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STRESS AND PERFORMANCE LEVELS

Presented by Macka Jensen

Performance level: This refers to the lawn bowler’s mental working level that balances out stress and tension that allows them to maintain their peak playing performance. It also includes the way in which lawn bowlers react under certain tactical game dispositions or fulfils the purpose for which their learned knowledge and skill was intended.

The experience: As lawn bowlers, we are all aware that at one time or another experienced games when we were really performing at our peak; when every shot we played went well and every tactical decision made went right, and we would have also experienced the opposite of those games when everything went wrong; when no matter how hard we tried we couldn’t seem to get on top of it and performed absolutely shocking. “Why is this?” How can we play so well and with seemingly effortless ease and grace in one game and in another game so poorly!

Development: More importantly, what are some of the keys to achieving consistent performances, rather than playing well at random or seemingly by accident! The reason why many lawn bowlers fail to perform to their potential is that our coaching methods has until recently; concentrated virtually all attention on mastering and perfecting the players delivery skills, with poor physical development of body flexibility and strengthen training, and have completely ignored or underestimated the fact that we are also influenced by our thoughts and emotions which of course leads us to this article on stress and performance levels.

Recognise: In lawn bowls, bowlers like others in other sports, react in a predictable way to stressful situations. When we perceive a situation which is potentially stressful or harmful, we trigger an inborn response that has been part of our physiological makeup for perhaps millions of years. This response, known as the stress response or more commonly as the flight or fight response, prepares our body mentally and physically for action by increasing blood pressure, increasing heart rate and breathing, directing blood flow to muscles, all of which in turn alert our senses and imagination to a very high level. We all have to learn to recognise these responses, and physically and mentally know how to overcome these aspects as they arise within our game.

Attainable goals: Competition in this sport is inevitably going to bring us all a little stress. Tension comes with the territory. Aggravation is a side-effect of existence. That’s OK until, or unless, we start thinking it’s not and then start making it all more unbearable by wistfully dreaming in the mind of fairytales abilities. Accept what you can’t alter and put your energy into what you can change. If after reading this article you recognise some of your traits, you can now really put positive thought into reasonably attainable goals and make amazing progress over future competitive games.

Senses: It’s often stated that we have five senses. In fact, this is not true. We actually have ten senses and are described as follows;

• Conscious external; The experience of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and physical feeling from sources external to ourselves,
• Subconscious internal; through the power of our imagination; what you picture in your mind, what you hear in your head, your emotional feelings such as fear, anger etc, what you imagine you can taste and smell in your thoughts.

Note: Most performance problems in lawn bowls can be traced to a misunderstanding of the specific roles of these two types of senses, or the inappropriate usage of one or more of the senses, particularly the internal senses.

Definitions: For the purpose of instruction, listed below is the defining or making definite the use of some prominent words used in this précis;

• Arousal: Motivation induces arousal and when combined it is the application of the knowledge and techniques of the social science especially psychology, sociology, and the understanding lawn bowler’s attitudes and behaviours that excite into action. It should be noted that some bowlers do not need to be hyped-up because it’s naturally within them. The warning point here is that all bowlers have their own level, being over motivated with arousal can induce spasms of unwarranted aggressive play e.g. driving at every target they see, being aggressive to their own team members. It can also be too low which induces poor performance levels. The key is to keep cool calm and collective,
• Stress: This is caused by incorrect use of our senses. It is a disturbing physiological or psychological influence which produces a state of severe tension in an individual.
• Tension: This is a body and mental build-up from stress; a mental or emotional strain, intense suppressed anxiety, suspense or excitement. It can cause muscular tension of the body and irregular performance levels.

Note: Changes in these areas are brought about through the actions of the body endocrine system, “the hormones in our body”.

Frequency: Having described the definitions above in stress and tension, it should be recognised that without the frequency of some of these elements, our lawn bowl activities would be awfully dull, and particularly for competitive bowlers, as certain amounts of stress is essential to optimum performances. Some expert coaches today would say most bowlers perform better when under less stress. Contradictory, yes! The operating factor though, is how much stress is enough for each individual bowler!

