week 4

Performance profile:

Week 4

self belief 

Hi performer M, hope you are well and making the most of the Easter break. 

Today we are going to continue with your 3rd week training programme. We are going to focus on improving your self belief for this week. 

The reason for this is because from the performance profile this is a factor which you scored low in. 

Self belief is when you have trust in your positive characteristics.

These characteristics for you should be confidence, motivation and optimism etc. 

Other than character as you compete if football you need to have self belief. The belief needs to consist of your ability in the sport, the physical constructs which are used. 

It is crucial for you to have high self belief, this is because your performance levels will increase. 

This is because when you are competing even when the probability of you completing a skill is low you will still have a go at performing it. 

The aim for this week is therefore to improve your self belief. Self belief is an energy which is deep inside you, once you have this hard tasks are lessened. 

How to improve your self belief is by accomplishing certain skills within your performance.  This is because the skill will work as a catalyst for further enhancing your confidence to engage within your performance. 

To begin with what you can do is in training and match days you should try attempting skills you have less belief you can execute. The gradual incline of increasing skill difficulty will allow you attempt more difficult tasks. The steps you take to achieve this should be organised from each success. 

Therefore do not go from one low level skill to a high level skill straight away.  You should organise yourself so that you feel comfortable registering each skill consecutively.  This will allow you to master each step before the next step is continued. You as a performer should then be able to master each skill and then progress onto another. Your personal success will then allow you to create further confidence, and your failure will start to evaporate. 

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/selfcon.htm

Week 5 improving self focus

Hi Performer M today we are going to tr and improve your self focus. Last week we looked at self belief which I hope has benefitted you. Congratulations on getting to the play offs and it is important you have high self focus.

The reason for this is because of the position you play within the team. As a defender you have to maintain a straight line with your defence, this is because you want to keep strikers offside. 

Without self focus you will not pay attention on instructions from teammates.  This can lead to opportunities for opponents during the game to capitalise on your mistakes.

Also self focus is important because without it your performance levels can drop dramatically.  This is because the moment you 'switch off' can cause the mind to lose concentration. 

The relation here consists of arousal levels as the diagram showed low arousal low performance. This is the same and also continuity of losing concentration during competition can be hard to retrieve. 

Your self focus is what keeps you mentally targeted on aims and objectives. The performer who therefore has greater self focus can achieve more. 

Long term you can improve your self focus through selective attention. Selective attention is where your mind only pays attention to what is important for the performer. The mind successfully blanks out additional parts of the environment which is not needed. 

To improve your selective attention you should start with training. The sessions should consist of brighter equipment such as the footballs and the jersey you play in. 

This helps the mind focus on these parts of the environment. The focus for the player would then be on the bright blue ball, not the trees behind the net.  

The selective attention can continue and this will allow an increase on how you focus. As the competitor you would then get use to all environments, without having to take everything into consideration. 

Short term programme to improve your self focus is more simple.  What you need to do is focus more on the present rather than the past and future. 

By doing so the performer will be blocking any negative thoughts. These thoughts will start disappear and the mind will be more focused on accomplishing the task ahead. 

For your next match day competition I want you to complete the above. Once you have step foot onto the pitch you must remember what has been presented on the blog. 

After doing so all thoughts about what has happened before leaves. I do not want you to reminisce on memories of the past but focus on the future. 

Also what is to happen in the future will take place wait for the game to end before being concerned. 

All the best with the play offs

Sign off

Mohammed Yahyah Patel 

Activating Arousal

Friday 4th April,
Week 3, optimising arousal level,
Aim of the week- To improve your arousal levels

Hi Performer M, hope you are well and getting on effectively with the goal setting.

This week we are going to look at optimising your arousal levels, the results show that you are very laid back and chilled out.  Arousal levels will effectively allow you to get into a zone in which you can concentrate highly and also performer well. You need to improve the technique you use for arousal because the low level can affect you negatively.

Arousal is your level of excitement and readiness to perform. Arousal can have positive and negative effects on your performance. Your performance will be best at an optimum level of arousal. After this level, performance gets worse as you become anxious and nervous.

