“KNOT” being the Best Athlete that You can be?

Here are a couple of things to help you improve and enhance your athletic performance…

Did you know that by receiving Sports Massage Therapy and stretching can prevent sports injuries and enhance your performance no matter what sport you participate in? Let’s first begin by explaining what Sports Massage Therapy is and then why stretching is so important.

What is Sports Massage Therapy?

Sports Massage Therapy (SMT) is a type of massage that uses specific massage techniques that enhance or relax the muscles for your specific sport or event. Sports massage therapy is essential for optimum treatment of certain injuries and becomes part of an athlete’s conditioning. This applies to Olympic athletes, professional athletes, and college athletes. They incorporate this into their athletic regimens; so why shouldn’t you do the same?

What are the benefits of SMT?

Several benefits to receiving Sports Massage Therapy

1. Improves flexibility and elasticity of muscles
2. Reduces the tightness and/or soreness
3. Boosts power and performance
4. Decreases the chance of injury
5. Speeds up recovery time
6. Improves range of motion (ROM)
7. Restores mobility to injured muscle tissue
8. Increases the flow of blood and nutrients
9. Helps eliminate muscle cramps and/or muscle spasms

How can SMT specifically help you as an athlete?

Between practicing, working out, training and then playing a sport, your body is put under a lot of strain as you push your muscles to their limit. When muscles become overwhelmed they can cramp up or spasm and if left untreated you could end up with a sport injury. Then something even worse may happen, you get injured and you’re on the bench or worse yet, out for the season. Massage therapy helps break up the “knots” and/or scar tissue as well as releases the toxins within the muscles. Once the muscle releases and become loose, there is an improved range of motion (ROM), flexibility and the chance of injury has decreased. The best part of receiving a sports massage, as you begin to run, cycle, play football, basketball, soccer, baseball, tennis, swimming, hockey etc. is your improved and enhanced performance, which allows you to be the best athlete you can be. When receiving a sports massage it can even lengthen your gait. Because your muscles now have the capability to extend further you are able to have a bigger gait allowing you to run faster. Examples: if you are a football receiver, you can run down the field faster; if you are a baseball player you can run to home plate faster; if you are a soccer player you can out run your opponent to score a goal; if you are a basketball player you can run faster to make that layup shot; if you are a runner, you can decrease your finish time. I think you get the picture. The benefits for each sport and muscle group just go on and on…

Why is stretching so important?

Now that you know the importance of receiving a sports massage, it is also and just as important to stretch. Stretching is something that is easy that you can do on your own once the correct stretches are shown for each muscle groups. Keeping your muscles flexible and mobile is the key in reducing the chance of injury. Stretching should be a part of your athletic regimen every day just as you are on a specific nutritional diet, exercise, strength training, receiving sports massage therapy treatments and meet with a trainer or coach. You do all of these things to help you achieve your athletic goal. Why not add stretching as another tool to help you? Olympians, professional athletes, and collegiate athletes all stretch every time they practice, hit the field, court, pavement etc. and most of them receive a sports massage therapy. Why? Because it helps to improve and enhance their performance and helps prevent sports injuries.

Sports Massage Therapy and stretching can improve and enhance your performance, decrease recovery time and keep you at your peak allowing you to achieve maximum results time and time again. So get the “knots” out and be the best athlete you can be! Receive a Sports Massage today and feel the benefits and let us help you become a better athlete.

You can learn more about Sports Massage Therapy and about the massage therapist by checking out this website www.thesportsmassage.com or by calling 704-277-4169.

Jessica L. Marriott, NCTMB, LMBT



Jessica L. Marriott, NCTMB, LMBT is a nationally certified and licensed by North Carolina. She has been a therapist for over 12 years. She loves to watch and play sports. She has always been an athlete and has played some type of sport most of her life. She love helping people especially athletes. She has worked on professional athletes such as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Cobras as well as the "every day athlete". She helped athletes in a variety of sports ranging from hockey, football, soccer, basketball, baseball, golf and tennis as well as dancers, gymnast, runners, cyclist, and tri-athletes. As your sports massage therapist she strives to help you become a better athlete by helping you achieve your goals and help improve and enhance your performance.


