Overcoming Youth to Excel in Beijing

With the Olympics under way in Beijing, several storylines have already jumped to the forefront of the sports landscape. Team USA basketball is looking to redeem themselves after the debacle in Athens and return to the world dominance they once enjoyed. Michael Phelps is swimming for a record 8 gold medals in a single Olympics. The People’s Republic of China will be showing off their country in spite of protests from around the world on the country’s human rights violations and their relationship with Tibet and Sudan. Every four years, the sports world’s attention turns to sports that most people don’t usually care about which often turns up world-class athletes that are quite young.
This year alone, the US women’s gymnastics team features five teenagers which is often the norm for gymnastics. The favorite for the women’s all-around title is 4’10” 16 year-old American Shawn Johnson. In swimming, 19-year old American Katie Hoff has set several world records this year and has already won a silver and a bronze in the first two days of competition. However, when the pressure of being on the world stage is put on teenagers, it is much more difficult for them to cope with the stresses of competing at the highest level.
At the Athens Olympics in 2004, Hoff who was just 15 at the time became so overcome with emotion before a race that she threw up minutes before the start. The human brain isn’t fully developed as a teenager which may help to explain why teenagers are careless drivers and often make emotional decisions without thinking about the consequences. When teenagers are put under the pressure of the world stage in sporting events, they often have difficulties handling the stress, which is obviously what happened to Hoff in Athens.
Studies have indicated that the human brain does not reach its final structure until a person is in their mid-20s. Also, the area of the brain that tends to be the last to develop is the completion of the frontal cortex which houses an area known as the executive processing area. This area of the brain is responsible for regulating emotional conflicts such as regulating stress levels and dealing with possible failures. These regulations of the stressors inside the brain make it much more difficult for young people to keep their emotions and nerves in check.
Even though some people naturally develop more quickly than others, it is still incredible that some teenagers have accomplished incredible feats in the sports world. As a 19-year old in Athens, Michael Phelps won a record-tying eight medals at one Olympic Games. In 1976, Nadia Comaneci of Romania put together perhaps the best gymnastics performance of all time at the age of 14. In 1998 in Nagano, Tara Lipinski won the gold medal in women’s figure skating at the age of 15. While competing at the top level is not impossible as a teenager, it remains extremely impressive that these young people can handle the pressure of the spotlight and perform at the highest level.

Padraig Harrington's New Confidence

Even though Tiger Woods was not in the field at the British Open last week, Padraig Harrington proved that he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the elite golfers of the world. Despite having a nagging wrist injury that nearly forced him to withdraw from the field, Harrington put together four stellar rounds to win by four shots over Ian Poulter. His win at Royal Birkdale not only netted him $1.49 million but it also vaulted him to number three in the latest World Golf Rankings, behind only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
During the entire week, Harrington appeared cool and confident as though he expected to win the Open Championship all along. He also showed no signs of pain from his wrist and obviously didn’t play like it was hurting him. Perhaps being in pain helped Padraig Harrington more than it hurt him. After winning last year’s Open Championship, there was tremendous pressure placed on Harrington to repeat especially with Tiger Woods no longer being in the field. Also, because he is from Ireland, Harrington faced a tremendous amount of media coverage during the week which also added to the pressure of the tournament. Because of the pressure from the media and from himself, Harrington was under an incredible amount of stress which is the last thing a person needs when playing a difficult golf course.
However, the lowered expectations from being hurt likely allowed Harrington to relax and slow down, two keys to reducing stress under pressure situations. Another major aspect of coping with stress is the belief that your skill level is in line with what you are trying to accomplish. If doubt is in a person’s consciousness at any point, there performance will suffer with any task whether it is a difficult task at work to a tough test coming up at school. Simply, if a person believes they can accomplish something, the brain responds in a way that makes it much more likely to get the task done. With Tiger Woods not being in the field, Harrington likely had a greater belief in himself which allowed for his optimal performance to be carried out during the course of the week.
Harrington had two major things going for him at Royal Birkdale: a greater belief in his abilities and a higher level of relaxation as a result of lowered expectations from his wrist injury. Athletes throughout the years have been able to overcome injury or illness to put up a great performance. Willis Reed limping onto the court before Game 7 of the 1970 Finals with a torn thigh muscle to help the Knicks past the Lakers for the title. Michael Jordan overcoming flu-like symptoms in game 5 of the ’97 Finals to torch Utah for 38 points en route to his fifth title. Most recently, Tiger Woods dominating the field at Torrey Pines to win the U.S. Open despite having a torn ACL and stress fracture in his leg. As long as injured athletes believe they can play, the expectations are reduced which allows them to relax and play their best.
At Royal Birkdale, Harrington looked confident and relaxed and took home the Claret Jug easily. Perhaps the greater confidence he has developed from two straight Open titles and being ranked third in the world will translate to greater success in the American Majors. His first test comes August 7th at Oakland Hills with the PGA Championship. This time he will likely be the favorite for the first time in his career at a major championship.

