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Overcoming Fear on the court

1/10/2020

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Picture
​Copyright Frankie Lopez (https://unsplash.com/@frankielopez)
Recently, A.J. Fraties wrote a blog post that resonated with me. His topic was how anxiety and depression adversely affected his pickleball game. I don't suffer from such diagnosed conditions, but I relate strongly to the feelings of anxiety he described when playing on the courts. 

A.J.'s post (you can read it here) covers the many methods and tricks he tried to overcome his fears. These ranged from the usual (meditation, hydration, proper eating habits) to the unusual (paying a friend to cheer for him). He says all worked to some degree, but he fount no real answer. A.J.'s "solution" was to create what he calls a "clandestine self" to hide behind and says he'll explain more in a future post.

I share his fear on the courts and in other areas of my life—all of which I suspect are related. Knowing people are watching and judging what I do causes dread. So what do the players who consistently win do differently from A.J. and me? Do they have a secret we don't? 

I spoke with some well-ranked pickleball players who told me they focus on winning and not on what people think of them or how they play. They agreed with Brian Triptow (M.S. Exercise & Sport Science) who commented on A.J.'s blog post:
On the first day of my first class in Applied Sport Psychology, Dr. Nicole Detling told us, “Why you play has a great deal to do with how you play.”  . . . Research in human motivation indicates that those who are intrinsically motivated are more resilient and perform better than those who play for external reasons. In other words, don’t play for the trophy or to impress others. Give yourself permission to play free and play well in an exploration of your potential. Every match is a learning opportunity. Opponents represent the metrics of your progress . . . the best players don’t care as much about what people think about how they play. They care, but they care most about mastering the task of pickleball.
I believe he's right. Not only that: the other people, whose opinions we're so concerned about, may not care at all about us or how we play.

In my own case, I may have discovered something. I mentioned to A.J. that I hope to get better at playing the hammered dulcimer and would love to play in public and with other musicians. More often than not, however, when I know people are watching me, I freeze, and the music goes down the drain. Conversely, I love to sing and act on stage, and I feel no stagefright at all. I believe the difference is that singing is something I've done all my life, since I was a kid. Acting is just that: acting. It's almost like it's not me on stage but someone else. With the dulcimer, though, I didn't have the advantage of starting as a child, when I wasn't afraid to try something new and I didn't have preconceived notions of how "great" I should be in everyone else's eyes.


Everyone has a different way to calm down and look rationally at the things that have us in a twizzle. Those with an "I don't care—I'm just here to have fun" or "I'm just  here to do my best" do better than those who care what other people think. 

I mentioned this idea to several players. One said, "You're assuming other players are looking at you. They're not. They're busy with their own games. Even If they do look and judge when you're their opponent, they're only thinking,
'How can I beat this person'—they're not judging your play like you are. Just play. Leave the worry at home."

I read several articles about stagefright, which is what these feelings boil down to, I believe. They all say similar things, but they also list strategies to overcome it. People do overcome stagefright. You can overcome this, too.

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Going for the Gold: Do you have a winning personality?

5/1/2018

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If you've been struggling to take your game to the next level, but you're stuck on a plateau, you might be able to blame your disposition. Research shows that your personality type may have something to do with whether or not you'll take home a medal at the next tournament. 

Physical abilities, such as strength, endurance, and speed, are usually foremost in people's minds when they discuss athleticism, but they alone are not what determine greatness. Things like the ability to remain calm under pressure or to spot an opponent's weakness, or the stamina to stick with a training regimen are traits that come from within and are often defined by our personality. 

Psychologists use two main models to categorize personality. For many years, trait-based assessments were the norm. These assessments categorized individuals based on where they fell along a bipolar scale ("Are you outgoing or shy?"). Recently, the 'five factor model' has gained more favor, and it's been used in studies linking personality with medal-winning performance. The five factors are:
  • Openness
  • Conscientiousness
  • Extraversion
  • Agreeableness
  • Neuroticism
With regard to each factor, individuals may score high, low, or anywhere in between.  I won't go into great detail about the factors in this post, but you may read more here. If you want to learn where you fall on the scale, click this link to take the five factor test.

In general, medal-winning athletes score higher on the factors of openness (specifically optimism), conscientiousness (self-determination), extraversion (being extroverted), and agreeableness than do non-medal winners. In contrast, medal winners score lower on neuroticism (impulsivity and anxiety). Also, extraverted athletes outperform introverted athletes when an audience is present. Studies also found that anger can have a positive effect on sport performance, but only for athletes with high levels of extraversion. 

Sports competitions that involve communication and social interaction (like pickleball doubles) are well suited to extraverted individuals. Athletes are found to be more committed to their athletic partnership when they or their partners rate themselves as highly agreeable, conscientious, or open to new experiences. It's worth noting that participation in sports (specifically, having to communicate and cooperate with others) also develops personality characteristics that are desirable for sports excellence, such as extraversion. Interesting also is that athletes in team sports show higher levels of extraversion and lower levels of conscientiousness than do individual sport athletes. 

So, as a pickleball player who wants to improve your game—what can you do with this information? You can try to change your personality. Take the five-factor personality profile test and discover which elements of your personality might be adversely affecting your game. Then you might follow in the footsteps of those in one study, where the participants successfully achieved change and improved their sporting abilities. 

After taking the test, the participants decided how many traits they wanted to change. This included finding ways of achieving this change. Progress was measured weekly, at which time the participants also completed a writing task that asked, "what would it look like if you attained your desired changes?" 
The purpose of this step was to envision the specific changes they would like to make. These participants achieved notable success.

I found it interesting to learn that people's personalities do change in relatively predictable patterns over time. As people mature, they become generally more agreeable, conscientious, and emotionally stable. This is good news for those of you (and me) who are seniors. Of course, no amount of personality alteration can bridge the gap between the body of a 65-year-old and a 25-year-old playing against each other on the court, but every little bit helps.

I'm not suggesting you stop practicing and concentrate only on becoming more amiable. But if  you work on being less anxious (more relaxed) and less impulsive (a better planner), and if you focus on success, think positively, and determine to achieve the gold, you've got a better chance of doing it. Any athlete, of any age, who wants to achieve in life and sport can benefit from this advice.

References:
Allen, M. S., Greenlees, I., & Jones, M. V. (2013). Personality in sport: A comprehensive review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 6, 184-208.

PsychologistWorld.com. Five-Factor Model of Personality: How the 'super traits' of the Five Factor Model explain differences in personality and the way people behave.
​https://www.psychologistworld.com/personality/five-factor-model-big-five-personality


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    Gale Leach lives in Arizona with her husband, two dogs, and a cat. When she's not writing pickleball tips, she's working on the second in a new series of novels for young adults and updating The Art of Pickleball.

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