Charlotte Licensed Sports Massage Therapist

Charlotte Leading Strength/ Speed Coach Expert and Personal Trainer

Stretching Can Hurt Speed Training

Here are some of the dynamic exercises in the video (lunge walk, high knee, Frankenstein, lateral lunge walk, leg swings forward and side to side, butt kicks, and curtsy walk).

Flexibility training is perhaps the most undervalued component of speed training. While recent and ongoing debates question its role in injury prevention, athletes can still gain much from a stretching regime. Flexibility is defined as the range of motion about joint surrounding muscles during a passive movement. Passive movement refers to gravity or partner assisting the movement instead of actual muscle contraction to activate the stretch. This article is dedicated to explaining why flexibility is important in developing speed. In addition, we will look at the difference types of stretching and when to use them, when they are beneficial, and when they are detrimental in an athlete’s speed workout. We also will discuss how to stretch and develop a stretching program for a speed workout.

Flexibility may reduce injury and increase range of motion ROM. There are factors that also affect flexibility:

Age: flexibility particularly extensibility decreases with age
Gender: Females exhibit greater ROM
Activity: those that are active are more flexible
Internal tissue temperature: temperature influences ROM which is why it is important to warm up before stretching. Athletes should take 10-15 minutes after their workout for static stretching and should concentrate at least 30 seconds per muscle group.
Injury: scar tissue from previous injury affects ROM in a joint

A more flexible athlete equals a more mobile athlete. A good flexibility regiment enhances movement on the court and field and causes athletes to have a greater ease of movement as well as increases the body’s awareness and promote relaxation. For instance, take the hip flexor muscles which are one of the most important muscle groups for running. The hip flexor is located above the thigh and affects the stride length and stride frequency (which is the most important) of athletes. Increasing flexibility in the hip flexor results in an increase in stride length. Athletes in different sports have varying flexibility needs in order to avoid injuries. For example, sprinter type athletes (soccer players, football players, rugby players, basketball players, and baseball players) have a much larger movement and ROM requirement for their sport in comparison to an endurance/ distance runner. As a result, the sprinters would need more of a flexibility regiment than the distance runners. In addition, even though flexibility is important, it can vary between individuals.


Static stretching is the most common form of stretching and is a more traditional way to improve flexibility. Static stretching just prior to an event may be detrimental to actual performance due to the nature of the stretch and hold component. It is performed with no bouncing during the stretch and there is no emphasis on speed. The athlete holds the stretch for at least 30 seconds. It should be incorporated into the cool-down phase of a training session. Static stretches are often simple to learn and perform and require little effort.

However, dynamic stretching is more beneficial because it mimics the actual movements that will be engaged in the events and activities. It should be done after a proper warm up prior to training. Dynamic flexibility is performing stretches or movements that would simulate the actual movement required of the activity. These movements are performed at similar speed to the movement and differ from ballistic stretches in that they do not involve any bouncing or jerky movements.

Sample stretching workout

Dynamic stretching
Lunge walk
Butt kicks
Frankenstein
Lateral Lunge walk
One sided carioca
Curtsy walk
High knees
Skipping
Figure 4
Spiderman
Backward runs
Leg Swing (Forward/ Lateral)

Static Stretches
Hamstring Stretch
Sit on the ground with both legs straight out in front of you.
Bend the left leg and place the sole of the left foot alongside the knee of the right leg.
Allow the left leg to lie relaxed on the ground.
Bend forward keeping the back straight.
You will feel the stretch in the hamstring of the right leg.
Repeat with the other leg.

