PSYCHOLOGY OF THE THROWS B Y C O A C H M A R K R O D R I G U E Z

U N I V E R S I T Y O F T E X A S AT E L P A S O

THROWING IS 90% PHYSICAL + 10% MENTAL

BUT THAT 10% CAN WIPE OUT EVERY BIT OF THAT 90%

Three C's of Throwing developed by Dr. Jim Reardon

Confidence

Concentration

Composer

• Arm Wrestling Study • Studies of Confidence

Manipulation • Difference from Cocky • Confidence and Posture • What the Thrower Hears • Trailers can Help

NELSON & FURST 1972 ARM WRESTLING STUDY

● Critical physical attributes were measured in Arm Wrestlers ● If Wrestler A thought he was better than B AND, Wrestler B thought A was better ● Even though B was physically better than A ● 80% of the time Wrestler A would beat B

STUDIES OF CONFIDENCE MANIPULATION AND APPLICATION

• Gould, Jackson, Weinburg, Yukelson • Showed positive manipulation had a positive

affect • Negative manipulation had a negative affect • Herb Brooks (1980 Olympic Gold Medal

Hockey Coach) “A team is only as confident as their coach.”

• Support from your event group affects your confidence

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONFIDENCE & COCKY

• Confidence - believing you can beat anyone • Cocky - saying you can beat anyone = Unsportsmanlike • Grunting not only adds strength, but also puts you out there

CONFIDENCE AND POSTURE

Instructions for Throwers • Enter ring determined • Look toward your goal • Eye of the Tiger • Finish with a grunt

Head’s up and shoulders back = feelings of confidence

Head’s down and shoulders slumped = fearful, depressed or uncertainity

WHAT THE THROWER HEARS AFFECTS CONFIDENCE • Everything you hear sticks in your mind and

may affect your confidence • Positive self-talk affects you positively • Negative self-talk affects you negatively • Work at changing negative phrases to positive

phrases • Get your teammates to use positive phrases

as well so that you are all affected positively

TRAILERS OR PAVLOVIAN CONDITIONED RESPONSE CAN BRING ABOUT CONFIDENCE

• Use a neutral stimulus such as pinching your leg when you have a big throw in practice

• After time it becomes a conditioned stimulus • So if you pinch your leg before you throw, it will bring

about a conditioned response • That conditioned response is the same feelings as

when you hit a big throw

• Focus like a throwing sector • Visualization • A skill to be practiced

FOCUS LIKE A THROWING SECTOR

VISUALIZATION – MENTAL IMAGERY • Sends out same motor neurons that are

emitted in the actual movement • Do consistently each day • Do from different perspectives • Add as much detail as possible • Do before entering the ring and not in the ring

(the ring is your world) • Take 6 mental throws a day.

CONCENTRATION IS A SKILL

• Has to be practiced just like any other skill • Think of each practice as a meet and each

meet as a practice • You need to practice different meet situations

so that you are prepared when that situation occurs

• Emotional Control • Physiological Aspects • Arousal Levels • Commonalities • Relaxation Techniques • Role Playing

EMOTIONAL CONTROL

• Poor management of your emotions disrupts your performance

• High levels of emotion negatively affect both your decision-making ability and also your motor skills

• You need to be able to analyze your problem(s) logically

PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS

• Physiologically your body has the same negative reactions when you are anticipating something as you do when you are dreading something

AROUSAL LEVELS THEORIES

● Inverted-U Hypothesis - as arousal ↑ performance improves to a point, beyond this point performance ↓

● Arousal Theory - Each athlete performs best if their level of arousal or competitive anxiety falls within their optimum functioning zone

SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY

YAWNING TO CONTROL AROUSAL • Yawning is theorized as the body’s way of regulating

arousal levels • Yawning occurs not because you’re bored, It’s your

body’s way of trying to stay awake by ↑ arousal levels • Athlete’s arousal levels are often high before

competition. Yawning can ↓ arousal to optimal levels

COMMONALITIES IN ELITE ATHLETES IN THE ZONE • Multiple yawns before Performance • They’re able to see the field of play better • It feels like everything is happening in a slower motion • Their reaction time is faster • They adjust to obstacles/problems faster • They feel calmer in pressure situations • They feel Invincible • Noise is reduced

GAMMA BRAIN WAVES Gamma Waves – High frequency brain waves theorized to create

the unity of conscious perceptions • Heightened Sensory Perception • Enhanced Memory Recall • ↑ Focus • ↑ Processing Speed of Information Meditation ↑ gamma brain waves

RELAXATION TECHNIQUES - CHARACTERISTICS • Procedures for recognizing then releasing tension in muscles

• Concentration on breathing control & regulation • Concentration on sensations such as heaviness, warmth • Mental Imagery

• Quiet, warm & dimly lit room void of interruption • Must believe it will help

RELAXATION TECHNIQUES - NECESSITIES

RELAXATION TECHNIQUES Centering – Focus on naval to control breathing releasing

tension as you exhale, focus word may be “Relax” Self-Hypnosis – With relaxing music or sounds, control

breathing. Imagine your “Happy Place”, Countdown from 10 with your body relaxing more as you count. Evoke positive beneficial suggestions for your throwing performance. Count up to 10 awakening & feeling refreshed.

