In school, I had to right a three page essay on a subject in health. So I decided to right about something I was accually interested in.
Mental Health in Sports
He is running. He vaults over a railing then speed up to jump a gap and he stops. He is afraid, he can’t make the jump his mental judgment has stopped him. In sports many people only think of the physical aspects of things. Even though it is important, it is not the only thing one needs to be good practitioner of a sport. An athlete must also need good mental health. Mental health in sports is very much related to stress, the practice of parkour, and other effects of mental health in sports.
Many see stress as a mental weight and all it does is make someone feel bad. As the author of Sports Psychology-Stress, Anxiety and Energy says; “A certain level of stress is needed for optimum performance.” When having a low amount of stress athletes find it difficult to put on a good performance. When not having any or very small amount of stress, it is hard to have the right motivation to perform well. With no stress an athlete won’t worry enough about winning. The author had many good facts and views on the stress in sports when the author said; “Sometimes too much is asked in short space and time that are not good when having stress.” It is not good to think of someone as a threat from competition, or bringing self-confidence down. Selena T. Nguyen- Michel explains ways to deal with stress. “Studies show that there is a good relationship between physical activities and stress. When participating in a sport, an athlete needs a certain amount of stress, but having a lot of stress is not good for one’s mental health. If a person with too much stress does a sport, it may reduce his stress with the physical activity. A good sport that practices mental strength is parkour.
The mental part of a sport is the key in sports in many cases, including gymnastics, figure skating and a new popular sport parkour. An admired member, named Travis Noble, in the Internet based community of traceurs in America, called American Parkour, wrote an excellent report, ‘Fear in Parkour-A Practical Guide.” “Fear is the most encountered mental obstacle in parkour”. In parkour like many other sports there always is a fear in doing something new. Especially in parkour there is always the fear of messing up during the mid air flight between a jump and the landing. Travis Noble identifies good steps to over come a mental obstacle. “Visualization is the key of overcoming a mental obstacle. “When an athlete is afraid of completing a task or move, he or she must think of them doing this task. They must imagine the smells, the sounds and what it would feel like to complete the task. For example, before a basketball player walks onto a court, she would imagine the crowd and how it will react to everything that happens during the game. This is a type of meditation many traceurs, and athletes in other sports do before training, or before a big game. Travis Noble tells why to look beyond just the physical things. “In addition to the physical things it will also help feeling more comfortable in the movement.” When going into a new part of a specific sport an athlete will take it slow one step at a time. After hopefully being able to do the action on an easier or safer surface, it should make the task easier to complete. Before doing an especially new dangerous move, or just something one is uncomfortable doing, an athlete must first visualize. When visualizing, the athletes should imagine themselves doing and completing a specific movement. Even though there is a lot of mental practice in parkour, not all-mental training is in parkour.
There are many different effects of mental health in sports. The author of “Mind Tools-Sports Psychology” tells how athletes should be thinking of themselves and other people during a sport. “Worrying about a problem will normally result in negative thinking”. When competing, if an athlete has his thoughts on a different problem in their life, it will take their focus off the game and could result in an accident. When competing or training one should never worry about things going on at school, home or work, an athlete should always keep there mind on the things happening presently during there athletic event. “Mind Tools” shows how other athletes affect someone’s focus. “A good thing about training with better athletes, an athlete can see that they make mistakes and having bad days to. When seeing an athlete that is much better at a certain sport, if he sees him make a mistake that can show him that he is human, and is not perfect. Also he can always learn from another mistake. “Mind tools- Sport Psychology says”; “An athlete needs mental energy to be able to concentrate attention and be able to have and keep good mental attitudes”. The athlete must not waste good mental energy in stress and negative thinking. Also an athlete should always be sure to get enough rest to have good mental energy. Good mental health is needed for both sports and every day life.
With good mental health and judgment the sportsman may be able to overcome the jump. Participating in a sport is a good way to relieve stress and maintain good mental health. With parkour, it may help them overcome mental obstacles in life. When being active in a sport, always be aware of your surroundings and keep your mind mentally active on the situations ahead.
