The following is a brief analysis and reactions that I can give about this informative journal written by Peter Haberl.
Analysis
Haberl reports on the famous Olympic, a very competitive tournament usually conducted after every four years. He says that it gives participants an opportunity to be celebrities, get a lot of media coverage, get quick riches and become so successful. Therefore, according to him, an Olympian must utilize this chance to produce their best in this prestigious game. I think, they should understand that their opponents are also well prepared.
He says that there are many classes of Olympians: underdogs, tourists, surprise and favorites. To him, he believes that all the US athletes must play the role of favorites whether they like it or not. This will enable them to defeat China, their main rival. In 2007, she got the highest number of medals as compared to US that is believed to be having good summer seasons conducive for training. Hence, even if China boasts of having the best training grounds, US athletes stand a better position of clinching all the available medals.
Because athletes only have one opportunity in their lifetime to compete in the Olympics, they must be rigorously prepared to be their best. Hence, Haberl asserts that the sport consultants must use a combination of psychological and psychosocial; mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral approaches. This, he says, will make them to produce their best results. Finally, Haberl expounds on the role of information to an athlete. He claims that a well prepared competitor must be enlightened on healthy completion and excellent performance to their nation.
Reactions
Based on the above arguments, I would like strongly support with the fact that even if all the athletes aspire to be the favorite, only a few understand and accept its basic requirements. It is true that a competitive athlete should be well prepared and compelled to excel. I think the US government is justified to give Olympians only a lifetime opportunity. Because, they will clearly understand that they only have one chance that if they lose, they will not get another one until they die.
The sports therapists should therefore adopt open minded approaches in inducting the athletes. This will be able to make the athletes to understand themselves deeper besides being in a position of improving their chances of winning especially to those aspiring to be the best in Olympic games.
Finally, they should be enlightened enough to deeply understands what awaits them. I think, their performance will be better if they are made to appreciate why they should perform after making out what is expected of them at all times. The participant should be knowledgeable in whatever issue that pertains Olympics. I think, lack of information may make them even lose what they were in a position of getting.
A Test of Social Facilitation as a Predictor of Home Performance Advantage
The following is my analysis and reactions to this article:
Analysis
This journal gives an insightful coverage on the role of home advantage in determining the level of performance in sports. It reports that audience usually have a greater influence on the players.
The performance of the players is higher when they are in their home ground. This happens because, according to the authors, the fans cheer the players hence arousing their interest, competence, aggression and confidence.
However, this depends on factors like the level of performance for a given team. teams. This means that if high performing teams or individuals are playing in the midst of the people likely to cheer them.
It is also vital to accept the fact that performance in the games is not only affected by the context in which the game is conducted. However, it is influenced by the other factors like the referee biasness, ceiling effects and social inhibitions. This means that even if the audience is out to see their team prove their best, they can not influence the behavior of the referee who may not rule in favor of their home team.
A research conducted recently proved that the performance of a team may vary depending on the type of game being played. For instance, a research conducted amongst the college students showed that that the effects of social facilitation was felt more on the simple shots.
Hence, in the opinion of the authors, all the coaches and the players are urged to have an in depth understanding of these facts and adopt them for the sake of developing their sports career. The knowledge of this skill is very important in promoting the players to improve their performance in various professional games.
However, Henningsen and his colleagues openly reports that even if context and the audience alter the psychology of performers, no research has proved why this is so. Meanwhile, it is reported that the extent to which these influences are felt, depends on the type of player and the nature of the game being played.
Reactions
Based on the above findings, I would like to accept the fact that the conduct of the players heavily depends on the behavior of the fans. As the authors report, the psychology of the players is heavily influenced by the fans. Meaning, if the players are in their home ground which usually conducive, they will be motivated. This is because they openly show their support through cheering up their team. At the same time, they boldly disapprove the opponents making them not be able to enjoy the game. This, as the fans expect, makes the opponents perform so poorly.
Moreover, I also agree that because of this, the individual players or teams are able to produce excellent results, in fact, winning more than 50% of all the matches played. For instance, many teams including the popular European football clubs like Man Chester United and Arsenal.
At the same time, I also agree that the dismal performance of the performers during the away tournaments, is attributed to the lack of their funs who are likely to create a lot of pressure on them to do their best.
However, I would like to say that even if the role of the audience is a determinant factor in the level of performance in various games, they may at times not be so important especially when the players are professionals and have been trained to autonomously do their best.