Rafael Nadal's Courage Under Pressure

When the epic Wimbledon Final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer concluded, many people were wondering whether they had just witnessed the greatest tennis match in history. Even though Rafael Nadal won the first two sets and looked like he was on his way to a tiebreak victory in the fourth set, Federer fought back in a way that only great champions can. After winning the past five Wimbledon championships, Federer looked as though he would make it six. However, Nadal did something remarkable, overcoming nerves and darkness to defeat perhaps the best grass court tennis player of all time.

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While most tennis experts were wondering whether they had seen history, I was thinking about the match in a much different way. After Federer forced a fifth set, it appeared that it would be next to impossible for Nadal to squeak out a win. After all, Federer had never lost at Wimbledon and Nadal only seemed to have luck against him on the slow clay courts of Roland Garros in Paris. However, as Nadal did on Sunday, some people learn how to overcome mental fatigue and learn to perform their best under pressure.
The cognitive model theory in psychology, popularized by Aaron Beck, states that a person’s core beliefs become automatic thoughts later in life, that tend to pop up during everyday life in response to certain situations. Often times, these automatic thoughts are learned during a child’s social development, meaning that parents often have a large role on how their children behave as adults. This is part of the reason Tiger Woods has become extremely mentally tough in situations where most people would fold. As a child, Tiger Woods was taught things by his father that made his learn to block out distractions and focus on what needed to be done. The same can be said about Nadal, who learned to play his free-swinging style from his father under extreme circumstances.
When people have compulsive disorders, such as OCD, they are often treated through the means of classical conditioning and habituation. This process allows people to become more comfortable with what bothers them by presenting stimuli and eliminating the person’s escape response. When people learn to confront distractions at an early age, it is often much easier for the reaction to become automatic as they get older. For example, it is much easier for children to get over their fears than adults because they don’t rely as heavily on their escape response.
Woods and Nadal were presented with negative stimuli while competing at an early age which made them better prepared for difficult situations later in life. The key is to make your mind respond to abnormal situations in an automatic way. This response becomes easier for the body to employ when it has been habituated to receiving the stimulus. As Nadal showed, the pressure of the Wimbledon final didn’t bother him in the way that it would for most young players. He was able to block out all of the distractions and concentrate on the game he was confident in. The result was a win over the greatest grass court player of the modern era and a place in the history books.

