1. Increasing Awareness for Sport Performance
Chapter 10
Increasing Awareness for Sport Performance
Ken Ravizza and Angela Fifer
Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

2. What Is Awareness?
The first step to gaining control of any pressure situation
Athletes must be taught this skill
Check in on arousal level, emotional state, thought processes, and focus AND adjust them according to the situation
The athlete’s challenge is to focus on basic skills even when his or her physiology may increase significantly
Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

3. Importance of Awareness
Basis of most physical skill development and the process of skill execution
Lack of awareness is almost always the result of an excessive end result focus
Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

4. Steps in Awareness Process
Athlete becomes aware of ideal performance state and the routine behaviors they are already using to achieve this state
Recognize when no longer in the ideal state
Awareness skills  Earlier recognition
Implement appropriate interventions to get back into ideal performance state
Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

5. The R’s
Athletes learn there is a relationship between the things they do to maximize performance
Emphasizes that they have control over their own reactions, attitudes, and behaviors
Learn to let go of the things outside of their control
Responsibility
Recognize
Release
Regroup
Refocusing
Ready
Respond
Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

6. The R’s
Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

7. Training Awareness Exercises
Have athlete write a scouting report on his/her strengths and weaknesses
What is the opponent saying about them? What would they like the opponent to say about them?
Establish awareness routines
E.g., set two goals for practice when putting on shoes and then evaluate how well the goals were addressed when taking shoes off
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8. Training Awareness Exercises
Learning the basics
Requires totally focusing attention on the task
Incorporate awareness training with physical skills training and warm ups
Need progression of skills vs. “All-or- None Syndrome”
1-5 evaluative feedback
Play the “Edge of Peak Performance”
Blindfolded run
Assess performance through psychological questionnaires and physiological monitoring
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9. Training Awareness Exercises (cont.)
Increase awareness of arousal effects and manage as needed
Monitor and alter arousal via traffic light analogy
Periodically monitor arousal level
Green light = optimal, continue with what doing
Yellow light = possible caution, observe more carefully
Red light = “stop”, change either  or 
Goal is to catch when changing from green to
yellow vs. when already red
Keep a sport journal
Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

10. Training Awareness Exercises (cont.)
Use imagery to relive positive past performances
Contrast peak performance with poorer performance
Conduct group discussions
Assess strengths and weaknesses
Ask questions about arousal and confidence levels, stressors, etc.
Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.