Anxiety In Sports
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Submitted by act0fgod on 06/30/2008 05:21 PM
- Category: Sports
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Anxiety In Sports
Anxiety in Sport
I walk my bike to the line where all the other riders are waiting to begin staging for the race. It is Road Cycling Collegiate Nationals and my team is counting on me to have a good performance. On top of that it is my last chance to prove to my mentor who will graduate the next month that I truly have developed as a cyclist with her help. The pressure is on and I start to feel my heart speed up. I try to calm my breathing. I have never raced with 80 other girls in one pack before. I am afraid my bike handling skills will be too weak and that the possibility of a crash is inevitable in the huge field. I continue to focus on my inability to live up to my team's, my coach's, my mentor's, and my expectations. Over some loud speakers I hear that there are two minutes to staging. My mouth has become dry, so I take a drink from my water bottle. As I grab the water bottle I notice you can see the imprints that the sweat from my hands has left on my handlebars. I am nervous beyond belief. I hear the staging begin and I wait for my turn to take my spot in the line up. I roll to the line as I feel butterflies in my stomach. I am experiencing heightened anxiety.
Unfortunately, I didn't know this at the time. The race started and I quickly dropped from my 23rd position that I started at into 78th. I could not get my race together. I lost my focus before the race started and I would not be able to gain it for another thirty or forty miles. I was fortunate, however, that I was a strong rider and I would later be able to come back and hold off the competition for a respectable 13th place finish. This is frustrating to me because since this race I have learned a great amount about anxiety.
When I had this race I didn't even know the effects of anxiety, nor did I know how to combat anxiety. Anxiety described by Weinberg and Gould is "negative emotional state characterized by nervousness, worry, and apprehension and...
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