Calf Stretch
Stand tall with one leg in front of the other, hands flat and at shoulder height against a wall.
Ease your back leg further away from the wall, keeping it straight and press the heel firmly into the floor.
Keep your hips facing the wall and the rear leg and spine in a straight line.
You will feel the stretch in the calf of the rear leg.
Repeat with the other leg.

Hip and Thigh Stretch
Stand tall with you feet approximately two shoulder widths apart.
Turn the feet and face to the right.
Bend the right leg so that the right thigh is parallel with the ground and the right lower leg is vertical.
Gradually lower the body.
Keep you back straight and use the arms to balance.
You will feel the stretch along the front of the left thigh and along the hamstrings of the right leg.
Repeat by turning and facing to the left.

Adductor Stretch
Stand tall with you feet approximately two shoulder widths apart.
Bend the right leg and lower the body.
Keep you back straight and use the arms to balance.
You will feel the stretch in the left leg adductor.
Repeat with the left leg.

Groin Stretch
Sit with tall posture.
Ease both of your feet up towards your body and place the soles of your feet together, allowing your knees to come up and out to the side.


Charlotte Leading Speed and Strength Coach

What Every Speed Program Should Have

One of the most sought after athletic attributes is speed, unfortunately it is also one of the most difficult areas to improve. One of the biggest mistakes made when training for speed is focusing mainly on running mechanics and speed and agility drills. Minor improvements in speed may be seen by improving running mechanics, however real speed is not attainable without good core strength, leg strength, and efficient movement. Here are a few areas that athletes need to address when improving their performance in any sport.

1. Core stability. For an athlete to reach his or her full strength and power potential there must be a specific focus on core stability and strength. Any speed program should originate from or through the core. A well-developed core allows for improved force output, increased neuromuscular efficiency and decreased chance of injury. Core strength training provides the athlete with a solid base around which all athletic movement occurs. The center of all power and strength in the human body used to make explosive athletic movements originate in the core of the body. The core is the center that coordinates all human movements. The more quality training performed with the core, the more potential the athlete has to transfer the training to their specific sport and enhance performance.

2. Agility. Athletic movements are often quick, ballistic and powerful. Athletes are required to start, stop and change directions in an instant. Agility is the ability to change directions quickly and explosively on command or in reaction to a stimulus. Agility is the process of accelerating then decelerating to a quick stop and then accelerating to top speed. Agility drills are an effective way to increase and athlete’s quickness and reaction time.

3. Flexibility. Flexibility training is perhaps the most undervalued component of speed training. While recent and ongoing debates question its role in injury prevention, athletes can still gain much from a stretching regime. Flexibility may reduce injury and increase range of motion ROM. A more flexible athlete equals a more mobile athlete. A good flexibility regiment enhances movement on the court and field and causes athletes to have a greater ease of movement as well as increases the body’s awareness and promotes relaxation.

4. Balance and coordination. Balance and the ability to react to auditory and visual cues are all important elements of coordination. Balance training helps the athlete develop good coordination through a series of balance exercises that progress from simple static poses to more dynamic drills. With more advanced exercises the athlete is challenged to maintain balance at increased speeds and in constantly changing environments. Training the athletes to have control of their bodies in space is the main focal point.

5. Strength training. The stronger the athlete is, the faster they will be able to run. Performance enhanced strength training, especially in the off-season, is the initial basis for improved performance in the next season. By getting stronger, athletes are able to work longer and harder in developing our skills in practice. It can help to create more power in each of their sprint / running strokes and therefore increase their speed output.

Regardless of the sport the athlete competes in, these 5 main components are the focal points that should be address when training to improve the playing speed of an athlete in their sport.


Speed and Strength Coach in Charlotte NC

Top 5 Sports Every Child Should Play

As a kid, my mother never allowed me to play organized football early on, even though each year I would ask her to sign me up in the local Pop Warner organization. However, what she did do was sign me up for a plethora of other sports such as soccer, t-ball, baseball, and basketball to name a few. I never really understood why she wasted her time (and mine) with making me play those boring sports when she knew my heart was in football. Maybe she knew that I needed those motor skills from the other sports to make me a better athlete in football. (Nah! I think she was scared seeing her only son out there on the football field). I guess whatever the reason I thank her for it because it made me a better athlete overall in the long run.

