Coaches Toolbox: A Career As A Sports Coach

Coaches Toolbox Coaches are very influential in their players lives. Their influence can be for the good of the player or can be detrimental to their performance. Some of the greatest coaches in history used a variety of sport psychology concepts and techniques to help their athletes reach peak performance. Since I am seeking a career in the field of coaching, it is essential that I gain the knowledge and know how to implement some of these techniques to help better my clients. This project will highlight major concepts that athletes can use to help increase their performance. One method athletes can use is breath control or a deep breathing technique. Breath control is one of the easiest, most effective ways to control anxiety and muscle …show more content…
This form of relaxation involves tensing and relaxing specific muscles. Progressive relaxation rests on a few assumptions: it is possible to learn the difference between tension and relaxation; and tension and relaxation are mutually exclusive. It is not possible to be relaxed and tense at the same time; and relaxation of the body through decreased muscle tension will, in turn, decrease mental tension. These cycles of tension and relaxation help to develop the body’s awareness of the difference between tension and the lack of tension. This would be practiced by identifying the most critical muscles the athletes use during performance and addressing them with progressive relaxation. Each cycle would involve maximally contracting, for 5 seconds, one specific muscle group, for instance the hand, and then attempting to fully relax that same muscle group. Teaching the body to inhale as they maximally contract the muscle group and to exhale as they relate the tension. This will train the body to relax the muscles when associated with …show more content…
This is an important quality to have because it can enhance performance when used in the right manner. Through the Inverted U hypothesis, one can see that when arousal levels become to high they can influence performance levels in a negative way. The same can be said with too low levels of arousal. According to the Inverted U, one must maintain an appropriate level of arousal in order to gain peak performance. As a coach, this is very important to know how your clients or athletes react to certain stimuli. Being able to recognize if an athlete is to aroused or not aroused enough could be the difference between peak performance or low performance. If an athlete is too amped up it would be important for the coach to try and calm them down through breathing techniques or relaxation. It may be necessary for a coach to give an upbeat pep talk to increase the arousal of some athletes to wake them up and better prepare them for their