United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"

From Knute Rockne, the basketball movie "Hoosiers," and many other highly publicized "win one for the Gipper" speeches, we have observed the magical powers of the pregame pep talk. In fact, today it is widely believed that coaches must give their team an emotional message before sending them into competition. Unfortunately, what has been forgotten over the years is that the pep talk is just one type of arousal adjustment technique, a tool to be used only under certain circumstances. Furthermore, as the following example illustrates, raising the emotional level of every player on the team may have disastrous consequences.

Game-Day USA

During today's precompetition activities, Steve is extremely excited and nervous. Today marks the first time that his parents are able to attend one of his games and he is beginning to feel the pressure of having to live up to their unrealistic expectations. Next to him, sits Jerome. Jerome has just completed his typical pregame routine. He is both mentally and emotionally ready to play. Rafael, on the other hand, appears listless and bored. He shows no energy or emotion, acting as if he is only going through the motions.

Rah! Rah!

Just before taking the field, Coach delivers a rousing win-one-for-the-Gipper pep talk that raises the emotional level of every player on the team. Caught up in the emotional intensity of the moment, the athletes sprint onto the field where they immediately make crucial mistakes and play poorly. In fact, two-thirds of the team members are playing one of their poorer games of the season. Coach turns to his assistants and asks "What happened? I thought they were ready to play."

Relationship Between Arousal and Athletic Performance

An examination of the relationship between arousal and athletic performance may provide some answers. In sport, arousal refers to the energizing function of the body that varies from deep sleep to intense excitement. Sport researchers believe that the relationship between arousal and performance takes the form of an inverted-U. In other words, when the athlete's level of arousal is fairly low, the athlete will perform poorly. He or she is typically sluggish and under-excited. With a moderate increase in arousal, the athlete should perform up to his or her capabilities. However, once the athlete reaches a state of having too much arousal, performance will suffer. Thus, it is predicted that best performances occur at moderate levels of arousal.

The Importance of Individualized Arousal Adjustment Strategies

This critical relationship between arousal and athletic performance is why coaches can no longer haphazardly use a blanket approach when preparing athletes for competition. The use of arousal adjustment techniques such as the pep talk need to be individualized so that all players enter competition at the level of readiness which is conducive to his or her best performance. To further clarify this idea, let's reflect on the experiences of our three athletes. Steve, who was already too excited and nervous became so over-aroused that he had problems containing his emotions. An inability to concentrate caused him to play poorly. Similarly, Jerome was shifted from an optimal state of moderate arousal to being sky-high. He started trying too hard which negatively affected his performance. The only player to benefit from the pep talk was Rafael. His emotional-readiness reached an optimal level which allowed him to play well. Thus, while the pep talk helped one player, it also negatively affected two others. A more perceptive coach would have realized that, in this scenario, Steve needed to be calmed down to reach his ideal level of readiness. Likewise, the only thing that Jerome needed was the assurance that he was indeed ready.

Summary

As coaches, we can no longer risk hurting the performance of two out of every three players on the team by employing a one-technique-fits-all philosophy. Instead, we need to focus on having every player reach his or her optimal level of emotional arousal. Therefore, prior to your next pregame pep talk ask yourself "Do I really want to raise the arousal level of everyone on the team?"