When I work with youth athletes the main stories that usually have me cringe and run for cover deal with the adults (coaches and parents).

The first scenario deals with the over-zealous, poorly educated coach that prides his program or team on how many wins or league championships that he has taken then to thus robbing the kid of a great experience and potentially being one of the factors that cause the kid to drop out early in that particular sport never to play again. Instead, less focus should be placed on the outcomes of the sports (though we do want our athletes to develop that drive to be the best that they possibly can be without developing a quitter's attitude), and more focus should be placed on teaching and instructing the proper way to play the sport and building a firm foundation not only physically but mentally by addressing the motor skills needed at that particular age.

Coaches are so often limited in their knowledge about the necessary building blocks needed for physical success for the age group that they are coaching. In many cases, they are just volunteers, who may have had some experience with sports because they either played or watched the game and have been asked by the head of the organization to coach the team because no one else is proficient enough to take on the task. Less time is spent on building a foundation of motor skill development and addressing the bio-mechanical needs of the group, while more time is spent on drilling the kids with age-inappropriate drills that usually predispose the child to learning the technique wrong (in which most cases an expert has to re-teach the drill correctly) or predispose the child to injury.

The second most common scene is the parents who are way too invested in the success of their kid. They either themselves are constantly training their kid, or the kid is participating year round in sport. Many children today start specializing in one sport way too early -- playing year-round, joining competitive club or travel teams and participating in specialized training programs -- believing they'll put themselves on the fast track to college scholarships or maybe even a pro sports career.

But for too many of these kids, that fast track leads straight to injuries, sometimes serious ones. More concentration should be on allowing the kid to participate in as many different sports as possible so that it exposes them to a variety of motor skills and different presentations/ situations for those motor skills.


A story was once told to me about a parent who had their kid participating in baseball. This kid played pitcher. The parents were so invested in wanting their kid to be the best in town that they had enrolled him into three different leagues simultaneously in three different towns that were in close proximity with one another. The kid would play the first game, hop in the car drive over to the next town and pitch in second game. Once the second game was over, he would participate as the starting pitcher in the final game one town over. When the story was presented to me, the storyteller posed the question should this be considered a form of 'child abuse'? Of course, this story is extreme but my point is that year round training exactly stunts the growth of the athlete in the long run because it can predispose them to detrimental outcomes (1) burn out/ early drop out which could result in being turned off to fitness altogether and (2) overuse injuries i.e. Little Leaguer's Elbow.

Youth sports have become big business in this country. If you don't believe me, then turn on your television, you can find some type of sporting event sponsored by some big corporation promoting the youth event. Don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer that sports are one of the best tutors to nurture and develop kids into becoming great leaders and possessing great skills sets that can be utilized over a lifetime; however, the emphasis should not be placed on the wins and loses. The emphasis should be on developing a 'global' athlete and preparing them for the next phase in their athletic career.

My athletic career is similar to the above. I loved to play football. I couldn't get enough of it. Even though, some of my best experience during the years was learned playing football, I truly felt as if I was underdeveloped as an athlete skill wise when transitioning from one competitive level to the next. It was seen when I moved from Pop Warner to high school football. I had to learn twice as hard as my teammates because I couldn’t comprehend and demonstrate the necessary skill sets needed to play on the high school level. While playing Pop Warner, the coaches' main focus was outcome driven- going to the next bowl game or trying to have a perfect season. Less time was spent on the fundamentals of football i.e. receiving a hand off properly from the line of scrimmage or switching the ball from one hand to the other properly. I just couldn't do it. So, I had to practice and teach myself the fundamentals during the off-season or after practice so that I could compete and keep up with my teammates. Likewise, the same happened when I transitioned from high school to college (which I was constantly reminded daily by my college defensive back coach). There were areas that my college coaches were amazed (and usually frustrated with me) because I couldn't perform. As you know, on this stage the stakes are the highest and usually patience for error is at a all time low. The end result cost me playing time and even scholarship money. I always felt like the kid that had to "catch up" with learning the skills needed to excel not only in the sport but excel at the position that I was playing. This is the reason why when I train youth today, the majority of my coaching style is based upon teaching the fundamentals needed to not only excel with performance at the current level, but be a ‘global’ athlete with a strong foundation of motor skills.