Arousal can help increase performance but you can also be over aroused, this can be explained through the inverted u theory.  The diagram below is the inverted U theory, I will now give you a brief explanation of what the theory is mentioning.

The basic outline from the diagram shows how arousal can be used as a positive for a performers performance. However, it can also affect the performer negatively if the performer is too highly aroused as this causes performance levels to decrease.

The performer can therefore get the best out of their performance by having optimal arousal.  This optimal arousal level is classed as the point of the inverted u or on other words the tip of the n looking diagram. To achieve this level the performer has to continually concentrate on their arousal technique, without getting so over aroused that they forget of the environment around them.


I personally do not believe that there is a threat of you being highly aroused. This conclusion is due to the lack of high scores on the motivation part of the questionnaire. 

The danger of your low level of arousal can cause you to lose focus. The low level of focus can be a catalyst for bigger mistakes to begin. 

By being in the ideal performance state (IPS), the performer will then be able to have a good level of arousal allowing him to be aware of the environment. 

Also when you do gain optimal arousal you will be more capable of better performances. This is because the performers are allowing their mental and physical state to be similar. When the two intertwine they can work together to achieve the full potential. 

The performer is also more able with optimal arousal. This is because how you have suggested before that sometimes you get frustrated. Being aroused to the peak level allows you to stay calm and collected in whatever scenario. 

From the following strategies you can increase your low level of arousal. This is because you do not score higher showing anxiety, you are able to decide from the programme below if it is suited towards you. 

From your first couple of training sessions you should try and figure out how aware you are. This can be conducted for yourself as a right back by mentally noting how many times you switch off and leave your man unmarked. 

Also this is linked with your selective attention but record how many times you missed opportunities to pass the ball. This may have been due to not being aware of your teammates around you.

To begin with you must try to understand what arousal is. This can be achieve through reading the paragraphs at the start of the blog. You should then be able to write down or think how you can improve arousal levels yourself. This can be done through past recollection of achievements, and then think how come you done do well how were you hyped for the game.

This is important because I can only advise what technique you should use. However if you already know a specific technique which can enhance your arousal levels this may help you more than my strategy. 

The strategy which I may enforce upon you to use will be specific. For example when focusing on the technique we should take into consideration the length of the competition. We should also take into consideration the environment which they are going to be in. For example football is a very loud sport where mute voices are very rare. 

Therefore when we chose the strategy we must remember this. Because, pace counting strategy may not work if the environment around you is too loud and demanding. 

A strategy to improve arousal would be to have positive self talk. I think this would work positively with you because when you are on the pitch you always like talking to players. 

Therefore during the game to keep at your optimal arousal level, you should engage to yourself in positive self talk. 

The self talk which you take part in can be accompanied by another technique. For example with self talk the performer may want to use breathing techniques. This is where the performer takes short sharp shallow breaths. This allows the performer to stay focused on the game without having to do another strenuous strategy. 

A contingency for arousal is very important, this is because in certain games they both may be needed. The performer is still under control of his composure ensuring no mistakes are made which could have been stopped. 

By the next season you should prepare a song which will allow you to get aroused. You should then sing along to it using imagery and contain self talk snap words which will pump you up. These words should then be remember for the game so you can remember them to stay on top of your performance. 

For a short term exercise to increase your arousal levels. You should take part in 'confrontational talk'. This is where you psyche yourself up telling other teammates or opponents certain phrases. 

For example as a right back you might tell the left winger that you are going to keep him in your back pocket. This then creates a challenge for yourself but also allows you to get closer to the optimal arousal level. 

All the best with the following strategy and task, if there are any questions be sure to ask me. 

Sign off
Mohammed Yahyah Patel 

Week 2 Training Programme: Goal Setting

Week number-2
Date- 28/03/14
Aim of the week- To improve goal setting and mental preparation

Hi Performer M, hope you are well.

Today we are going to look into further detail about how we can improve your goal setting skills, and continue on with the additional skills next week.  The following skills will be mentioned next week as I want you to focus on today's training programme.  The reason for why I am going to focus on goal setting this week is because it will help improve your performance.  This is because goal setting will allow you to mentally prepare the performer.  Furthermore goal setting will allow you to keep your self control  and additional constructs which have been analysed.