Flight and fight indicators: Your thoughts may be; Leave it up to someone else. You’re not obliged to rise to the challenge. You’ll have to stretch yourself, but only if you feel, deep inside, that this would be good for you. It may be good for others too, but you can’t make that your primary motive. You may think it’s important to act out of choice, not obligation. The more you worry or get caught up in the unnecessary conflict of stress, the more you will compromise an otherwise unquestionable entitlement to success. Flight or fight indicators are as follows;

Flight indicators: These are some of the flight indicators and symptoms of stress or tension that can be recognised at the following periods and times;

• The eve before the game: Feeling all hyped up the eve before the game by overloading your thoughts about things that haven’t happened yet, can’t sleep, or waking up tired and with muscular stiffness the next morning,
• Prior to the game: over talking, listless, can’t sit still, muscles ache, feeling over thirsty,
• During the game: going into the game or during game play thinking that the opposition are easy-beats, or your team having a lack of tactical knowledge to outmanoeuvre the opposition, poor delivery skills, not playing as a team,
• After the game: Telling every one how well or how bad you played. Telling others how well or how bad team members played. This sort of raving may give you a delayed inferior complex about your game which in turn may result in either extreme reticence at briefings and debriefings, or aggressiveness due to overcompensation when playing your next game.

Fight indicators: This is the act of the fight indicators and symptoms of good performance that must be recognised and practiced before, during and after the game and its called preparation and planning. These indicators are as follows;

• Mental fitness; the use of your senses, rest and recuperation to combat stress and tension within the required level throughout the competitive duration of the game or series of games,
• Physical fitness; performing the type of exercises that separate the required amount of muscle flexibility of the arm and shoulders and the strengthening exercises for the body and legs so that both will compensate for the competitive duration of the game or series of games,
• Game fitness; the harmonisation of the body muscles to the physical attributes required for the delivery skills during the competitive duration of the game or series of games.
• Knowledge; the tactical knowledge required to manipulate with skill the team’s adroitness, and finesse to outmanoeuvre the opposition’s planned or accidental evolution of the head.
• Training drills; practice and perfection in tactical training drills,
• Laws of the game; understanding the laws of the game to avoid conflict with your own or the opposing team, the cue here is to remember where doubt arises call an umpire, it’s their duty to interpret the law.

Acceptable arousal: As a team member, the term of being cool, calm and collective is acceptable to take with formal acknowledgement of responsibility or consequences. It is received as an adequate performance level of the duty with which a team member has been charged. These words are interpreted as follows;

• Cool; remaining calm, unmoved, not hasty, deliberate, refraining from losing one’s temper or from panicking,
• Calm; freedom from agitation or passion, free from any kind of feeling such emotions as hope, fear, over-joy, spite or anger particularly when confronted by the success or failures of stronger compelling actions of the opposing force,
• Collective; a team enterprise or system, tactically combining their performance skills towards the common goal as opposed to one not being part of the team during the game by admitting to being involved in a separate competitive duel between his or her opposing opponent.

Innovation training: To learn more mentally, physically and tactically, go to your coach, or a specialist coach, there is an enormous amount of information out there and it should be remembered that it can’t be conveyed in one coaching session. Don’t be inert, be innovative, bring in something new or different into your training, introduce the discussion of new ideas at briefings and debriefings e.g. new methods or change your tactics but be sure it’s under supervision by qualified people and well rehearsed by you and members of your team. The greatest clanger of all is poor instructional coaching and a lack of good supervision and practice under qualified people. Without innovation training it brings in the strong possibility of failure.

Mental practice: With this mental incorporation; the mist will slowly part, the fog will clear, and the smoke will blow away. Then, you will mentally see a long way. You will be able to make sense of whatever you had found so baffling and frustrating. You might ask will this response change your tune. No, but you will hear in your head another tune that harmonises, or provides an agreeable counterpoint to your game. This will enable you to accept what currently seemed unpalatable, and turn it into something perfectly pleasing. Ask yourself for what you want. You could get it! “Mental practice is a tremendous personal boost that will make your way”.

Summary: During the game it’s all a question of balance to the level of your knowledge and performance skills; “Which direction do you need to learn in now?” “And might you lean too far that way, in an overly energetic attempt to compensate?” “Where’s your own point of inner balance?” What, in the world, is making you want to react so dramatically?” First; you need to be as clear as you can, within yourself, about what’s OK and what’s not OK. Then you can make the small, subtle adjustment that will help adjust a sensitive situation to your performance level so that it begins to work for you rather than against you.