So what sports should a young athlete start off participating in?

Here are the top 5 sports that a young athlete should play early on:

1. Tennis-it's fun and keeps the child in shape and develops the child hand-eye coordination and kinesthetic differentiation of ball play. Kinesthetic differentiation refers to the knowledge of how much force is necessary to produce a desired result. Kids have to judge how hard they need to hit the ball in order for it to stay in play and score. Likewise, it teaches great mental development in strategic play with placing the ball away from the opponent to score. Also it's great for developing balance and reaction skills.

2. Soccer-improves on foot dexterity and hand-eye coordination. It is a great opportunity to also stimulate their mental capacities as well base upon the tactical nature of soccer which can be applied to other field and court sports. Examples of tactical development is seen with learning the give and go, moving without the ball to invade the opponent's space, etc. Also it is great for developing change of direction (i.e. agility), explosive movement and acceleration and deceleration training- going from a near standing position to a full sprint and back to static position.

3. Swimming-every muscle is used in this sport which builds great mobility in the shoulder and hip joints. At the same rate, it adds a great deal of pliability to the frame of a young athlete. Additionally, kinesthetic differentiation is developed in this sport. Swimming is the essence of building kinesthetic differentiation – kids simply won’t last long in a pool if they put as much force as possible into every stroke.

4. Gymnastics and dance (yes, dance is cool thanks to former NFL running back, Emmitt Smith and 'Dancing With The Stars')-spatial awareness, flexibility, upper and lower body strength, coordination, being able to control and manipulate their body, dynamic and static balance, etc are all learned with participating in these sports. Just the ability to learn how to fall properly is priceless because it can prevent injury for any sport that they participate in.

5. Martial arts-not for the brutal or self defense component, but to stimulate their mind and teach self discipline (which is important in sport and life), balance, spatial awareness, coordination development, as well as overall fitness.

Here is a mock annual calendar for the youth athlete:

Summer-Dance/gymnastics
Fall-Soccer
Winter-Indoor Swimming
Spring-Martial Arts/ Tennis

Parents should seek out a programs, performance coaches/trainers, and/or coaches that expose their child to a wide variety of components in motor skill development. They should enroll their children in seasonal sports instead of year-round programs geared towards one sport. If parents keep to a schedule as the above then they will alleviate a lot of the risk discussed in this article (1) their athlete will stay stimulated and engaged because of the constant change in activity. (2) injury due to overuse injuries is minimized. (3) the child is able to develop the motor skills needed to become a 'global' athlete which spells FUTURE SUCCESS.

Until next time, keep playing and keep active.

Reference: Brian Grasso http://www.DevelopingAthletics.com

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

Global Training for Youth Athletes

The majority of my information on today's topic is taken from one of the leading youth fitness experts in the world, Mr. Brian Grasso.


With that said let's get started.

