The HSC PDHPE syllabus asks you to compare psychology in different sports. This post looks at three (3) all of which slightly old, but still worth considering.
Tiger Woods
Tiger is arguably the best golfer of all time. In the video below, his coach attributes much of his success to his creativity in visualisation. In his game he is focused, with clear uncluttered mind, allowing the performance to happen, rather than thinking about it.
Tiger also uses a pre shot routine and says that when under pressure he is calmer than when he is not. He prefers the pressure.
Johnny Wilkinson
Johnny was the best kicker in Rugby Union in recent years. He attributes his success to creating pressure during training, and becoming accustomed to the pressure. He tries not to overthink things in the moment and getting the little things right.
Case Study 3 – Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps holds the record for the most medals and most gold medals won at the Olympics. Like Michael Jordan, Phelps uses the pressure and criticism or trash talk as ammunition to motivate him to perform. Phelps uses visualisation well, planning for various scenarios so that he knows how to respond to them. This increases his confidence and improves his chances of performing at his best.
By way of comparison, these athletes all use fairly similar methods and goals in order to perform their best. All use visualisation to improve their game and enjoy the pressure that is added during the key points in competition.
You may also like to view this TedX talk, which discusses various psychological strategies used by athletes in different sports.
Further case studies from different sports can be found on our Factors Affecting Performance Youtube playlist here. You may also like to listen to Thurston reflect on the 2015 NRL Grand Final below.