Meditation – Relax muscle by muscle, focus on breathing, in – out – say silently “Win” for 20 minutes.

ROLE PLAYING

• Identify an elite athlete you’ve seen perform at a high level

• Take on the characteristics of that athlete during your warm-up and competition

• React to situations as they would • Stay in Character • Its ok to get a little “Crazy”

MISCELLANEOUS - CONTROL

• The only person you can control is yourself • Compete against yourself & your goals • Set ultimate/season goals high • Make short term goals attainable – “inch by inch” • Write your goals down – Treat like note taking

MISCELLANEOUS – USE WEATHER AS AN ADVANTAGE

• “The rain is your friend” • Teach how to throw in various wind conditions

Don’t be afraid to start left or right Identify the sector angle as compared to the track

• Practice in all weather conditions

MISCELLANEOUS – KNOW YOUR ATHLETE Myers Briggs Personality Test – 16 Personalities

1. The Champion, Commander & Dynamo 2. The Teacher, Counselor & Supervisor

Type of Learner 1. Visual – need demos & video

2. Auditory – have them summarize what you explain 3. Read/Write – have research or write down their technique

4. Kinesthetic –LBD, molding , by mistakes What motivates them- Extrinsic or Intrinsic

MISCELLANEOUS – KNOW YOUR ATHLETE

Birth Order 1. First – Reliable, Conscientious, Structured, Cautious,

Controlling, & Achievers, 2. Middle – People Pleasers, Rebellious, Thrives on

Friendships, Large Social Circle, & Peacemaker 3. Last – Fun Loving, Uncomplicated, Manipulative,

Outgoing, Attention Seeker & Self-Centered 4. Only Child – Mature for Age, Perfectionist, Conscientious,

Diligent, Leaders Leadership Qualities- Communication, Motivation, Team Building, Risk Taking, Vision & Goal Setting

MISCELLANEOUS ASPECTS • Look to the future, not the past • Your next throw is your most important throw • There is no validity in a ring you don’t do well in • Use Desensitization to get rid of irrational fears • Use a mantra to strengthen your event group’s weakness

REFERENCES Annett, J. (1995). Motor imagery: perception of action? Neuropsychologia, 33, 1395-1417.

Annett, J. (1996). On knowing how to do things: a theory of motor imagery. Cognitive Brain Research, 3, 65-69.

Decety, J. (1996). Do imagined and executed actins share the same neural substrate? Cognitive Brain Research, 3, 87-93.

Martens, R. (1987). Coaches guide to sport psychology. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics

Rushall, B. S. (1992). Mental skills training for sports: a manual for athletes, coaches, and sport psychologists. Australian: Sport Science Associates

Broadhurst, P. L. (1957). Emotionality and the Yerkes-Dodson law. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 54, 345.

DeVenzio, D. (1997). Think like a Champion. Charlotte, North Carolina: The Fool Court Press.

Gould, D. Petchlikoff, L., & Weinberg, R. S. (1984). Antecedents of, temporal changes in, and relationships between the CSAI-2 sub components. Journal of Sport Psychology. 6: 289-304.

Hanin, Y. L. (1980) A study of anxiety in sport. In W. F. Straub (Ed.), Sport Psychology: An Analysis of Athletic Behavior. Movement Publications, Ithaca, NY 236.

Hughes JR (July 2008). "Gamma, fast, and ultrafast waves of the brain: their relationships with epilepsy and behavior". Epilepsy Behav 13 (1): 25–31.

Crick, F., Koch, C. (2003). "Framework for consciousness". Nature Neuroscience 6 (2): 119–26.

REFERENCES Bell, L.A. (1980). Boredom and the yawn. Review of Existential Psychology and Psychiatry, 17, 91-100.

Siegal, S. (1974). Why the yawn? New England Journal of Medicine, 290, 1027.

KARAGEORGHIS, C.(2007) Competition anxiety needn't get you down. Peak Performance, 243, p. 4-7

YERKES and DODSON (1908) The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation. Journal of of Neurological Psychology, (1908)

MARTENS, R. et al.(1990) The Development of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2). Human Kinetics

HANIN, Y.L. (1997) Emotions and athletic performance: individual zones of optimal functioning. European Year Book of sports psychology, 1, p. 29-72

Pavlov, I. P. (1928). Lectures on conditioned reflexes.(Translated by W.H. Gantt) London: Allen and Unwin.

SPIELBERGER, C.D. (1966) Anxiety and behaviour. Academic Press, New York

HARDY, L. and FRAZER, J. (1987) The Inverted U Hypothesis: A catastrophe for sport psychology? British Association of Sports Science, monograph no. 1, NCF, 1987

ZAJONC, R.B. (1965) Social Facilitation. Science, 149 (1965), p. 268-274

GALLWEY, W. (2000). The Inner Game of Work. New York: Random House