Remember back in the day when you were a kid, you would go outside and play multiple games throughout the day. The day may start off with you and the fellows walking to your neighbor's house to ask and see if your best friend could come out but during that trip you wouldn't just walk on the sidewalk like normal kids, you would walk on the edge of the sidewalk to test your balance and coordination or play "Don't step on the crack cause it'll break your momma's back. Remember that was the game where you jumped the lines that separated the slobs of cement from each other on the sidewalk. Once everyone got outside you guys may warm up by playing a quick game of freeze tag. Then progress to playing some type of sport rather it was touch football, or basketball, or some type of organized play depending on the season that was in or televised on tv. Afterward, somebody would notion everyone going to get their bikes so you guys could ride up to the corner store to get some candy or something. And if you didn't have a bike, then you either rode standing on the back spokes of the guy who did have a bike, or you rode on the front handlebars as he used you as his personal Tom Tom navigation system. And at the end the day you guys may have orchestrated "the fastest kid in the neighborhood" race so to see who was the fastest kid in the neighborhood.

I had the opportunity this week to work with one of the local high schools where I currently reside. Before working with them, the coach and I met so that I had a clear vision on what goals she wanted for her team. I thought her response was going to be for me to come in and bring out all the toys and whistles that I have i.e. the agility ladder or some piece of agility/ speed equipment. But I was pleasantly surprised because that was not the case. What she said her number one goal that she wanted me to work with her girl's basketball team on was developing and improving upon their global skills and motor skills instead of concentrating on sports specific training.

Some reading this article may ask why???

And here is the answer. FOUNDATION.


Most parents, coaches, and trainers have narrow goals when designing a program for their youth athlete. However, like yesterday's post, the main goal for youth athletes should be for them to master the different motor skill components of coordination before they are introduced to more complex topics or sport specific drills and subjects. A global development of training approach not only ensures success in the future for the athlete but also prevents future injury.



The goal in early training for youth is to develop coordination through movement based stimuli so that they graduate later in their adolescence and post adolescence years to a more sports specific type of training that parents, coaches, and trainers are accustom to seeing and more familiar with their athlete participating in. First, let's define coordination. Most reading this post may think of coordination being a single ability or single skill; however, coordination is made up of several elements that work together. These elements are balance, rhythm, spatial orientation, and the ability to react to auditory and visual cues. An example of a coordination program would be a young athlete performing some type of spatial awareness exercise with no speed involved in the beginning and later progress to the same skill with the incorporation of a speed component combined with a change in the environment to make it more challenging for the athlete to master.


Research points out that coordination development is best introduced between the ages of 7-14 with the most crucial period of learning and training being in the period of 10-13. At the age of 16 usually is when the athlete has optimized the development of coordination. As a result, the drills planned should be age appropriate and structured so that it is challenging but yet fun for optimal results. Athletes who have a firm foundation with coordination development are far better athletes in the long term than athletes who are never exposed or are exposed to coordination/ global training later in their athletic career after these prescribed ages.


Why you might ask?


Because it is all about building a firm foundation to work upon. I like to use the analogy of a Jenga game, in which one piece missing could be detrimental in the end and cause the whole structure to fall. Thus young athletes should have a firm foundation so that they become a successful and healthy athlete in the long term.

Coordination development is a process of years of exposure to diverse yet versatile exercises and training. Coaches, parents, and trainers must understand that coordination training is a process and that each component builds upon the other. This statement alone should cause parents, coaches, and trainers to sit up and pay more close attention. Young athletes should have an opportunity to be exposed to different kinds of sports on a yearly basis so that they are introduced to a variety of coordination skills that they ordinarily would not be exposed to if they were to play the same sport year-round. Parents and coaches should not concentrate so much on sport-specific and specialized training for young athletes early on because it causes a faulty, weak foundation in the long term.

In addition, parents, coaches, and trainers should not wait to introduce global training in the beginning of an athlete's adolescent years because of the rapid changes that occur in their bodies during this period of time. The best time to introduce global training is during the pre-adolescence years when the athlete's nervous system is still highly plausible and their motor skill learning has not become fully developed permanently. Once the athlete masters the pre-adolescent stage, the next level to build upon is their adolescent years in which the main goal should be to refine those skills that were introduced in the pre-adolescent stage. Then and only then should the concentration be shifted to a more sports-specific or specialized type of environment for the athlete, which we will call the post-adolescence stage.

