each statement below, decide if you "Rarely", "Sometimes" or "Often" feel this way when competing in your sport, select the appropriate radio button to indicate your response and then select the "Analyse" button to see your test result.

Do not spend too long on each statement, as there is no right or wrong answers. Your SCAT score will range from a low of 10 to a high of 30 where 10 indicates a low level of anxiety and 30 a high level of anxiety (stressed).

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/scat.htm

How can we control Anxiety?

As we can see anxiety includes state and trait dimensions both of which can show themselves as cognitive and somatic symptoms. An athlete with high anxiety trait (A-trait) is likely to be more anxious in stressful situations. To help the athlete control competitive anxiety somatic techniques (relaxation) and cognitive techniques (mental imagery) can be used.

The five breath technique

This anxiety control exercise can be performed while you are standing up, lying down or sitting upright. It is ideally used just before competition, or whenever you feel particularly tense. You should inhale slowly, deeply and evenly through your nose, and exhale gently through your mouth as though flickering, but not extinguishing, the flame of a candle:

• Take a deep breath and allow your face and neck to relax as you breathe out
• Take a second deep breath and allow your shoulders and arms to relax as you breathe out
• Take a third deep breath and allow your chest, stomach and back to relax as you breathe out
• Take a fourth deep breath and allow your legs and feet to relax as you breathe out
• Take a fifth deep breath and allow your whole body to relax as you breathe out
• Continue to breathe deeply for as long as you need to, and each time you breathe out say the word 'relax' in your mind's ear

Benson's relaxation response

Benson's technique is a form of meditation that can be used to attain quite a deep sense of relaxation and can be ideal for staying calm in between rounds of a competition. It can be mastered with just a few weeks' practice and comprises of seven easy steps:

1. Sit in a comfortable position and adopt a relaxed posture
2. Pick a short focus word that has significant meaning for you and that you associate with relaxation (e.g. relax, smooth, calm, easy, float, etc.)
3. Slowly close your eyes
4. Relax all the muscles in your body
5. Breathe smoothly and naturally, repeating the focus word
6. Be passive so that if other thoughts enter your mind, dismiss them with, 'Oh well' and calmly return to the focus word - do not concern yourself with how the process is going
7. Continue this for 10 to 15 minutes as required.

Thx, Rink