SPORT PSYCHOLOGY HELP BASKETBALL PLAYERS PERFORMANCE BY INCREASING MENTAL TOUGHNESS THROUGH DECREASING ANXIETY

Abstract [English]

Basketball Player are constantly under severe levels of stress and anxiety to perform well. They fight for every inch and often put their bodies through excruciating pain to secure a win. Yet how is it done? How does one get the subconscious mind and body to work together without consulting the conscious and rational mind---which surely would prevent such nonsense from continuing? As is the case with any competition, there are situations that require the utmost concentration in face of difficult circumstances. These can be caused by anything from being a half boat down with 500 meters left in a crew regatta, to having to make one more touchdown to secure that extra point over your opposition. If you are able to maintain mental toughness then success will be yours. Though, what happens if you fail? You dropped the ball or jumped your slide—do these setbacks shake your self-belief and lower your motivation or do they act as a channel for even greater accomplishments? Mental toughness is clearly vital to combating pre-performance anxiety and Basketball Players success. By learning to train the mind to work along with the body, one will increase real performance by decreasing anxiety. This is one of the key areas of focus for Sport Psychology, which I will go into greater depth throughout this paper.