Tyson Gay and Jeremy Wariner: Conquering Pressure

Over the course of the past week, hundreds of the best American track and field stars have come to Historic Hayward Field in search of the Olympic dream at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Living within walking distance of Hayward Field has given me a chance to see the best athletes up close and personal and has allowed me to see their preparation in the search for the ultimate goal. Although track and field has grown tremendously since the days of Steve Prefontaine and even Edwin Moses, athletes still must face the pressure of years of preparation going into one race that determines whether or not they are going to Beijing.
As Jeremy Wariner, the world’s fastest man in the 400 meters and the defending gold medalist was entering the blocks for his first preliminary race, I saw something in his demeanor that truly surprised. Sitting no more than ten feet away from his position in lane 8, I noticed his hands trembling as he took a drink from his water bottle. Even though Wariner is often viewed as cocky, he was displaying nerves that happen to everyone. The thing is that most people seem to believe athletes are immune to pressure and that nothing fazes them. However, Wariner showed that even the best athletes in the world feel the pressure when so much is on the line. Especially in track and field, where four years of training go into a few races for a chance to compete in the Olympics, the room for error is obsolete.
Later in the day, Tyson Gay was warming up underneath the west grandstand before the 100 meter final featuring the eight fastest men in America. As he went through his normal preparation, he couldn’t stop rolling his neck and shaking his legs. However, as soon as he stepped on the track, his focus and concentration were on display. As he settled into the block, he looked as though he couldn’t have been less nervous or more poised for the race. As he crossed the finish line in 9.68 seconds, the fastest ever recorded for a human under any condition, he looked as though he expected it to happen. The nervous energy he displayed when the cameras weren’t on him was nonexistent once he stepped onto the track.
Both of these athletes’ pre-race antics show that nervousness is something that happens to anyone, no matter if you’re a world-class athlete preparing for the Olympics or a student preparing for a big presentation. The thing that world class athletes do better than anyone is turn their nervous energy into adrenaline that helps them in their competition. Research has shown when epinephrine, the neurotransmitter precursor to adrenaline, is released into the bloodstream, muscle cells are activated according to how much epinephrine is released. Therefore, it can be assumed that the more nervous a person is before a big event, the more their muscles will be able to work for them.
This phenomenon is the reason why people often feel like their muscles could explode when they become nervous or find themselves in an altercation. Also, the secretion of epinephrine allows the body to concentrate more intently on the task at hand. Although the nervousness seems to be an unwelcome occurrence for most people, it is important to remember that it is simply the human body’s natural response to a big moment.

The next time you may experience a moment where your hands are trembling, simply remember that Jeremy Wariner and Tyson Gay experience the same feelings. The important thing to remember when the pressure is overwhelming is that the feeling will actually help you do a better job. Wariner proved this to be true by coasting to a first place finish while Gay only shattered all expectations by running faster than anyone in history.

Why Doc Rivers Outcoached Phil Jackson

After the Celtics wrapped up their 17th title last week, many people were left wondering what happened to the Lakers. Specifically, how did Phil Jackson get outcoached so badly by Doc Rivers? After nine titles with the Bulls and the Lakers, most basketball experts believed Phil Jackson would walk all over Doc Rivers, leaving little chance for the Celtics to overcome the coaching difference. During all six games, Rivers significantly outcoached Jackson for 48 minutes, from motivating his players to exploiting favorable matchups. Has Phil Jackson’s time passed as a great coach and motivator or was something more at work during the NBA Finals?
Despite their obvious struggles throughout the series, Phil Jackson continued to ride Vladimir Radmanovic and Sasha Vujacic despite terrible shooting and nonexistent defense throughout the series. When Ray Allen continued to make corner threes with no sign of Vujacic within ten feet, the viewer began to wonder why Phil Jackson sat there as if he had a dinner date that was more important than the matchups on the floor. Meanwhile, Doc Rivers continued to exploit favorable matchups throughout every game, which inevitably won the title for Boston. Not only that, Rivers kept Boston playing at a level much higher than the Lakers, keeping them motivated throughout the entire series. However, most NBA experts would agree that Phil Jackson is a better coach then Doc Rivers, making it seem as though Phil Jackson simply folded under the pressure of the most watched NBA Finals since Jordan broke Utah’s heart.
When faced with pressure situations, the human body focuses most of its energies on specific things, which can be both a blessing and a curse. Pressure can make people hyperfocused on one event but the stress makes them lose consciousness with other aspects of their life. This is why people in high stress jobs often lose touch with their significant other; the pressure of one aspect of their life drains all of their motivation for other aspects. With the pressure and speed of sports, it is very easy to succumb to the pressure and not make the correct decisions. Although the basketball world could see Phil Jackson making poor decisions, it is much more difficult for the person involved when so much pressure is going on around them.
As pressure continues to grow within a person’s mind, their cognitive abilities often tend to shut down through a process known as cognitive overload. When conflicting stimuli are presented within the mind, the brain subconsciously must choose which stimuli to focus on. With so many different stimuli being presented in something as large as the NBA Finals, from the media commitments to the travel situations to the enormous pressure of each game, coaches must create a balance between everything to be at the top of their game. Even the best coaches in the world tend to make mistakes under enormous pressure. Bill Belichick admitted to several mistakes during the Super Bowl that may have cost his hugely-favored Patriots to lose to the Giants.
Although Phil Jackson could arguably be the best coach in NBA history, he didn’t balance his emotions and was outcoached in every game. Although it could have been his own cockiness and stubbornness that lead to being outcoached, it is likely that Jackson succumbed to the pressure of facing a team that wanted it more than his team. It is well-known that Phil Jackson is set in his ways but that doesn’t mean that he is unaffected by pressure that everyone feels. In this year’s NBA Finals, Doc Rivers looked much more like the coach who had won nine titles, not Phil Jackson.

