Athletes and coaches often obsess on the mechanics involved in perfecting a sport skill (like a golf swing or batting stance), usually doing so at the expense of fully understanding the impact mental toughness has on executing a sport skill. For example, the average golfer will spend an inordinate amount of time watching videos, taking lessons, and hitting balls at a driving range in an attempt to “perfect” a swing, yet spend no time at all in learning how human arousal impacts confidence, focus, fine motor skill movement, and the ability to master and execute golf shots. My point is that if you are tense and tight, it doesn’t matter how much you study sports techniques as your real problem is one of anxiety control, not sport knowledge.
What often gets lost in the pursuit to master muscle movements is the degree that confidence (or self efficacy) impacts how successful athletes are at their sport. It’s ironic, but having confidence can actually help an otherwise “imperfect” athlete (poor athletic form) still go on to become a great athlete. Hideo Nomo (pictured pitching) used a style no baseball pitching coach would recommend, and Rick Barry (pictured below) had the unorthodox method of shooting free throws underhand. Neither athlete’s style was anywhere near “textbook,” yet each went on to have outstanding careers in their respective sports.
Think about it for a moment – when you feel really good, you usually perform well, too. Unfortunately, many athletes feel good when practicing alone, but then experience a loss of focus, increased anxiety, and decreased self-confidence when playing against serious competition. If the athlete performs poorly, he usually goes right back to perfecting the techniques involved in his sport, while never making the connection that the technique he is learning is largely dependent on being confident when doing it in real games and matches.
What all this suggests is that while technique is important, it may not be as important as you first think. It also means that athletes who take the time to learn how to control human arousal, improve their focus, and bounce back from stress when not playing well, are often able to still play well – even at the expense of having textbook form.
Don’t believe me? Watch a baseball game on television tonight and note how different each pitcher pitches, as well as the varied batting stances you will see from hitters. Then keep in mind that these are all professional baseball players, and they have all made it to that level by having very different technical approaches to the game. Herein is the “proof” to my point that technique, while important, may actually be secondary when it comes to the confidence needed to play at a high level.
anxiety, barry, comfort, focus, hideo, mental, nomo, psychology, rick, sports, technique, toughness