I must address the issue of genetics as it relates to global training. Less coordinated athletes will never exhibit the coordination of well-skilled athletes no matter how much global training they receive; however, improvement will be seen and achieved on a more personal level.

So to recap all that was covered today these are the base points that parents, coaches, and trainers should consider when training a young athlete in the beginning:


1. Start young – coordination improves as a result of learning and mastering new movements. Start young athletes off early with coordination-based exercises that challenge their abilities (within reason). The more coordination a young athlete has, the more ability he or she will display at any perspective sport.


2. Challenge young athletes on an individual and appropriate level – Some youngsters have good balance while others display good rhythm. The key to successful coaching is to undercover what elements of coordination each athlete requires and develop drills/exercises that most suitably target the weaknesses.


3. Change exercises frequently – young athletes learn quickly in most cases. Be sure to challenge them physically and intellectually with new exercises often.

Until then keep working hard. Tomorrow we will look at what sports every kid must play in order to be an overall stud on the field/ court/ or rink.

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

How to Deal with Pre-Game Anxiety: 'The Jitters' part I

The movie Any Given Sunday, by Oliver Stone, is a great movie on every level of the game of football. I love the motivational speech at the end entitled "Inch By Inch" that Al Pacino gives in the locker room right before their wild card game. I love how they show the seriousness and the battle that the medical staff have to go through throughout the season with making decisions on who really can play and who sits. I love how they showed both sides of the athlete's decision making process of when they could play and when they couldn't play, for example Laurence Taylor's character vs LL Cool J's character. The part of the movie that I wanted to concentrate on the most is pre-competition anxiety or jitters. Remember when Willie Beaman, played by Jamie Foxx, was asked to go in after both quarterbacks had gotten hurt? He was so unprepared mentally that it affected his performance. At the start of the movie, we find our friend Willie over on the sideline reading a newspaper and eating sunflower seeds. The quarterback coach has to yell at him to find his helmet and go in because he was over there acting like he had an all expense paid vacation to Club Med. Remember how unprepared and rattled he looked in the game? Remember the part where he vomited in the huddle before calling the play? Remember how he got under the tackle instead of the center to call the play? Remember even when Al Pacino called a timeout after the first play was over at the beginning of the second half and he talked on the sideline with Willie? Remember Willie's words were something of the nature that the game was going too fast? These are all examples of the pre-game jitters.

Now the movie had to sale and progress on so they had to make ole Willie get his act together during the course of the third quarter in the movie. Actually it was just a couple of series and he was able to overcome the jitters that he had and threw a touchdown to tie the game in the second half.

That depiction of his pre-game routine was accurate with how athletes' mental preparation is key to how well or poorly they perform during the actual game. I had a similar situation when I was a red-shirted sophomore in college playing football. I got so nervous before the game that my performance was horrible. I was on the traveling team, but I wasn't expecting to start for another three weeks. However, the first string safety had gotten hurt during the week and they made an adjustment to start me hours before the kick off at pre-game meetings. I was extremely nervous. I remember going back to the dorm to get the rest of my stuff after pregame meal and feeling like my whole world was turning upside down. I couldn't think straight for nothing. From the time that I went to my dorm until the time I was on the field everything seemed to be going fast. I can remember later thinking how the time felt like it did when I was in a car wreck, how things seemed to speed up after the impact. All the information that I had practiced was gone. It was like I had never played or started football ever in my life. I had been a starter in every facet of my career up until that point (little league to high school). Needless to say, my actual performance was horrific. It was so horrible that my coach pulled me and they put the third string safety in to play the entire game.

No matter how good you are, sometimes you’re going to choke.

So what was the problem?

What I was going through was what sports psychologist and mental coaches refer to as pre-competition anxiety. Commonly known as the jitters or butterflies, accept in my case, and in Willie's case, we were experiencing it at the highest level possible to the point that our performance suffered dramatically.