The Psychology Behind Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant

With the NBA Finals under way, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett have illustrated throughout the NBA playoffs why they are so great. Both players are the undeniable leaders of the two best teams in the NBA this year. However, there is one very noticeable difference between the two players. Although both contain the fire within to will their team to victory, Garnett is much more boisterous on the court. Although you often see Bryant getting after his teammates and referees, he is not afraid to joke with opponents on the court. Garnett on the other hand continues to grimace throughout the entire game, as if the outcome of the game depends on how much his yells and punches himself in the face.

Why are these two players so different in their mannerisms? It simply comes down to the way they handle the pressure of the situation in their own way. When people get nervous, they tend to have quirks that help them through their nervousness. Before a big presentation, people often tend to yawn way more often than they normally would. Despite having three cups of coffee and a Red Bull, the pressure of the situation forces the brain to require more oxygen than normal; this creates a need to yawn. This is the neural response to pressure and stress that many people feel.

With that in mind, every person deals with stress in their own way. For Garnett, his way of dealing with the stress of an NBA game is to let out all of his emotions through talking trash to opponents and yelling towards the crowd. There are three ways a person can react to stress. The first of which actually helps the person deal with the demands they are facing. This phenomenon is known as eustress where people learn to adapt to the pressure of the situation and use different means such as adrenaline to help them cope with the situation. The other two ways people deal with stress is to either escape the situation or to deal with the situation in an adverse manner.

To get to a state of eustress, Garnett uses outward emotion to fend off the fear that he deals with during the course of the game. This helps him deal with pressure in a distinct way. First, when a person feels a perceived stressor in their environment, hormones are released from the pituitary gland and into the bloodstream to counteract the stressor. This is usually felt through adrenaline and must be released in order for a person’s mental state to get back to normal. This is why Garnett lets his emotions go during the course of the game. It is his body’s neural response to the pressure of the situation.
If that is the case, then why does Kobe Bryant appear so cool during the course of a game? Although he lets his emotions out, it isn’t nearly as outward as that of Garnett. It is simply another way of dealing with the pressure. Instead of releasing his stress hormones through adrenaline like that of Garnett, Bryant uses his mind to deal with the stressors that are in the environment. The innate health model of stress shows that people attempt to get into a state of mind that releases the hormones caused by stress through the means of a quiet mind. Instead of releasing everything outwardly, Bryant channels his fears through a thought process that determines his response to pressure.
Despite the differences, both players have had great success with each type of reaction to their stressful environment. As a person deals with acute stress more throughout their life, they learn techniques that allow them to adapt to the situation. By finding the key to relaxing your stress agent, people can become more productive and healthier. The key is to not be afraid to try new strategies when you feel a stressful agent presenting itself. This could lead to the breakthrough of overcoming pressure for you like the NBA greats mentioned above.