Goal setting is a mental training technique which is used in order to increase your commitment and focus towards a personal goal.  These short or long terms goals will help encourage you to keep self control and get over any setbacks.  This is very important for you due to the three consecutive defeats for the St Mary's team if you still want to get into the play-offs.   The goals which you include in goal setting can help you maintain that strength because you are continuously going over whether you are achieving that individual strength.  Performer M should also focus on goal setting  for your weaknesses, this is because a lot of performers want to improve certain aspects of performance.  However, although performers have the intention of improving certain aspects this cannot be accomplished due to the competitior not having an actual game plan.  Goal setting however can create game plan which can work as a reminder for the performer and this can motivate the performer.

There are three different types of goals which the performer can focus on; outcome, performance and process.  

Outcome- This is where you focus on the result of an event, this for example for yourself may be to win a game or win the league.  This type of goal is more long-term, however you must remember that football is not a one man team so your performance may not change your team from playing bad and then losing. 

Process- This is where the performer focus's on action which will boost performance, this could be training more times a week because you will then play better.  This goal setting type is short-term goals which are very brief and may vary weekly.

Performance- This is where you as the performer is specific in what they want to achieve, these goals are more personal standard, which means that they are not affected by external performances such as team mates.  

Performance goals also allows the performer to achieve a more work towards and desired goal, this encourages you to feel good about your performance even if you do not win. 

I would recommend that the performer  uses the process goal because this goal helps you focus on attention and this is very effective in order to help control anxiety. Although the questionnaires shows that you control your anxiety extremely well, it will still allow you to attain the peak of anxiety which makes the body work to a better standard.  The performance will then be achieved at the best of your ability, however also mentally anxiety can also 'pump you up' so that you do not lose focus on the game. 

How to set goals- SMART

Smart targets is the best way to set goals the reason for this is because the performer is then capable of achieving specific goals. Performers like yourself want to achieve goals, however some are to optimistic whilst others cannot get into the mindset of how to set goals.  The method which I recommend for you to use is SMART targets as this breaks down into specific areas allowing you to achieve your goals. Below I am going to go into further detail about what each letter the acronym stands for.

Specific- This is where the performer sets an actual goal which they want to achieve, an example of this may be to pass the ball successfully 3 times in one halve.  This is specific because it does not only mention an open goal which would have been to pass but we have focused on a goal within the goal. This would be to make three passes in the first halve.

Measurable- This is where as the performer you are going to measure whether the goal set has been achieved. So the target which has been mentioned above would be measured by keeping a tally of whether the passes had been completed.  The performer would then be able to conclude whether any achievement had been made for progression.

Achievable- The performer here would revise the target set and then analyse whether the goal is actually possible to achieve.  Performers may try to set the bar to high straight away and this can demotivate them because they could not achieve a certain goal. Therefore the performer should set a goal which is actually achievable otherwise the goal setting task would be pointless.

Realistic- This is very similar to the heading above because the performer again is revising whether the goal set can actually be achieved.

Time- This is how long you will give yourself to achieve the certain goal, take care when doing this because progression can only be made if you give yourself enough time.

Exercise for the athlete to complete

I am now going to set two targets which you should try to achieve, the reason for this is because the performer should then get use to how goal setting works.  The two goals which are going to be set are different because one is a long-term goal and the other is a short-term goal.

Long term goal:
The long term goal which has been set for you is to attend all training sessions, unless there is a valid reason for you may miss the training session.

To achieve this goal, I want you to set SMART targets. I would like to see the SMART target which you have set to ensure that you are on the right lines.

Short term goal:
The short term goal is what I want you to achieve for the next match competition.  The goal which I am setting for you is to achieve 9 successful passes in one halve.  You should allow a performer who is substitute to take notes whether this has been achieved you can also remember this mentally.

To do this goal your smart target may require you to have additional training on decision making and also passing.

If there are any questions please do not hesitate to text me, also please send me a copy of the SMART targets which you have made over Whatsapp.

Good Luck
Sign Off
Yahyah