MENTAL TOUGHNESS

Mental toughness is the ability to consistently sustain one’s ideal performance state during adversities in competition. Performing to one's potential requires good technique and mental skills. Ups and downs in performance are often directly traceable to psychological ups and downs. Players who create a special atmosphere within them perform consistently. Mental toughness is learnt, not inherited. The ultimate measure of mental toughness is consistency.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MENTAL TOUGHNESS

The mentally tough competitor is self-motivated and self directed. He/she does not need to be pushed from outside as he is controlled from within. The player is in total control of his emotions. He/she is positive and realistic about his/her goals and success. The individual is generally calm and relaxed under pressure situations. The person is also mentally alert, focussed, confident and responsible for his actions. He is ready for action, usually energetic and determined.

Fundamental areas of mental toughness are:

* Self-Confidence
* Self-Motivation
* Negative Energy Control
* Positive Energy Control
* Attention Control
* Visual/Imagery Control
* Attitude Control

Self-Confidence: It is a way of feeling. One can develop self-confidence with practice. The key ingredient is belief in self. You develop self-confidence by elevation of self-image, learning to stay calm, goal setting, positive thinking, self discipline and reviewing performance.

Self-Motivation: It is a source of positive energy. It helps to endure pain, discomfort and self-sacrifice. To overcome low self-motivation, set meaningful long-term goals, commit the goals on a training book, keep a daily record, associate with self-motivated players, enjoy the activity.

Negative Energy Control: Controlling negative emotions like fear, anger, envy, frustration and temper. Performing with negative energy results in inconsistency. To overcome negative energy, increase awareness, psycho, regulation, physical exercise and stimulate competitive situations.

Positive Energy Control: It is the ability to become energized with joy, determination and team spirit. It helps players to maintain the required arousal level to achieve peak performance. To overcome low positive energy control, increase awareness, develop enthusiasm, start feeling good and ensure physical fitness.

Attention Control: It is the ability to tune what is important and what is not important (i. e., to disassociate from what is irrelevant). Improve calming and quieting skills, time awareness, get the positive energy flowing and concentration training.

Visual/Imagery Skills: It is process of creating pictures or images in mind (i. e., thinking in pictures) This is one of the most powerful techniques to develop mental toughness as it is the connecting link between the mind and body. To overcome low visual/imagery skills- practice visualization with all the senses, ensure internal calmness, use photographs and start rehearsing mentally in advance.

Attitude Control: It is a reflection of the player's habits of thoughts. The right attitude produces emotional control and right flow of energy. To overcome low attitude control, identify positive and negative attitudes. Positive affirmation reinforces positive attitude, keep records and have a vision or commitment.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS

Acquiring new modes of behavior by assimilating varied changes is a continuous process that occurs throughout the life. In sports the ultimate aim of achieving fine motor skills is to enhance one’s performance. Therefore, to bring in this desirable effect, certain principles are to be borne in mind.

Reinforcement – is any event or response which serves to increase the frequency of the behaviors that preceded its presentation. Positive or negative reinforcement helps or avoids repeating a desirable performance or stopping an undesirable performance. Delayed reinforcements are often less productive.

Motivation – is a process by which an individual is inspired to do something? Motivated condition is essential for effective learning. A need is to be created within the individual.

Feedback – is the knowledge of result which helps to check the performance and make the necessary modification after a self-evaluation.

Individual Differences – pertaining to physical, psychological and socio-cultural differences can affect the learning and performance.

Emotional Arousal – if in optimum level, is the most desirable for performance. Different games require different levels of arousal.

Insight – means sensing intuitively the inner nature of something. In a game situation, it may perceive the situations in a new way, and applying new tactics and strategy.

Information Processing – is collecting the right information that may be any idea, image, fact, knowledge etc. and putting these together for interpreting and responding to incoming stimuli.

Transfer of Training – indicates that an earlier habit influences the performance of later habit. Bilateral transfer occurs when one part of the body facilitates learning by another. Positive effect occurs when similarity in skills is established. Negative effect occurs if the skills have been mastered and if major changes are attempted.

Level of Aspiration – is the level to which one aspires, a standard set by a person by which success or failure can be personally gauged. In sports, choosing a realistic level as a strong motivator makes the learning effective.

Plateau – is a transition stage, which is only a temporary stagnation phase where the rate of improvement in learning is at the minimum. With appropriate corrective measures, this stage can be overcome. The duration of plateau stage varies from person to person.

