1. Factor: Emotional Sub Factor: Fear
How does fear positively or negatively impact your performance when playing sport?

2. What is fear?
"Fear is an emotion induced by a perceived threat, which causes you to quickly pull away or in sporting terms, usually hide. Also, it causes a performer to choke or they feel that they cannot move (FREEZE)”

3. The Impact of Fear
Fear can impact upon your performance psychologically (cognitive) and physiologically (Somatic) or behaviourally:
Psychologically means our thinking or cognitive processes are affected
Physiologically means our body or somatic processes are affected.
Behavioural – By patterns of behaviour.

4. Symptoms of Fear

5. Fear can cripple even the best athletes in the game….
Golf Football Tennis These are all examples of fear of failure

6. “If you spend too much time thinking about who is coming to watch you, how many fans are going to be there or who you’re playing against, you can get caught up in the moment. You worry instead of relaxing and expressing yourself. In the 2012 Championship play-off final I had the worst dry mouth ever walking out of the tunnel and I was physically shaking. The first 20 minutes of the game felt like two hours.
My nerves had got the better of me. I kept giving the ball away to the opposition, I found it difficult to control the ball and I made a couple of really bad decisions like a rash tackle which almost resulted in a penalty.”
Tom Ince (Professional Footballer)

7. Impact on performance
Fear produces negative thoughts, which directly impacts a player’s confidence. Winning and losing is so important that fear of failure or fear of not performing well is at the forefront of a players mind.
Fear of failure can cripple the player's sense of adventure and the ability to take match winning risks. The thought of making mistakes in front of team mates, coaches and spectators can be so paralysing that the player sits inside their comfort zone just doing the bare minimum.

8. Fear of the Opposition v
If you fear an opponent or opposition then it is likely that your own performance level will drop significantly which will make it easier for the opposition to compete. v
Nadal has beaten Federer 23 times in 33 matches. It is said that Federer has a fear of playing Nadal, which is supported by their head to head record.

9. Task Choose an activity.
Describe a situation where you experienced fear of failure or fear of an opponent. Describe, what happened to you both physiologically and psychologically.
Explain, the negative impact this had on you and your teams performance.