Pre-competitive anxiety is a state of arousal that is unpleasant or negative and occurs during the 24 hour span prior to competition. The worry that is associated with PCA is not just experienced with our heads, but with our entire body. Our bodies provide us with numerous cues such as muscle tension, butterflies, desire to urinate and cotton mouth that suggests that we are
out of control. Our thoughts become self-focused, self defeating and negative. Most of us will have a combination of these responses during the pre-competitive period. However, the degree to which they influence our performance is largely dependent upon the interaction of our own uniqueness and the competitive situation.

WHAT ARE THE SOURCES OF PCA?

Pre-competitive anxiety results from an imbalance between perceived capabilities and the demands of the sport environment. When the perceived demands are balanced by the perceived capabilities you experience optimal arousal, often refereed to as the flow state or what we commonly know as 'the zone'. In this state, everything appears to go smoothly, almost effortlessly. However, if your perceived capabilities exceed the sport challenge, arousal will decrease, resulting in boredom or lack of motivation. If the opposite occurs (perceived challenges exceed capabilities), you will become over aroused, resulting in worry and anxiety. As you can see, then, PCA results when skills and abilities are not perceived as equivalent to the sport challenge.
Research has demonstrated that at least five factors underlie PCA:

1. physical complaints—digestive disturbances, shaking and yawning;
2. fear of failure—losing, choking, living up to expectations, and making mistakes;
3. feelings of inadequacy—unprepared, poor conditioning, low skill/ability,and feelings that something is wrong;
4. loss of control—being jinxed, bad luck, poor officiating, and inclement weather; and
5. guilt—concerns about hurting an opponent, playing dirty, and cheating. Whether or not you experience PCA is dependent upon several factors, such as skill level, experience, and your general level of arousal in daily activities.

HOW CAN PCA AFFECT PERFORMANCE?

There are two primary ways that PCA can affect your performance.

First, a high state of physical arousal may be counterproductive to your particular sport activity. For sports requiring endurance, power, or both, PCA can be very draining on an athlete's energy level. In sports where calmness is critical (e.g., golf, archery, free-throw shooting), PCA can significantly interfere with your ability to stay calm. A high state of physical arousal can also interfere with sports requiring a focused channeling of power. The increased tension usually interferes with this channeling. Examples of such sports include hitting in baseball, karate, and field events such as javelin, discus, and shot put.

Second, research has demonstrated that anxiety can significantly interfere with your ability to think clearly. When you are anxious, your thoughts generally turn inward to focus on yourself, which may result in an inappropriate focusing of attention. Actions that were once automatic require constant thought, which further interferes with your ability to adjust to make quick, on-the-spot decisions. In addition, these thoughts may be negative and result in preoccupation with what you can't do, rather than what you can do.

DOES NERVOUSNESS ALWAYS LEAD TO BAD PERFORMANCES?

Definitely not. Whenever you anticipate an event that is important to you, it is normal to feel some nervousness. In fact, it is a sign of readiness. This type of readiness is known as positive arousal and is usually referring to many of the physical cues you experience. Elite athletes channel this energy to work for them rather than against them. Answers to the following
questions may help you distinguish between positive arousal and negative anxiety:

1. How much does my sport require me lobe 'pumped' as I enter the competition? Some sports may require a higher state of arousal (e.g., weight lifting) than others (e.g., golf).
2. Do I often have thoughts of self-doubt about my ability?
3. Do I often have thoughts about factors that are beyond my control? Answering "Yes" to the last two questions are indication that you are moving from positive arousal to negative anxiety. If you find yourself nervous but still confident in your ability, that is a sign of readiness. However, worrying about your ability to perform at levels that you normally are able to perform with ease, or worrying about factors over which you have no control may interfere with your ability to enter a competition mentally ready.

Tomorrow we will go over strategies that both players and coaches can utilize to help deal with overcoming pre-competition anxiety.

Until then keep moving.
Personal Trainer and Sports Psychologist Consultant in Charlotte NC