Mental Practice – with physical activity results in early learning and aids in better performance by chalking out appropriate game strategies.

STAGES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PREPARATION

Stage 1: Psychodiagnosis

When a training camp commences, after the initial rapport is established with the players, it is desirable to have the base level of the psychological parameters. This will help the coach to have a general view of the psychological status of each player. The psychodiagnosis includes psychological tests, which have to be designed keeping in mind the demands of the particular game, age and skill level.

Broadly, the psychological tests can include the area of psychomotor abilities, information processing, personality, motivation and socio-psychological factors. The coach can identify the dominant psychological state of player. The testing is to be conducted during selection trials or even when the training camps are in progress. Testing during selection helps the coach to have an idea of the kind of tasks the player would suit.

Stage 2: Psychological Recommendations

After the psychological assessment is done in the first stage, psycho-pedagogical recommendations are given. The recommendation is to be given to all the personnel involved with the team – coaches, teammates, players, family friends, doctor and other paramedical staff.

For example, a casual remark by a masseur that a player’s muscles are not relaxed or any such negative statement while working with the player can become a source of worry and hinder high level performance. Well meaning close associates of the player can also cause anxiety prior to the competition by their over-concern or over-indulgence.

In such instances, it is recommended to refrain from doing things that could cause deterioration in performance. The recommendation can be given for appropriate selection of the sport for young children, besides developing the required skills of the players during the period of training camps. For example, if the visual skills of a hockey player have to be developed, the psychologist along with the coach can formulate exercises for the same. The recommendation can be provided for the choice of game, for the coaches to decide the kind of training to be imparted.

Stage 3: Psychological Preparation

The psychological preparation of the coach is important because it is he who is looked upto in times of crises. He is the person who inspires the player to think about new and interesting task variations. A coach often succumbs to pressure from the society, and his or her self-worth is associated with the team's performance. Hence winning becomes an important issue.

However, it is vital that the coach doesn't lose his nerve under pressure or become dictatorial. Coaches should take adequate measures to remain a counselor, adviser and most importantly, a person who provides knowledge and wisdom to young players.

Psychological preparation of a team will include different exercises to improve upon those qualities that have been evaluated. The psychologist and the coach should be sensitive to observing the motivational levels of a player and the group dynamics of the team. This is especially important in team sports.

Psychological stress management has to be an integral part of the training. Stress can destroy a sports person's self-confidence and cause digression from tactical skills. It can cause burnout in a sportsperson at a crucial time in an important competition.

Psychological training should be individually directed for each trainee, and it should include relaxation training, stress management, positive thinking, regulation of self, training for improving concentration and psychological energy control. While practically doing the above training, it is important that the sportsperson develops a self-awareness of his initial level. While training is in progress, after each session, the trainee has to be encouraged to record the effects, observations and associated feelings. The training log will thus provide a feedback of the effectiveness of the training program, and it can even be modified if needed.

Stage 4: Psychological Control

Psychological control during competition will be achieved if the sportsperson has learned the management techniques during the long-term training. In competitions which are prolonged, self-control and regulation of arousal becomes important so that performance is not negatively affected.

Often during a critical period of the competition, even well-meaning suggestions offered by a coach elicits little change in the player’s behavior. This is due to the stress that the player is undergoing. However, if the athlete is able to regulate his activation, positive improvement can occur.

Therefore, a coach should be cognizant of the activation demand of the task, and the individual level of the sportsperson. Self-control and self-regulation gains significance because on the playfield, the player is competing alone or with his teammates only. It is in the best interests of the game that the coach or psychologist leaves the player alone without excessive interference.

Stage 5: Evaluation

Every competition provides feedback of strengths, weaknesses and the strategies used. Based on these, future strategies can be chalked out. The emotion which follows is often related to the outcome of the competition. Each player will interpret his unique contribution to the result of the competition differently.

For instance, a player from the winning team can feel depressed if he feels his role was not successfully executed. Likewise, a loss is not necessarily an unsuccessful effort. Therefore, during the process of evaluation, the coach should be extra cautious while interpreting the present and formulating future strategies. The experience and the background of a player is to be considered individually. After ensuring proper rest and relaxation, a coach can offer objective, constructive criticism in precise terms to each player irrespective of the win or loss of the game. This would provide direction for future competitions to follow.